Product Sourcing News   

Knowing Who You Can Trust

By: Colette Marshall
President, WorldwideBrands.com

Online businesses are growing at a very fast rate. Unfortunatly, there are many more scams coming out this year that are feeding off this desire for "overnight success". A business worth building starts with a good solid foundation and some hard work. That's not going to happen overnight but it can happen in less time than it takes to build a franchise or a brick and mortar retail store.

You're going to see those billboard type sayings "make $10,000 overnight", "the next best thing", the product "you can't live without"... I've seen a variety of different marketing spins on some of these scams. Some products are very valuable and others are just out to telemarket you to death. How do you know which ones are worth your valuable time?

Here are a few techniques to knowing who you can trust online:

1. Search your favorite search engine for the name of the company or person with the word scam or review after it. Actually READ the articles and information that you find. Don't just rely on a quick glance. Read the comments and peoples feedback as well (especially with Blogs and Forums). You will always find negatives and positives, but try to determine if the positives outweigh the negatives. Then form your OWN opinions. People can tell you this and people can tell you that, but it will always come down to what YOU think. Use these reviews and statements and try to confirm what they are saying is true through your own investigations. You may find that many people are just spouting what they want, but they have actually never even used the product. They could be providing misconceptions about the product.

2. Confirm BBB online reports. Read through any BBB online reports. For BBB online, a company with a A+ rating is best. You can click on any BBB online logo and it will take you to the verification page of that companies profile. When ever you read the reports, read the companies responses as well. A good company will take the time to put an explaination and make sure the situation was resolved.

3. Look for credentials of large name companies or people you trust already that are providing endorsements. You should be able to find more information about the credential. For example, WorldwideBrands.com is an eBay Certified Solution provider, so when you click on the credential logo on our home page it opens eBay and shows our Certified Provider profile.

4. Call the phone number provided When you call the number listed on the webpage, did you get a person on the other line? If you got a voicemail, did you get a return call back within 48 hours (keep in mind the weekend and time zones) or an email confirming your call (Tip: leave your email address on a Voice Mail as a contact method).

Chris Malta puts this principle in play every day, personally himself. You can call him and speak with him directly. Obviously he gets several calls a day but leave a message and he will call or email you back. If you're interested in calling him, check out: www.worldwidebrands.com/network

Last but not least...
5. Ask the Community and look for Recommendations - As you build your online business, you will meet others and learn who some of the best names are in the business. Ask the community their opinion of a product or person. Ask a company who you already trust if they endorse a product you found. Here at Worldwide Brands, we get asked all the time about other services. We are happy to share what we can and we always post the resources we trust in our Resource Center.

6. When you go to seminars, wait and ask the speaker your question personally and see how they respond. A person really willing to work with you will take that extra 5 minutes.

To learn more about common scams and how to avoid them, Chris Malta has actually created some fun tunes and videos about scam busting. You can check them out at www.worldwidebrands.com/chrismalta