May 26, 2013 04:11

Breaking MLM News: NMBJ Breaks Story On Zeek Reward Income Disclosure Statement & Customer To Affiliate Ratios

Apr 15 2012 in MLM News, ZeekRewards by Troy Dooly

The Network Marketing Business Journal Vol. 27 Issue 4 dated April 2012, just broke several announcements on Zeek Rewards which may create a whole new ballgame inside network marketing, and may just be the legal and compliance foundation needed to prove once and for all Zeek Rewards is not being run as a pyramid or ponzi scheme.

You can grab your own copy at any major bookstore or directly from NMBJ!

Highlights of the article titled: Zeekler & Zeek Rewards – Rex’s Venture Group’s one-two punch, knock-out combo is leading the industry in their commitment to compliance

And you are thinking… Dooly we already knew all this!

  • All Commissions are paid out of current sales revenues! Zeek Retail Point Pool consists of nothing but its current daily net, without absolutely nothing obligated from future revenues. (Zeek also has the largest consumer to affiliate/distributor ratio – see below)

According to Network Marketing Business Journal Zeek Rewards has a 25 to 1 customers to rep ratio!

The next highest that has been reported lately is Body By Vi aka ViSalus Sciences at 10 to 1.

It seems people tend to forget that Zeekler and Zeek Rewards are just divisions of Rex Venture Group, which has been in business for 15 years and has accumulated in excess of 3,000,000 million customers who buy and sell across their platforms on a regular basis.

And when you get right down to it, Zeekler was first launched as an addition to the Free Store Club, before launching Zeek Rewards as the exclusive marketing arm for the company.

Editor’s note: This is a similar move made by some of the most successful company in direct sales history, from Amway to Primierca. In a recent internview with the Wall Street Journal “Coty’s hostile bid for Avon was so they could use the direct sales channel to cross promote their other brands”  Using an exclusive marketing arm to drive revenues through the parent company and other divisions helps to cross-sell other products or services.

But the biggest news unveiled by the Network Marketing Business Journal is the Zeek Reward’s Income Disclosure Statement. This may be the fastest time in history for a private held company in the network marketing community to release their field force income numbers.

Zeek Rewards in Come Disclosure Statement 2011

Troy Dooly

Troy Dooly is recognized internationally as an influencer in the areas of personal branding, leadership development, marketing campaigns, organizational expansion, and corporate launch strategies. Dooly is a speaker, results coach, and radio host. He is a founding member, show host (Beachside CEO) and News Director of the Home Business Radio Network. He is a founding member, and currently serves on the Board of the Association of Network Marketing Professionals

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86 Comments »

  • http://behindmlm.com OzSoapbox

    All Commissions are paid out of current sales revenues!

    This is just wordsmithing on Zeek Rewards part. They count the investment in bids as "sales" and claim it as such.

    At the end of the day "sales" don't generate 90 day ROIs, investments do.

    What they should have clarified is how much of this "sales" revenue come from members and how much is from customers. That's actually useful information (but of course they won't release it).

    According to Network Marketing Business Journal Zeek Rewards has a 25 to 1 customers to rep ratio!

    Well of course they do. You need to "sign up" customers to dump bids onto.

    What do you need to sign up a customer? An email address.

    With a 1000 point cap on each "customer", that's a lot of fake customers you need to create to continue to dump bids on.

    I imagine as time goes on the ratio will only get larger.

    And when you get right down to it, Zeekler was first launched as an addition to the Free Store Club

    Free Store Club was dead, that's why they launched ZR. 3 million customers? Please.

    You can see the "success" of FSC through it's re-incarnation as part of ZR. How much do ZR members make through their retail stores? Nothing. It's all about the point investment scheme.

    • Troy Dooly

      @Oz,

      You may be correct in your statement of "wordsmithing" :)

      However, did you just not do the same thing by using the word "investment"? The Internal Revenue Service in the U.S.A. does not view the "Bids" as an investment at all. They count the purchase of bids as an expense.

      And, as I have reported before the term ROI is a standard Investment term. However, in the USA it is also used to determine expense .vs profit in marketing.

      Editor's note: Personally I would not in a high-risk proposition use the term if I was running a company like Zeek!

      Oz, I see where you are coming from on the sign-up comment, and others have asked that same question. Maybe I was not clear, Rex Venture Group is counting all current customers (according to the article) because Zeekler is just a division of the company and not a stand alone subsidiarity. Zeek Rewards in and of itself doesn't have any customers, only affiliates. They are just the exclusive marketing arm for Rex Venture Group to cross-market all their products and services.

      But, based on the Alexa rankings on their two main sites, I am not sure this is correct. Seems if all reps the reps are doing is signing up fake customers, then using those bids to push the revenue stream, that the Zeekler Alexa ranking would be as high or higher than the Zeek Reward site, and it is not close.

      As for the Free Store Club being dead, is like saying DubLi Network was dead! I am not sure either would be correct. We can agree that Paul and Dawn were looking for a new marketing channel, because the article states this was the idea behind Zeekler. But Zeekler was established before Zeek Rewards.

      Plus, why doesn't anyone report on all three of the services promoted through Zeek Rewards? It seems because of all the hype surrounding the business opportunity most affiliates and the outside world may not even know about all the different bids or the shopping centers.

      Always great to have you comment and bring up more questions for folks to think about.

      • http://behindmlm.com OzSoapbox

        @Troy

        "However, did you just not do the same thing by using the word “investment”?"

        No, because product purchases don't pay out a ROI, investments do.

        "The Internal Revenue Service in the U.S.A. does not view the “Bids” as an investment at all."

        I'm sure they don't, but unless you've got a letter stating that they don't consider ZR's investments to not be investments, what's your point?

        "And, as I have reported before the term ROI is a standard Investment term. However, in the USA it is also used to determine expense .vs profit in marketing."

        Be that as it may, with ZR offering a 90-day ROI the term ROI applies as investment terminology when talking about ZR.

        "Zeek Rewards in and of itself doesn’t have any customers, only affiliates. "

        As a business opportunity, it has to be stand alone. If Zeek Rewards is printed out on people's checks, then the business itself has to be considered seperately.

        " if all reps the reps are doing is signing up fake customers, then using those bids to push the revenue stream, that the Zeekler Alexa ranking would be as high or higher than the Zeek Reward site, and it is not close."

        They don't need to use the bids, as the ROI isn't dependant on this. Bids just need to be dumped onto fake accounts, all ZR care about is that they are paid for with real money.

        The Alexa ranking support this.

        "As for the Free Store Club being dead, is like saying DubLi Network was dead!"

        Dubli network is/was dead for a long time. They went around the world making big promises and consistently failed to deliver. That said I haven't checked out their latest incarnation yet.

        "Plus, why doesn’t anyone report on all three of the services promoted through Zeek Rewards? It seems because of all the hype surrounding the business opportunity most affiliates and the outside world may not even know about all the different bids or the shopping centers."

        Because the VIP point investment scheme is all that matters. The other stuff is just filler and nobody makes any money from it.

        Anybody who is in Zeek Rewards and tells you they would stick around without the investment scheme returns is lying to your face.

        • Troy Dooly

          Oz,

          Thanks for commenting. Sorry I missed this earlier today.

          1. We are seeing this from a 180 degree difference. Zeek has clearified this issue many times over from a legal standpoint. (See Here). Without a doubt affiliates have used investment terms over and over, as they do with many companies. And many companies correct their field force or the regulators do it for them.

          2. Oz, on the IRS point, let me see if I can be clearer. The Affiliates have been filing their returns with the IRS for months, and to date not one of them have reported having their tax returns denied, or called in for questioning the expenses. Plus with Zeek having an IRS tax attorney as part of their legal team, do you not feel he would be competent in these issues?

