I always warn affiliates about promoting online pharmacy or RX sites, it's just not worth the risks. 18 people were arrested for allegedly selling drugs illegally, including the ringleaders of more than 4,600 rogue Internet pharmacy websites. Agents shut down all the sites the suspects controlled in the year long investigation dubbed "Operation CYBERx." I have to assume that for this many sites to be involved, some type of affiliate marketing was involved, although affiliates were not mentioned in any of the reports I read. The risk to affiliates is not only coming under government scrutiny or potential arrest, but also the certainty of not being paid when these illegal companies go under. Affiliates - JUST SAY NO to online drug sales! DEA Press Release - DEA Disables Major Pharmaceutical Internet Scheme http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr092105.html Original source for this story was found at WebMasterWorld. http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum10/9881.htm http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/12711351.htm The good news is that these people were pushing tons of RX drug SPAM, so hopefully our inboxes will be a little cleaner after this bust.
Come to think of it, Compar hasn't posted for quite a while Seriously though, I have always found there to be a lot of double talk with some affiliates and its an area I have never felt comfortable with. I'm sure Compar's affiliate program is completely on the up and up with requiring doctors to sign off. Maybe he can provide some further perspective.
I bought a pharmacy domain, and was thinking if I should use Compar's program, or develop content on it, and advertisements. Maybe I should choose the 2nd alternative :/ If it isn't 100% legal (and ethic), I don't want any part of it. But if it is, why not?
actually there are alot of rogue pharmacies out there selling rx ... but the most popular and most profitable drugs are those controlled one like phentermine, vicodin, valium and all those drugs ... many of internet drugs buyers are drug addicts ... and this is a good way for them to get their drug for abuse .. some pharmacy would say that they do not sell controlled drugs .. but i would say that it's a grey area ..
There's hundreds of thousands of affiliate based rx sites out there if not millions. It would be a shame for the lot to be stereotyped courtesy of a few law breakers. As for a couple of thousand sites being involved, it's just as possible they were operated by the same individuals rather than an affiliate program. However - I myself have lost out to rx programs going under in the past, though it had nothing to do with illegal activities - it was mismanagement of the parent co. Theres no doubting that it IS fraught with dangers.. it can cost you thousands (though thankfully it was just a few hundred in my case). Cheers, JL
Lots of the busts for the warehouses and stuff took place very close to where I live and very close to where I used to have my business. I was a bit amazed to see the amount of product they were storing and in the area they were storing it... I imagine this is the first major wave of such things... Although I am not entirely clear on what is considered legal and illegal.. Are pharmarcies who have an actual doctor write scrips with an online consulation legitimate?
I've been out of the office all day. But I'm pleased to see all the concern that various members have expressed. The Federal government has put a number of drugs on a list that require face to face consultation with a doctor in order to get a prescription. The best known of these is phentermine the popular weight loss drug. My web site is scrupulous in not selling any of these "restricted" drugs. It is legal and allowed to obtain a prescription via online consulatation for all the drugs we sell. Now for instance we sell Birth Control pills. If a woman answers a medical questionnaire that indicated her need for these pills and indicates that she has no medical condition that would suggest any risk in taking these pills can anyone see why it wouldn't be legitimate to sell these pills to her? In fact my online pharmacy is doing just fine. Business seems to have picked up after the summer vacation period is over and after hurricane Katrina has passed. It will be interesting to see if Rita has the same impact on business that Katrina appears to have had. I still have new affiliates signing up on a regular basis. To my knowledge none us have been busted or are in jail. So if anyone is interested in a legitimate affiliate opportunity that pays very good returns I invite you to go to my site and sign up. The worst that can happen to you is that you might make some very nice income. http://www.yourfriendlypharmacy.com
I would feel a whole lot better if the government would just bugger off and quit forcing me to go see my doctor every time I need some medicine. I go in, tell my doc what I have and what I need, and he gives me a prescription. It's a waste of my time and my doctors time. It's a waste of my money and sometimes my insurance companies money. I am greatly offended at being treated like an imbecile by a government that cannot even balance its own checkbook.
I have to agree that going in to see a doctor just to get a prescription can sometimes be a hastle. I do believe the current system is probaly the best way to go about it though. Maybe you can probably figure out the right medicine for yourself but I have to assume that the majority of people would probably make mistakes and maybe even combine medicines that shouldn't be combined and get themselves into a lot of trouble. Also can you imagine parents trying to figure out which medicine to give their children. There has to be some type of system in place and until they figure a better way to do it then the current system should stay in place.
Compar - I like to think that I'm very open-minded, but I also must admit to being taught new things almost daily, like reading this thread and seeing that I need to be more objective. To that, I mean that I avoid Rx sites with a ten foot pole as far as linking exchanges, but looking at your site and reading your information, I see that some are legitimate, and worthwhile. I feel as though I should apologize for being so subjective, while at the same time, thanking you for bringing me another module of education in remaining objective. I would be honored if you'd write up a little article about your site and services and submit it to sitespromoter and even heres1 (both .com) and it'll be on the front page. If you'd like, but sure to submit your links there too - although I'll need to create a category for you as I've never listed an Rx site before - you'll be the only one.
There is such a thing as a *legal* Online Pharmacy too. Such legal pharmacies (not counting the FDA's reimportation debate) require copies (or the original) of the person's prescription before being willing to ship drugs. They can also place calls to a person's family doctor to get confirmation. Such things do exist, you know. I work for one of these pharmacies, and we need to operate an affiliate program. Unfortunately, it seems that a bunch of bad eggs out there have really given the entire industry a black eye.
Compar or anyone for that matter, I live in the states and I am interested in online pharmacy but it seems that most people here that do pharmacy reside outside of the US. Is there a greater risk of being tangled up in legal reprocussions if I live in the states and run a pharmacy website? Any thoughts?
Hello Compar Just to say : we are in the same business with same US Licensed Pharmacy. Check my website http://www.usa-online-pharmacy.biz