Sometimes I get annoyed with people when they say all clickbank products are scams, but then I spend some time browsing the marketplace, and I keep stumbling on products claiming for a "Cure for Cancer no one else has thought about", or "How to get gadgets and stuff for free from the Internet"... all I can think is: Clickbank, will you quit shooting yourself on the foot, ALREADY!?!? There are actually decent products in the marketplace, and being placed in the same virtual shelf as blatant SCAMS really doesn't make them look good. No wonder so many consumers think so badly of CB in general!
I strongly agree with you. There are some products listed on CB that are utter ****, but then again there are products that are of a high standard (e.g. earth4energy.com). I spent so many hours researching, plus hours making my product, that it would definitely fall into the 'quality' section.
I agree as well, but people can and do get their money back. On another unrelated note,when I look at my refunds, the VAST majority of them are from the northeastern states. Are they savvier? Do they see the 60 day money back guarantee and decide on refunding even before purchasing? I also particularly enjoy those who refund over a month later.
No skin off their back as they are charging $50 per new product. Although yes I agree it hurts their image.
I couldn't agree more with you on this one. Seems like the volume of new CB products has increased 10x in the past few months but the quality is utter crap. It's sad too because it makes those of us who actually take the time to make quality products look bad. I'm sure the refund rates on these products are just hideous.
I am trying to find the point of this post, Clickbank scams /yawn, they are just products, and besides who looks for products on the market place to purchase, people recommend products, if the product sells, then they keep promoting it, and the product gets more traffic, if the product does not sell, the product receives little to no traffic, and if a "scammer" has a product, that doesn't convert, who will really see it. Let's talk about if the sun will rise, or something controversial...
@Faclez: For sure... credibility isn't something you find terribly relevant. You do have a point when you say that bad products just won't naturally draw buzz, but still... how would you explain that ClickBank is still so infamous nowadays, despite of their 60-day refund guarantee? Also, I did found a bunch of scams in the CB marketplace with a decent gravity. Gullible people are just too easy preys, I suppose. Do you know what happens when you put a single rotten apple in a stand of healthy apples? To the public eye, it instantly becomes a stand of rotten apples... that's even before the decay spreads. Do you know what happens eventually, if the rotten apples aren't removed? There will hardly be a healthy apple left. That, you naysayer internaut, is why quality control is so important.
Oh I am just thinking to start my affiliate marketing at clickbank since I've never tried it before. Do you guys not recommend it to me? Or I just need to choose the best products? How do I know? Thanks in advance
@seolinkservices: sure you should go at it. Just follow these simple rules, 1) Know the product you're promoting. 2) Only promote products you believe in. 3) Don't fool yourself or anyone else.
yea true.. i feel that the 60 day refund policy does more damage... u have loooooads of similar looking products.. generally when a new product comes out thats useless ppl buy it, ask or a refund and build their own sites.. the nets polluted wid these clones
Some of the products are worthless, but do those products sell? I mean come on affiliates look at the landing page and can see that a product is junk or not.
You're right smitten, I get emails from people all the time telling me that because clickbank is selling this product, they refuse to purchase. I think I'll switch to paypal and increase my conversions, because customers, when they see clickbank processing page everything goes out the window. Seriously my 1:10, 1:15, 1:20 conversion rates are killing me. Clickbank fix your public image now, Make TV spots, apologizing for........ And for quality control, make sure all the graphics are professional, and the sales page have no spelling errors, Those spelling errors KILL ME. Once again I get email from people complaining about the sales letters I send them to..... ( I am laughing so hard right now ) This is crazy, someone should talk about clickbanks quality..... and their refund policy, it isn't there to protect the customer, I mean 60 days.... what is that, it should be 60 year return policy! You're rotten apple thing.. lol Think of it this way, I purchase a product from Wal-mart, it breaks 2 days later, DANG YOU WALMART, I mean it's not the products fault, it's walmarts fault for selling a defective product.... get serious. And i'm bored
clickbank is just a payment processor, its like people not buying through paypal because they were scammed once.
@Faclez: Your cynicism is utterly lost on me; the anger you transpire is uncalled for, and stirs no emotion other than pity. I'm obviously not reaching out to ClickBank hoping they'll see the light of reason, neither am I even changing my CB promotions on account of those bad apples in the marketplace. I make sure all fruit in my stand is fresh and juicy, and that's good enough for me. Regardless, I still think that we (and them) would ALL benefit if Clickbank was more judicious in approving only good products. Or at least they should really tend to their garden and do away with blatant scams.
So what are the scams on clickbank? Forex, weight loss, natural cures? You say your not reaching out to clickbank but want them to approve "only good" products.......
Good question! Assuming it's legitimate rather than sardonic I'll elaborate my perspective on the matter: Some people would argue that most of the products in Clickbank are scams, because all that information could be found elsewhere for free. I do NOT agree with this perspective, because we're living in the information age - as such there's nothing wrong with charging for information, provided it's solid, non-misleading information. When I started this thread, I was thinking about blatant scams. I'll briefly illustrate the anatomy of the informational scam based on my roamings in the CB marketplace. There are three groups of products I can think of: Relative Scams: Forex, weight loss, natural cure; these kinds of guides do deliver on their premise, if customer follows said guidance. However, they're generally comprised of information that can be found elsewhere for free. But the vendor did take the time and effort to round up that information as to save the customer's time and effort. Some people would argue these products are also scams, personally I think they're not. It's all a matter of perspective. Partial Scams: Win money to play videogames, Make Money Online. These products ride the gray line between scam and legitimate informational product. They're products that very much unlikely deliver on their promise, even if the customer does follow closely the instructions in the guide. Some of them would best be banned from the marketplace. Blatant scams: Cure cancer, Get free stuff. These are products that can't possibly deliver on their claims. They're engineered with the sole purpose of misleading, deceiving, and ripping off gullible consumers. ALL these products should urgently get banned from the marketplace. No possible perspective would ever position these products as legitimate information products. Blatant copycat products should also be included in this category, even if they're carbon copied from a legitimate product.
So... Blatant scams, cure cancer. that one I agree with you on, the get free stuff, that is a matter of perspective, so cure cancer products. should be reconsidered, but all the other products by your explination should be left alone. If a product rides the grey line, so what, that is the publishers choice. So to sum up this thread, ban cure cancer products, everything else is ok.
I don't feel particularly bad for people who purchase these scam products. Let's place some responsibility on the buyers.