          3. On the topic of ROI, can you link to the specific verbiage on the Zeek Reward website you are referring for my review so I can read it in context?

          4. Oz, your statement "If Zeek Rewards is printed out on people’s checks, then the business itself has to be considered separately." is not completely correct. The business laws in all 50 States allow for a company to write whatever name they are transacting business as long as they have filed the correct paperwork with their bank. In this case as with some of the example companies I made on your site, run their marketing arm under one name while their products are sold under another.

          5. Oz, your statement "They don’t need to use the bids, as the ROI isn’t dependant on this. Bids just need to be dumped onto fake accounts, all ZR care about is that they are paid for with real money." could hold water, if the "ROI statement" is something Zeek promotes based on your above belief.

          6. As for DubLi being dead, I am not sure where you get your info. But just using the Alexa ranking as a clue, they are at 45K worldwide. And the DubLi site is at 14K worldwide. Not numbers of a dead company.

          7. Oz, on the your response to why folks are not talking about the other services, based on what I have seen written, you may have a point. This is what DubLi went through in the USA before revamping under Grimes & Reese's guidance.

          • Ben

            See this is what I mean with Oz. Diareah of the mouth. It's embarrasing. When have you ever seen anyone work THIS hard to ruin a companies name? (with no real facts of a ponzi to back it up)

            It's comical.

            His blogs: Negative. Negative. Negative. Who in thier right mind could listen to this guys crud for more than 5 seconds?

            All speculation.

            Zero substance.

            Period.

            However, Anytime anyone gives any "real" world FACTS about Zeek (every check is cashing, how they've adapted, how Zeek cripples the success ratio of any other mlm, thier legal team, etc )he just lashes out at the them — *many times even cursing at them*, …

            He does this and for what? Because people state ACTUAL FACTS. While he does raise fair questions from time to time, he has zero class, and I don't see how anyone would see this guy as even relevant or remotely creditable in anyway.

            Hey Oz, perhaps would should all go Amway. They have all the "kinks" worked out LMAOOOO

    • Ryan

      Oz,

      When an affiliate purchases bids, it is a sale of sample bids. It is not an investment. Why can't you get past this. Every blog and post I have read from you regarding ZeekRewards you focus on that. If an affiliate purchases 1000 sample bids, they cannot request a check for $1000 to pull out of the business. In an investment, you can pull out and get a check for whatever the investment is worth at that point in time, minus possibile early withdraw penalties if applicable.

      • http://behindmlm.com OzSoapbox

        @Ryan

        "When an affiliate purchases bids, it is a sale of sample bids. It is not an investment. Why can’t you get past this."

        Because bid purdchases don't generate 90 day ROIs, investments do.

        Return on investment…. what's there to misunderstand?

        You want to feed me chicken and call it pork for "compliance" fine… but I'm still eating chicken.

        ' If an affiliate purchases 1000 sample bids, they cannot request a check for $1000 to pull out of the business. In an investment, you can pull out and get a check for whatever the investment is worth at that point in time"

        Not in a ponzi scheme you can't. They universally refuse refunds. Can't refund because the new money invested is instantly pooled to pay off existing owed ROIs.

        (ZR may be able to refund a few people due to the large new money coming in daily, but they couldn't refund everyone simultaenously). That's why it's a 90 day ROI.

        • Ryan

          @Oz,

          I have a question for you. Let's use a different example than the purchare of sample bids. Let's use an example of a business owner purchasing a widget. The widget is used to generate revenue. The widget has a life of 90 days. After 90 days, the widget no longer works and has to be disposed of. The owner earns revenue each and everyday on the widget. At the end of each day, the owner has the option to either take the revenue earned and pocket it or purchase additional widgets to earn revenue off of. The owner knows that the more widgets he has the more revenue he is going to earn each day. He also knows that if he does not purchase a new widget, then after 90 days he is not going to have a widget to earn income from.

          My question is this: If a business purchases an item,product, widget or whatever to be used in their business to generate revenue, then what is it? Is it a business expense or is it an investment? Either way, the item, product, widget or whatever is required for the business to generate revenue. Whether you look at this as an expense or an investment, it generates a return.

          Most investments do not have a life span in which your orginal "investment" is gone. If you put money into a 2 year CD, you get the original investment plus interest earned at the end of the 2 years. You do not loose the intitial investment.

          • http://behindmlm.com OzSoapbox

            "Let’s use an example of a business owner purchasing a widget. The widget is used to generate revenue. The widget has a life of 90 days.?"

            Let's not. How does a widget generate income over 90 days and then expire?

  • http://www.freepennybids.com DP

    Troy,

    I'll be up in Lexington as well! Hoping to meet you. Thanks for posting this! Even though, some lady i just met at the bank, my friend, my cousin and that one guy who's been posting on the internet for a few months, all say Zeek is a ponzi scheme and a scam, your video, reputation and Keith Laggos brought some great insight to the contrary. Geez, maybe they really do have something that's credible. See ya!

  • http://www.tell-a-few.com Ernst Rhyker Kastele

    I've entered with Zeek Rewards last year, and had a whole bunch of objections which is I didn't pursue this opportunity. But you took all my objections away with this video and your thorough due diligence! Thanks Troy!

  • Mark

    Troy,

    Does this information mean you no longer consider Zeek a high risk MLM?

    Just to be clear, do you have a fiduciary responsibility to Zeek in any way? Or have they hired you as a consultant in any way?

    Thanks,

    Mark

    • Troy Dooly

      Mark,

      Great questions…

      1. Look for yourself! They are still listed as a high-risk proposition here on MLMHelpDesk.com and I have not yet come to the determination that they are out of the bulls eye for the regulators.

      What I have determined is they are willing to invest the money needed to get the best advice from the experts. If they are doing everything they legal and compliance team has suggested, then only time will tell if the business model succeeds. But at least it will succeed or fail based on the merits of the Zeek internal leadership and the field, not on anything else.

      2. I always have a fiduciary responsibility to all companies and distributors when I report on a company. Especially when I have come out with a red flag report.

      3. At the date of this post and my comments I have not received any form of consulting agreement or money from Zeek.

      However, I will say that sometime after April 20th, 2012 I will turn in my expenses for traveling to their location and covering the VIP day. This is something I do anytime a company requests me to come to their location.

      Living An Epic Adventure,
      Troy

  • JC

    Troy,

    The concept of a "customer" for Zeek Rewards is not the same as that of other product based MLM's where there is a real transaction (and real revenue) between the MLM and the retail customer. Most "customers" in Zeek Rewards are either:

    1) Fake customers created by affiliates. Affiliates create fake customers in order to give sample bids away in order to earn an ROI on the money used to purchase those samples bids.

    or:

    2) Incentivzed virtual customers that were paid for by the affiliate. The affiliate has never met this customer, doesn't know the customer, and doesn't even have an email or phone number to perform sales follow-up (contrast this with any product-based MLM where the distributor actually communicates with a customer or prospect). The are customers that are provided for a fee, previously by Zeek Rewards directly, and how by one of several third parties that have cropped up because it is so easy to "become a customer" (all you need is an email address, not even verified, with no actual login required). The legitimate third party providers are using CPA email submits and charging affiliates $3-5 per "customer" and then paying the CPA companies around $1.50 to $1.80 per submit. The less legitimate ones are using odesk, mturk, or using opt-in mailing lists for "customer" fulfillment.

    If you were Amway giving away sample products, or Visalus giving away sample shakes, or a drink company giving away sample drinks – in none of these examples would the MLM company consider those receiving samples "customers" but instead "prospects". Isn't this customer claim inflated?

    Doesn't it make sense for Zeekler to verify an actual free customer (and affiliate) by email so yo know at least the email is live – regardless of whether the customer ever actually spends money or not, you can at least confirm that the user's intention was to actually receive the sample bids.

    Some ideas for further clarification:

    - Ask ZR what the ratio would be if you actually counted "customers who have logged in and placed a single bid in the penny auction at least one time?"

    - Ask ZR what the ratio would be if you actually counted "customers who have spent money buying retail bids and are not affiliates"?

    I think you will find the ratio of what most would agree as a proper definition of a "customer" to be MUCH lower than 25-to-1.

    JC

    • Troy Dooly

      JC,

      I always love reading your comments because they cause folks on both sides of the fence to really stop and think. Let me see if I can shed some light on a couple of items you bring up based on the article in the Network Marketing Business Journal.

      1. First let me clarify that when I talk about "customers" this is not specific to "Zeek Rewards" it is specific to Rex Venture group, which is the parent company. Zeek Rewards is the exclusive marketing arm for Zeekler and other shopping and auction platforms where "customers" are driven. The customer numbers are the accumulation of customers over a 15 year period and who (to my understanding) are currently still involved with Rex Venture in some capacity. The article does not dive into what an active customer is, only the fact they have over 3 million.

      2. As for the concept being the same. I do agree we can't compare a product company to a service company. However, we can look at service companies who do use a network marketing channel to distributor and market these services to compare. When we do this, we have several eCommerce companies to compare, some which are just as hot of lightning rods as Zeek. FHTM, DubLi Network, BidiFy, Co2 Rewards, Numis Network, Team National, MPBToday, MyShoppingGenie, Market America, and even to some degree some of the energy and communication companies can be used to compare what we see at Zeek in some form or another.

      All of the above companies, were on the cutting edge of their niche, and some even today are still questioned, based on current lawsuits and editorials in and around the network marketing community. And I have listed several as high-risk propositions warning folks to be careful. DubLi Network is one of the closest to what Zeek is doing, and they have just relaunched in the USA after growing to become the world's largest eCommerce company using the network marketing channel.

      3. Now when you talk about "incentivzed virtual customers" this in and of itself could cause some issues… maybe. Since to be a customer you must have purchased or maybe used the auction platform, it may not be a big deal in the eyes of some. However, from a regulatory aspect, I would say it could be a point of contention if it were proved Rex Venture group, was using these as part of the customer numbers. I will ask about this one…

      4. Now, staying on the same topic as #3, if a CPA network is being used for acquire "customers" and not "Affiliates" then we are talking about a common business practice used by even product companies. Many companies and top leaders use this method. But… If this method is being used to acquire "affiliates" then we could see an issue under the new FTC Business Opportunity Rule. Personally I doubt this is the case, based on the fact one of their attorneys Richard Waak, has just wrote a detailed opinion on this very issue, and have notified all their clients of the changes needed in this case. In either case it is a very valid point you raise.

      5. As for giving away samples from Amway or ViSalus, you are correct these are not customers. However, neither are the samples purchased classified an "investment" (outside of the common phrase "I am investing in my business by buying samples to give away."), they are seen as business expenses and listed under marketing and advertising. Which is one of the contentions I have with anyone who tries to make the "sample bids" out to be an investment.

      Just a few weeks ago, we were all blogging about the 1099s and how folks freaked when they saw how much they had earned. At the same time I was one of the few who made it clear after interviewing Dawn, that the bids are an expense!

      6. As for how Zeekler communicates, you have a point on that aspect. As a matter of fact, part of all the major search engines "best practices protocol" is to list in the T&Cs and Privacy statement how and when the company will be communicating, and if they will sell or cross-promote other products and services. Guess we can check on their websites. If they list how they communicate, then I would guess those they can't validate are not listed as customers. But I could be wrong.

      I will follow up with the questions… Thanks again!

    • gen3benz

      "The concept of a “customer” for Zeek Rewards is not the same as that of other product based MLM’s where there is a real transaction (and real revenue) between the MLM and the retail customer."

      JC, you are missing the point!

      Zeek doesn't need "real revenue" it creates money out of thin air from giving people free bids.

      Its magic like unicorns and the tooth fairy.

      I myself have signed up 3,422 "customers" one by one.

      They come back after I thump them on the head with my magic bid stick.

      Why in just 9 months I have generated 127,444 magical VIP points that are kinda like money and they jest keep growing.

      Stop being a poopie pants!

      • Troy Dooly

        Gen3benz,

        I know you are being a little flipped, but could you be a little clearer for those who may read this and not totally get it.

  • Anthony

    Hey Troy, Great Video. You remind me alot of Dave Ramsey.He's helps people to stay out of debt.

    Will you be video taping your meeting with Paul Burkes ?

    Thanks

    -Anthony

    • Troy Dooly

      Anthony,

      Thank you for the complements. Ramsey is a hero of mine also!

      My goal is to record the interview with Paul Burks. At the end of the day this is a call they get to make.

    • gen3benz

      Except the fact that Ramsey would tell you to "invest" in growth stock mutual funds……and never "invest" in an mlm that doesnt sell a "real" product or service.

      • Troy Dooly

        @Gen3benz… So true my friend!!!

  • Greg

    This is great stuff. But why don't the critics talk to some of us who have been doing this for the past 6-12 months and who have a daily history with the company? Where do you get the information that all Zeekler is doing is driving "fake customers", for example?

    I place ads every day, often in multiple places. I've done this for 7 months. My free ads have driven 90+ customers into my site, and I can see and prove it in my backoffice, 1 at a time. Additionally, I have used other marketing methods to attract another 100+ customers, 1 at a time. These are people that take my sample bids and go to the auction site and try them. A certain percentage of those people will stay and do more, that's the purpose of giving samples.

    I know this happens because a couple of my friends took free bids as samples from me. They used them all and enjoyed it, One bought bid packs, another guy won and purchased an auction bid pack, to continue in the auctions.

    I'm not a professional internet marketer, but I have "purchased" sample bids, a real product, then used various inexpensive marketing methods including word of mouth to disperse those bids to real people, not fake email accounts. The company has rewarded me by sharing their profits every single day, at a higher rate than I anticipated when I started last year.

    I now have thousands of points in my account and earn a substantial amount of money for continuing to bring real people into the program. I'm trying to understand where you're getting your "fake" customer info without talking to those of us who have driven in "real" customers consistently and seen the system work day after day?

    In fact, the system won't allow a whole bunch of accounts to sign up from the same IP address. So if you have the energy to go around and sign up accounts from various locations, I suppose that's one way of growing your business but not one I've seen used in our group.

    Furthermore, I have dozens of affiliates in my organization that have obtained customers exactly the same way. I know because I talk to them, and we've tried different marketing methods together at times and measured the most effective methods. It seems Zeekler has found a way to drive prospective customers to their site that is new, innovative, and stretches the paradigm of many. Risky? Yes, but so is owning US stocks. This is hands-down, the best opportunity I've ever done and if I had listened to the critics, I wouldn't be enjoying what I am today. So while some are criticizing the company and drawing inaccurate conclusions, some of us are in the trenches actually working it every single day and making more money than I would've ever expected.

    • Steve

      Greg

      I would like to know more of what your doing to market, if you would not mind sharing this with me.

  • http://www.DrB4u2.com Dr Boggess

    Great Report. Thanks for the confirmation.

  • John

    Greg, same as you! It doesn’t matter what you say some people will hang on to what they believe, whether it to be true or not. Like you I market daily, I have given away over 152,000 bids from the company pool to some 305 customers (in the past 8 months). Placing ads daily, I haven’t had a problem at all getting “REAL” people taking bids. Why would you when they get them for free and win “REAL” cash and prizes? These negative people keep saying there aren’t enough people to take bids, therefore, you need “fake” emails etc. This is total nonsense.

    Over 2 billion people access the internet daily (and growing). As long as you are putting some effort in, placing ads and testing marketing, like you have, then “REAL” people will take the bids without a problem. If I put an ad put “Get 500 Free Bids And Win $200 In Cash”. You telling me that out of 2 billion people that access the internet one or two are not going to take free bids with the chance of winning cash and prizes.!!!

    It doesn’t matter what we say or do “You can’t please everyone all of the time”. So we have to leave the negative people with their glasses half empty, instead half full lol. In the meantime, let’s have fun, give bids away and make money.

  • Greg

    John, you echo the experience of DOZENS of people in my organization, upline and downline. I'm looking at my organization and seeing regular folks, like myself, earn substantial income every single day. None of them are creating fake email accounts. While the critics don't like penny auctions, there are a lot of people that do. Ebay wasn't supposed to work either.

    I'm trying to understand why people can't grasp that this is the power of network marketing done well. Sample bids are a product and giving samples is a numbers game. A company can spend millions on regular internet marketing, or they can create a word-of-mouth model and have thousands of us give out bids all over the world, and it will result in a certain percentage of people becoming serious customers. And penny auctions with the volume Zeekler has can be extremely profitable, as we've witnessed. The convertible Mustang sold for over $4000, which is 400,000 bids! Furthermore, these were NOT free sample bids as it required purchased bids to be used. Do the math and you start to understand why they're so profitable and and how the traffic moving through their sites is very real.

    My conventional business does over a million/year in volume and is well run. However, I've learned a lot from Zeekler listening to the calls, watching the steps they're taking, and shifting my paradigm. It's a different world and opportunities may not always be where we expect them.

    All this talk about ROI and investments is laughable. I measure ROI on every expenditure I make in my regular business. If I'm spending capital, I want to know what it will return, whether it's in people skills or bottom-line profits. When I buy bids, I'm buying a business tool and I want to be aware of what the return will be on that expenditure. In business, nearly every expenditure is a type of investment and if you don't measure it you're not running your business properly. So bids are not an "investment" as some would define it, but it is an investment in my ZR business.

    BTW, enjoy your next check, and another day of profits well above expectations.

  • Chris

    This is just more MLM being MLM. There is no real business model here. None of you believe in the product, you only believe in the business.

    Selling "virtual bids" to unsuspecting customers is not a business model. Especially when the system they will use these bids in is set up to make the owners money.

    Penny Auction companies have been around and are on their way out. The FTC has already eyed many of these companies and taken down a few. Nothing new here, no new business model to speak of. Just penny auctions wrapped in MLM as a way to market.

    Penny Auctions = bad

    MLM = bad

    Penny Auctions + MLM = even worse

    @John- "If I put an ad put “Get 500 Free Bids And Win $200 In Cash”. You telling me that out of 2 billion people that access the internet one or two are not going to take free bids with the chance of winning cash and prizes.!!!"

    Advertise with that and get some REAL traffic and see how long it takes to be contacted by the FTC. You can't tell people they'll win $200 in cash just to get someone to click and signup. You better be ready to send that $200 to every one who clicks.

    Most of you have no business being in anything Internet related as you obviously do not understand how things really work. However, that does make most of you perfect candidates for MLM.

    • Troy Dooly

      Chris,

      thanks for stopping by and commenting. I do need to ask a few questions to get a little better understanding on a couple of statements.

      1. Your first comment "MLM being MLM' not sure I can agree. Sales in companies who use a network marketing sales force are up worldwide based on the current stats.

      2. What do you mean by "unsuspecting customers"? It is my understanding that the majority of the first bids are given free. After they are used by a customer, then the customer will buy additional bids. Is this a misunderstanding on my part?

      3. When you state "make money for the owners… isn't that why entrepreneurs start a business, so they can make money. If a business owner is not profit minded, then the business will not last. I might have missed your point, if so please forgive me ignorance.

      4. Penny Auctions have been around for a while, as have reverse auctions. Heck even Ebay has been around for a while. And yes the FTC has eyed many and taken down a few, just like all other industries and niches who use a network marketing sales channel. But, from what I have reviewed, Rex Venture Group is far more than just Zeekler penny auctions. And that revenues are flowing through all channels, and fueled by the Zeek Rewards sales affiliates.

    • John

      @Chris, I've been in business for over 27 years. I have been online, full-time for over 9 years. And basically heard it all before.

      As Troy mentioned "to unsuspecting customers". I just don't get your argument, because, there isn't one. We have to agree to disagree I afraid!

      1. MLM is great, brings a fantastic residual income.

      2. This is the first time MLM and Penny Auctions have been put together, and it works so well. Yes there will be teething problems, because it hasn't been done before.

      3. I run many many online businesses not just MLM. So again you are shooting from the hip without the facts.

      That's the problem. People comment on things that don't have the facts to (like you have just done). You pick up on different things when you can't win the argument.

      “Get 500 Free Bids And Win $200 In Cash”. This was an example Chris!!!!!!!!

    • http://networkmarketingunderground.com Adrian

      For those who have not been reading on the FTC warnings on penny auctions, here are a few links:

      FTC Cautions Consumers on the Pitfalls of Penny Auctions
      http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/08/pennyauctions.shtm

      Online Penny Auctions: Nothing for Something?
      http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/a…

      • Troy Dooly

        Adrian,

        I reported on the warning a few articles back.

  • Ricardo

    hi Troy,

    I'm a layman on the subject, but isn't traffic equals money as well? another income of somehow? please check this site: http://www.freewebsitereport.org/www.zeekrewards….

    i dont know about this site, but they show some interesting statistics:

    Ad Revenue: $9,940 Daily

    $298,193 Monthly

    Pageviews: 3.3 Million Daily View

    have a nice day!

    • Troy Dooly

      Richardo,

      I am not sure I fully understand your question. Traffic can equal revenue, if a company advertises on their website. With internet based companies this is standard as a way to cover the hosting costs.

  • Mike

    @Chris "what do you do for income then? You seem to have plenty of time to criticize this program which leads me to believe that your in a failing MLM and just can't stand the success Zeek is having!!! LOL

    • Ben

      Mike, Very well put. It's the same with Oz. If he spent 1/100th of the time he spends with stick poking "rants" slandering Zeek to no end, on the actual business itself …he wouldn't even need a blog to spew his pointless vomit.

      He would be too busy cashing CHECK AFTER CHECK AFTER CHECK like the rest of us.

      (oh and they do cash just fine) and while the penny auctions are are purported to be scams, customers are enjoying Nintendo Wii's at as little as 1.70, amongst god know what else for pennies on the dollar in some instances, although the while having some fun in this gloom and doom in this god for saken world of negativity.

      • gen3benz

        "Mike, Very well put. It’s the same with Oz. If he spent 1/100th of the time he spends with stick poking “rants” slandering Zeek to no end, on the actual business itself …he wouldn’t even need a blog to spew his pointless vomit."

        Pointless vomit, thats exactly what i was thinking.

        You act like your in some exclusive club, where your hard work is rewarded with endless money.

        When in reality ANYONE with $10 to $10,000 could make the same amount of "vip points" with zero work.

        Dont go patting yourself on the back acting as if you are a sales wizard.

        Bashing Behindmlm for pointing out many poor aspects of Zeekrewards and Zeekler is just what shills like yourself do all over the internet.

    • Chris

      Mike,

      I'm sure your mountains of gold that you are earning with "Zeek" (lol) and MLM would make my pesos pale in comparison.

      I so desire to join an MLM program to make money. If only there was an MLM that would accept me (That's sarcasm. I feel the need to point that out because most of you don't seem very bright. What makes it sarcasm, I also must point out, is that EVERY MLM in the world would LOVE to sign me up, because that's the only point, regardless of "product")

      Does anyone have a link or special program that I can join so that I, too, can join the hoards of riches on this blog?

      Yours Truly,

      Chris

      • Troy Dooly

        @Chris,

        I do understand your sarcasm :)

        I do need a little clarification. When you state "EVERY MLM is the world would LOVE to sign me up, because that's the point" are you referring as a customer or a distributor?

  • Mike Bertram

    Hi Troy !

    I love the way you don't pull punches . That's why You give us legitimacie .

    I tried reading the comments and couldn't read anymore after CJ . It just amazes me these people who are not in Zeek that they think they know what's going on . There is no where anyone saying anything about roll over , only re-purchase . You are buying more inventory .

    NOW ! A couple of my fake customers , who I've never met are going fishing . ROFL

  • Sam

    Troy,

    It was a nice video. Thanks you.

    I came across a story that ZeekRewards, JustBeenPaid and Loyalty7 are run by all same people.

    When you ping these sites, they all use same same DDOS protection company.

    I think it's not a good way to decide whether they are all same people by looking at their ping data.

    What do you think about this coincidence?

    • Troy Dooly

      Sam,

      Zeek isn't running the other two companies. However, Zeek as a leader has implemented some heavy duty security over the last few months due to the hiring of WhiteHat Solutions. Since WhiteHat is a very well respected company in the direct selling community, it would not surprise me if other startup companies follow the moves Zeek makes.

      Sadly, if these companies do not understand the other compliance components, they will have as many red flags as Zeek has faced.

    • John

      Sam, this is exactly what people do. You have had a quick look and 2 + 2 = 5.

      Instead of using a little commonsense you have linked Justbeenpaid and Loyality7 with Zeek.

      "When you ping these sites, they all use same same DDOS protection company".

      They have nothing to do with Zeek. But people write allsorts of dross online without going through everything carefully.

      • Ben

        @John. Amen. And as the great Albert Einstein says…

        "Condemnation without investigation is the

        height of all ignorance" — Albert Einstein

  • Sam

    Troy,

    Thank you for your response.

    I did look into Zeek deeper and was able to find out Rex Venture Group LLC registration application which can be downloaded directly from NC state website.

    On zeekreward site, it states that this company has formed in 1997 and it's 15 years running now.. but based on the business certificate at NC state website, it says they formed in Jan 14 2003.

    Do you know what happened between 1997 and 2003?

    • Troy Dooly

      Sam, the parent company is based out of Nevada, I believe the NC filing has to do with a foreign corpora,Tim doing business in the state. There are times when a business which runs strictly on the Internet may not have to file some paperwork if they do not have an office or collect money in they state.

      I believe it was around 2003 when Rex Venture Group launched the shopping stores and were stocking land shipping from NC. I will verify my dates to make sure.

  • Ray

    Troy may i know when will you be visiting the ZR corporate and set up an interview with the leaders? When can we expect to see the video? Thank you !

    • Troy Dooly

      Ray, I am here at the HQ now. I have shot videos, met with the legal and compliance team, and will be meeting with several other execs today.

      • Ray

        That is great. Looking forward to your video ! Keep up the good work Troy !

      • Sam

        Troy,

        I'm looking forward to hearing back

        from you regarding my previous question

        (you said you would look into it… )

        and also eager to watch some of your video clips

        at red carpet event.

        Thank you.

  • http://www.deanethridge.com Dean Ethridge

    Troy,

    Thanks so much for putting this out there and giving Zeek Rewards some added credibility from the naysayers like Oz. Can it be any more clear from the overwhelming numbers of affiliates that Zeek Rewards is legitimate? Are Penny Auctions profitable? Is a 350 Alexa Rating any good? Zero debt, 3 Million Customers, and obvious profits are the most basic fundamentals of any good business!

    I just don't understand why people have to poo-poo someone else's deal when they have no clue what's going on within the company. My guy is the like controversy! :) How did it go in Lexington? I wasn't able to make it, but I appreciate your viewpoints on Zeek Rewards. Have a great one Troy!

  • John

    sooooo it makes no sense that a non ranked person in any mlm can make 319,000 dollars per year and a senior exec average is 5K with a high end of 703,000 dollars per year when there are only 800 of them in the company. All sorts of great words but the devil seems in the details. The logic doesn't seem to hold true as the rank and hours per week increase. And does annual income include the return of the 10K invested at that point? None of the average incomes seem to even meet the 10K investment. with an average effort of 24 hours per week at the senior exec level my shaklee business multiplies this return far beyond what this get rich quick scheme shows. ALl words aside its numbers that matter and 10K investment with 24 hours per week average output to return a 5K average per year just isn't sensible. Placing 1 ad per day… how does 24 hours per week average even happen?

    • Troy Dooly

      @John,

      I want to make sure I fully understand your comment. Are you saying that a person's income should be based on "rank" and not on their own efforts?

      Now, let's look closer at what you wrote. :)

      1. the IDS is from 2011, the numbers I have seen for 2012 are higher.

      2. The IDS breaks out "active" from "non-active"

      3. There is NO return on any 10K. This is not an investment, and no money is invested into zeek. Now with that said, depending on how you or any Zeek Affiliate based in the USA files their taxes, you may be asked on a Schedule C, is your "investment passive" But that questions is about your personal independent business, not your affiliations with Zeek Rewards. The Zeek Business will be one or more income producing network marketing opportunities used to generate a profit in your personal "john doe" business. The money used to purchase bids, is a business expense (probably listed as startup costs or advertising) feel free to go to TroysTaxTips.com for more info. with no guarantee, the business will succeed. Zeek through the IDS prepared by their outside legal team, shows the averages of 2011.

      4. From your comment it is easy to see you have not been on the leadership calls or reading Zeek News to fully understand the business.

      There is NO 10K investment requirement period to join and participate in Zeek Rewards. As a matter of fact there is NO investment required period. Since we do not know each other I am not sure of your understanding of how network marketing works. For a deeper understanding, I would suggest visiting a few great resources.

      First if the Law Library of Grimes & Reese.
      Second is the article base at Grimes & Reese.
      Third is the article base at Nerha & Waak

      These resources may help you and others better understand how network marketing works and how Zeek is well within legal compliance.

      I would also suggest becoming a member of the Association of Network Marketing Professionals.

      5. Can you clarify your definition of a "Get Rich Scheme"? With tens of thousands in Zeek Rewards, it is clear to see that the majority of folks are NOT Getting Rich Quick! Now Shaklee is a fantastic legacy company, which has been the pioneer to Green and Organic Living. However, the business models of these two companies are completely different. Their comp plans are different. One is a product based company in health and nutrition, where the other is a service based technology and eCommerce company.

      The goal of this community and the whole network marketing community is to collaborate and raise the standards of excellence from the top to the bottom, and the bottom to the top. To use a public forum to ask valid questions is excellent. To try and promote your business as an example, could be questionable. But to state negative statements against a company without full understanding could bring potential harm to other community members just like you who are all working towards the same end game of changing their families lives.

      Since you may not be a Zeek Affiliate, I would suggest if you are going to participate in the conversation, you use the public info on their site, calls, and disclosures to better understand.

      Again, I truly thank you for adding some solid value to the community. I believe you are wanting to use solid critical thinking to better understand and educate the community, and we can use your input.

      Living An Epic Adventure,
      Troy

      • gen3benz

        "There is NO return on any 10K. This is not an investment, and no money is invested into zeek."

        Which is exactly what you Troy will be paid to "train" zeek affiliates to say.

        Im not saying thats a bad thing, but it certainly will affect your blogposts on Zeek.

        • Troy Dooly

          @Gen3Benz,

          You are 100% correct on training affiliates to fully understand the compliance so they are not terminated. But it is Kevin Grimes and not me which is paid (far more) than $10K for the compliance platform. And if you do a little due diligence you will see I set on the Board at the Association Of Network Marketing Professionals, where I also train companies and distributors on compliance issues.

          • gen3benz

            I was quoting you above about the 10k investment reply above not how much anyone was paid. I'll leave my full reply in the other blog.

  • dan

    Hi Troy.. thank you for this. Have you investigated whether Zeekler – the actual penny auction site is legit. If i am going to be placing ads, i want to prmote a legit opportunity. I emailed Darryle Douglas and havent heard back on this.

    This is what I'd like to know:

    1) what is Zeekler's rating with the BBB?

    2) Does Zeekler penny auction jack up bids with automated bots to drive up prices?

    3) Do they have cheat human bidders?

    4) Do they falsely increase auction times?

    5) Has the company ever withheld merchandise from the winner?

    6) How do we know the don't do any of these things? Where is the proof?

    7) What happens to my initial cash outlay/bid money in Zeek Rewards if Zeekler gets closed down for any reason?

    Last one for good measure.

    8) what is the purpose of the annoying beeping on the calls? – no other company that records calls has that beep.

    Thank you.. Dan

    • Troy Dooly

      @Dan,

      Fantastic questions! Let me see if I can answer some of them. When you use the word legit, I will assume you mean based on some regulation at a state or federal level. At this time, there are not specific laws governing penny auctions, or any online auctions to my knowledge. With that said, the legal team has watched every move the FTC has made, and made changes based on the issues raised by the FTC early on.

      NLately what has faced Zeekler has been the international fraud, they have been hit with. When I researched this issue, I found most of the penny auctions have been hit with the same issues. Which is why the new fraud firewalls have been put in and the changes that have and are taking place in the auctions. Soon, I would expect that the only way to bid in the auctions will be from debit cards issues by Zeek or a specific 3rd party to cut the fraud even further. Specific countries have been banned by the merchant service partner for Zeek.

      1. If I were to take a guess, I would say that Zeekler's rating will be C or below based on the fact they are NOT a member. You might want to learn a little about the BBB by watching this 20/20 Investigation.

      2. Zeekler doesn't use bots. You might want to read my report on this issue. However, Zeekler members can use their personal auto-bidding tool on any auction they are serious about being the top bidder.

      3. Zeekler doesn't have cheat human bidders, known as bidding shills.

      4. No falsely increased auction times. But that has happened in some actions houses that the FTC have shut down. And is caused by question 2 & 3 when companies are not looking at building on a 15 year history and wanting it to last for their grand children.

      5. I know the due to the fraud they uncovered, they have held back merchandise which was earned illegally. And they will hold any merchandise if the fraud software detects any issues, until a human can check out the results of the fraud detection.

      6. Do you feel that the consultants and attorneys who have put their reputations on the line would do business with a company operating illegally? Take Whitehat Solutions as an example. Greg Caldwell is the best in the business, and goes around the country catching bad guys for a living. If you think he would not have already uncovered this type of action and resigned after notifying his friends in the Justice Department, then you have not yet realized the power of the fraud team.

      Plus, do you think after all the growth and auctions that have taken place worldwide, if this was taking place someone would not have reported it in a massive way?

      Lastly, Zeekler is the largest of the penny auctions, and have been under the watch of the regulators for months. Many have been on our site reviewing all that has been written to and following the Zeek story. If you think these regulators are not already members of both Zeek Rewards and Zeekler to see how things are working on the inside, then you might not understand how fraud investigations works.

      7. The same thing that would happen in any company. When you buy a gift card from a restaurant and that restaurant shuts down, you are out of luck. If you buy a product, and it comes with a warranty and the company shuts down, if they hold the warranty then you can't get help. And if you buy bids to use in the auctions, and you decide not to use them right now, or you hold on to some of them until you find an auction you like, and for whatever reason this 15 year old company is shut down, then you will have bids you can't use.

      The good news is, some of those bids, if you are a Zeek Reward Affiliate and not just a Zeekler Member can be written off as a business expense. You can learn more about that at Troys Tax Tips.

      The beeps are folks calling into the call, and it is a normal event if folks do not turn off the beeps :)

  • http://faithsloan.com Faith Sloan

    Troy, you wrote:

    "6. Do you feel that the consultants and attorneys who have put their reputations on the line would do business with a company operating illegally? "

    Well, I don't know about all of that but what I do know is that their customer service is an abomination.

    I am a Diamond … well let me rephrase that.

    I WAS a Diamond Affiliate.

    On the 14th/15th of every month, Zeek automatically receive $99 from my SolidTrustpay account since I have a subscription set up.

    Transaction id =270474401

    Fees (Charged to Recipient) = 2.78

    Net Amount = 96.22

    Comments = Subscription Pay for Diamond Subscription

    Date and Time = 14 Apr 2012 @04:24 AM

    On 23April, I noticed that I received ZERO points. hmmm…

    I then went to my affiliate link and noticed that no longer was I designated as a Diamond affiliate. hmmm..

    I went back to my backoffice and noticed that I had no access to paid affiliate areas/links. hmmm…

    Sent a support ticket.

    Still waiting for someone to talk to me, acknowledge me. Phoned them but had better things to do with my life than to have a phone stuck to my ear for 3 hours while on hold. Email inboxes from key principals of the company either goes unanswered or bounces back.

    JOY! oh JOY!

    No I am not a 5-6 figure affiliate since Zeek is far from being my primary deal online.

    I do one thing though. In the past 5 days I continue meeting my obligations by posting my classified ads every single day even though I am getting nothing in return.

    So is there any other recourse with these guys. Mr. Grimes is probably not happy with me because I took the liberty to send him an email message too. LOL!

    So what is a gal to do in this situation? She wants to be paid retroactively at the same rate as the rest of the Diamonds. That is all she asks.

    Tootaloo and Life is Truly Grand!

    Faith

    • Troy Dooly

      @Faith,

      I can covered the customer service issue in a comment or post. They have hired a full blown customer service staff in Atlanta to handle the calls. However, with the growth the affiliates have brought to the company, it has caused them to be behind the curve ball. I know that this week, several top level Zeek Staff and training consultants will be in Atlanta to train this team specifically on Zeek Culture.

      I will learn more on how things are going on the 23rd when I go back to Zeek HQ.

      Now as for your specific situation, I will gladly send this comment to someone to review and see if I can help.

      Living An Epic Adventure,
      Troy

      • http://dailyincomedeposits.com Kerry George

        Hi troy thanks for all you do. And as for Faith issue no company or system is run 100% perfect all the time. I had a issue with a credit not posting and sent a ticket in and waited and this weekend it was answered. I'm not going to lie it took a little over a week and two calls. But I know they have alot going on and this train is moving faster then anyone would have thought.

        If we all jump ship the second a issue happens in a start up no company would ever make it. From your pictures of the Red Carpet event looks like people are really serious about Zeek and where it can go.

        Like you say "live life like a epic adventure" No one is promised tomorrow!

        Semper Fi

        Kerry

        • http://faithsloan.com Faith Sloan

          Dear, Kerry sweetie.

          When you are losing money every day because you can't get a response via email, via support help desk, via the phone, then you can start making ridiculous comments to me on par with 'Don't worry … Be happy'.

          I am fully aware that life isn't perfect. I know that hiccups exists.

          Again, it has been over a week and zero response from Zeek. Thus I receive ZERO earnings from Zeek. Are you losing money in Zeek due to poor absymal customer support?

          Did you pay $99 every month, and wake up one morning to see that your $99 monthly fee is NOT recorded?

          Did you wake up one morning to see that you went from Diamond to FREE in a hot second?

          So please! Mind your own business and I will mind mine. I am not upset nor teed off. I said nothing about jumping ship.

          …And your issue with a credit not being posted is not even remotely similar to my issue, dear.

          Yes, live life like it is an epic adventure, Kerry. Meanwhile, I will continue living mine because I believe Life is GRAND!

          p.s. I still wait. As a matter of fact, I went on and spent $19.99 to upgrade from FREE to SILVER so I can make something that resembles money in Zeek. So that means I spent almost $120 this month upgrading in Zeek to become a Silver. How about you, Kerry?

          Faith

      • gen3benz

        Zeek 2011 income disclosure

        Dist 399 avg $1,072.41 – $427,891.59

        Man 288 avg $2,774.55 – $799,070.40

        Exec 3090 avg $10,310.81 – $31,860,402.90

        Sr Exec 819 avg 5,594.01 – $4,581,494.19

        Non ranked 10722 avg $1,949.91 – $20,906,935.02

        Total affiliates 15318

        Total paid out $58,575,794.10

        If they paid out $58.5 million and that is half the profit……then they should have at least that much to invest in better IT, better server, better call center, better fraud detection.

        You would think they could at least moderate the comments at the zeekrewardshelp site….

        • gen3benz

          Im assuming this is the total of the checks they wrote to affiliates by them using a $ in front of the number.

          So if thats what they paid out and all the affiliates didnt cash out 100%, didnt zeek profit quite a bit more that $58.5 million?

          Also, is this the income for just the US affiliates or worldwide?

          • Troy Dooly

            Gen3Benz,

            Seems like a good assumption to make since a $ sign is used.

            Not sure what you are trying to get at with your first question. If a person has earned a specific amount of income, those funds are normally held in a commission acount and are not part of the general account used by the company. Commission accounts are commonly seen as escrow accounts, and are placed in interest baring financial instruments, such as money markets, or CDs. But, in today's financial downturn that would not be much money aka profits to the company.

            I would hope the company would make far more than they are paying out, so they can continue to grow financially.

            The Income Disclosure Statement is to fulfill U.S. laws, but I am not sure if it includes international figures. Most companies provide an IDS for each country as needed. In most cases it is only U.S. reps who brag about their incomes. International distributors still have manners and do not promote incomes as a norm.

        • Troy Dooly

          Gen3Benz,

          You, like so many seem to not fully understand the wording at Zeek. Nowhere do they say 50%. They do however say "up to 50%"

          Now as to your implications, when a affiliate base is growing the company as fast as the Zeek Affiliates are growing, then the company will be behind the bell curve. If you have read anything Zeek has published or what I have covered, then you are aware of the fact their hosting company is continually upgrading the servers, and bandwidth. That the compliance team has put into place several new layers of internet and fraud detection software, and the new call center in Atlanta is online and new operators are being trained daily. These are the kind of issues companies love to have because it does mean they are growing.

          What site are you talking about specifically?

          • gen3benz

            Oops, meant to type zeekrewardsnews, which is the official zeek news website.

            Every article they post has an amount of comments and when you look there is little to no comments showing up.

            If you leave a comment it makes the number go up while it waits for moderation.

            http://zeekrewardsnews.com/2012/04/deadline-for-p…

            Here is the newest article bringing up the 2 PRC qualifier, which is what I asked you about in an earlier post. 89 comments with 5 showing, which is surprising to see any comments at all. First reply is bringing up the fact that zeek hasnt published any info on their website about the PRC qualifier. Not to mention that he writes about buying customers from a third party source.

            Im sure zeek has traced his account and suspended it for even mentioning this………im guessing not.

            "Sevren Daniel says: April 30, 2012 at 12:56 am

            I have reviewed the replicated and quest zeekrewards site and there is nothing in there that talks about a PRC qualifier.

            We must give away or sell bids. There are plenty of 3rd parties that will sell us people who want free bids for the auction.

            http://www.bidcustomers.com/ claims that they are the same company that did the 5CC for Zeek before the the Nanny State changed the law.

            Our responsibility is to provide customers, free or retail, to give customers to. What are you talking about when you talk about PRC qualifiers? Qualifly for what?

            It’s not on the web site.

            Sevren Daniel"

            Then other replies confirm they cant find it on the website either. Another says to just post ads and buy customers and everything will be fine…

            "Peter says: April 30, 2012 at 8:38 pm

            Just post ur ads and buy customers. It’s as simple as that."

      • David

        I know this may be off topic a little of some of you topics but i have a question that i just do not understand. I put 10,000 in 3 months ago and i just hit my 90 day period leaving me with 28,500 after the 10,000 got retired. Can you please explain to if i get taxed for this and if i do how much. Really dumb it down for me please. No cutting corners just straight up the truth.

        Thank you

        • Troy Dooly

          @David,

          I can't answer your question on the taxes specifically, but I can give a general answer. If you are in the USA, then most income earned is taxable. If it is Zeek commissions, then it is income earned and would be taxable. If you are a US citizen and are living overseas then it is taxable. It you are a foreign individual or entity, then your income could also be taxed.

    • Albert

      Faith, I believe your problem could be solved very simply. You posted that what you paid to ZeekRewards for your subscription was $96.22 with fees of 2.78 that do not go to ZeekRewards. That is the fee that SolidTrustPay deducts for using the service. The amount for Diamond Renewal is $99 dollars. Thus you are $2.78 cents short. It looks to be a user error and not a ZeekRewards error. Now, on the aspect of customer service not being up to par, I would agree with you. We just have to give them time and they will fix that issue I'm sure. Well, I'm sorry that you gave up so quickly. I hope you will continue at some time again. Good luck to you.

      • http://faithsloan.com Faith Sloan

        Another person with an incorrect reply.

        NO, dear sweetie.

        I have been a Diamond for some time. My subscription is for $99. EVERY diamond's subscription is for $99. Zeek foots the fees dear Albert.

        So you do NOT know the answer and thus are not qualified to assist me. It is okay. It is not essential for everyone to try to help. Only those who are in the know can clue me in.

        Thank you.

        And my gosh! Where did you read that I gave up? My GOSH! I write a legitimate, non-intimidating, request for assistance or knowledge and folks come out with all kinds of assumptions of which I wrote nothing of.

        I have been making enough money in Zeek. And since their support SUCK (LOL!), after 8 days of making $0 because of their STP issues, I chose to upgrade as a silver for $19.99.

        Guess what? I am making daily income which probably surpass your income. (sticking my tongue out like a child)

        So dear sweetie, let me edu-ma-cate you.

        1. All SILVER members pay $19.99 on a subscription basis. And whatever Zeek ends up with less the fees is how Zeek Rewards works. It is all good.

        2. ALL DIAMOND members pay $99.99 on a subscription basis. And that $2.78 fee you referred to is what Zeek has agreed to pay.

        Finally, my life and endeavours are NOT based upon luck. But best of luck to you and I sincerely hope that critical thinking, reading and comprehension along with a dash of conceding that you don't know all answers will make you a BETTER man. (I am smiling and laughing right now just as I was when I wrote my first post)

        Tootaloo

  • Kirt

    @Faith, I would really like to know the outcome of your situation. Please post it here if you would.

    Kirt

    • http://faithsloan.com Faith Sloan

      Kirt, I found out this by combing Google and checking out money making forums.

      1. Zeek is having problems with subscriptions and this started around mid-April. 14April was when my SolidTrustPay subscription payment come out of my account. So this gave me FACTUAL UNDERSTANDING

      2. Since I know their Support is sub-par, rather than whine, complain, and throw a tantrum, I chose to spend a measly $19.99 to avoid losing any additional cash. Thus all is well. I am making casheroos again

      3. Since I am not promoting Zeek because I am much too busy, I discovered that I should NOT have been a Diamond since I have a small downline. So this 'problem' was a blessing in disguise. It 'TAUGHT' me a tad more about what I didn't know about Zeek. Thus I cancelled my $99 Diamond subscription and will remain a $19.99 Silver Affiliate.

      4. I don't mind waiting til all infinity for Zeek to pay me for the 8 days where I earned zero and for the $99 they received from my Solidtrustpay (STP) account. It is alll good.

      There you are!

      p.s. Now I have to make sure I write this on the other TWO places I post an inquiry re: my situation.

      p.p.s. 10 days later and 5-6 responses to one ticket, still no response from Customer Support.

      Oh well…

      What have I learned… I learned about their customer support and now I know what to do in the future about things under my control. LOL!

      Faith

      • Queen

        Faith the Silver Subscription is only 10.00 per month!!!

  • Julie Hunter

    Hi,

    I have a question of you:

    I want to purchase 1000 vip bid, how much can I get on my daily profit?

    I have purchased 250 vip before, but there is no change in my daily profit, I think something is wrong with my zeek system!

    Thanks,

    Julie Hunter

  • http://lucy3mlm.xanga.com/profile/chatboard/ Selecting No-Fuss Me

    Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I've truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I'll be subscribing on your rss feed and I hope you write once more very soon!

  • Saeed

    Hi,

    I am from Uzbekistan and I have some doubts about this company.

    I wonder is it real to earn money from this stuff. I guess it'll sound kinda goofy for you all but network business is not developed in my country yet.

    Please give some advices whether I should begin this business or not.

    Thanks for advance

    Saeed.

    • Troy Dooly

      SAeed,

      No one can give you advice on if you should join or not. What I would suggest is that you read everything here in this community and everything you can find in other communities like BehindMLM or PatrickPretty then make up your own mind on if the unique bid auction niche is the right business model for you.

      • Saeed

        Troy Dooly,

        I understand there is nothing hard in this business. I mean it is not usual in my country. I just had a looot of swindlers in my country with this kind of suggestions (earn money from internet and etc.) I just don't know is it real business or not?

        • Troy Dooly

          @Saeed,

          I am not sure why you feel there is nothing hard about business, Zeek's or otherwise, but from talking to some of the Zeek affiliates, this business might be the hardest they have ever built.

          • Saeed

            @Troy Dooly,

            I mean what is hard copying and pasting an ad which takes me 3 minutes or less in one day, then got my % affiliates from my vip bids, it's kinda simple, but I'm not sure wheather it is real thing or not.

    • Darryl

      Saeed,

      Based on the Alexa.com rankings Zeekler penny auction is very popular in your company of Uzbekistan. The Red Carpet Event in Clemmons, NC that Troy speaks of is a one day, once a month Zeek conference that focuses mainly on compliance for the company and it's affiliates. I have seen Troy there for each of the past 3 events and he is there as an advocate for us, the affiliates. He is watching after OUR best interests in our businesses. I live just 20 minutes from the home office in Lexington, NC. My Zeekrewards business has performed really well. If you should decide that this is the opportunity for you, I would be glad to help!

      • Saeed

        Thanks for your attention, I really appriciate that:) if I'll begin this business, definetily ask you for advices!

  • Sui Generis

    A good read for the most part, thank you. I'm unable to express myself so well in words but I do think clearly in numbers and the Zeek opportunity makes perfect sense. Nice to see a strong legal team behind the company.

  • Wayne

    Troy, As a former Stock broker with a large and reputable player in the industry, I should have listened to that inner voice inside my head. I told several folks who were prospecting me that Zeeks business model couldn’t hold up. How could they payout a flat % and compound those returns daily. Wouldn’t somedays be higher and some lower and therefore the % vary? As I did my amortization schedule, my acct would have grown to over 26 million in less than 2 yrs. That’s starting with only $750. Does this seem credible or feasible? Not to me but I did it anyway due to friends and acquaintances urging me on as YOU did too with your video posts. I’m not blaming anyone BUT if I were you, I would be very concerned about your liability. You continued backing Zeek even up to the day they were shut down with your many comments on the internet. All this continued to do was to reassure affiliates and helped fuel the fire by enticing many people into Zeek. The CID was common practice when complaints are filed but you totally misrepresented how many complaints there actually was. It was more than just a few, but rather hundreds. In retrospect, tte positive spin you put on Zeek makes me think that your ties with them were closer than anyone really knew. If my suspicion is correct and you did have a business relationship with the company, then you will surely be investigated. by the SEC, and local state authorities. You might even be facing a fine, civil or criminal charges for your involvement.

    • Troy Dooly

      Wayne,

      Thank you for weighing in on the conversation.

      If you have followed me any length of time then you should know a lot about my background. I always take full responsibility for my actions and everything I say. I also have a great accountability team who holds me about as accountable as you van get.

      Based on all the info at hand, I have not problem facing any regulatory inquiries. Of course, you are assuming that I have not been talking with regulators for many months :)

      Now let’s look at some of your statements…

      1. Misrepresented the amount of complaints? Respectfully, I think you should read and listen to more of what I have said over the last few months, and especially the last few weeks. Based on all the facts from the AG it was 8 with 28 or 29 inquiries and hundreds if not thousands of phone calls. And we also talked about the complaints sent early on from the SEC to the DOJ in NC. And we also covered the BBB complaints, although I do not focus as much on thoses.

      And, if you read the post, you see I referenced the exact words from the AG not something I made up… Not misrepresentation! Unless you are implying the AG misrepresented the facts, and on that issue I would not know.

      2. As for enticing folks to join again, you should read and listen to all that I have written and talked about here and across the net. Support the affiliates and provide solid commentary on everything surrounding the issues you bet. And if you read the comment treads where I engaged in deeper details, you will also see where I raised or agreed with the concerns all folks had.

      3. You and others can assume all you like. I am very clear on my personal ethics and where I stand on issues. And our full disclosures are also public record. So, feel free to assume all you want, it is not the first time. But what you might want to do is go through each video and editorial from day one and see exactly what I got wrong based on the facts at the time.

      4. You mentions investigations… I think you might want to take some time to read through everything already done. It seems the deals were cut prior to any information was made public. Now that is something we all should be curious about. This situation turned in a completely different direction almost overnight once the information leaked that the NC AG was investigating. Funny thing, that happened in July, yet was not leaked until Aug.

      I welcome any investigation, but it seems the focus and investigation is done, deal cut, and the company is getting liquidated. And based on information I do have, there is plenty of funds left to issue the refunds to the folks who have not received all their original money from their bid purchases.

      But great thoughts and only time will tell what happens…

      Living An Epic Adventure,
      Troy

  • Chris

    LOL!

    I’m back and just checking in to see how everyone did with Zeek?

    I can’t believe I was right and Zeek was a scam, it was very hard to see that coming.

    Does anyone have new MLM programs that I can join? I’m ready to invest!!

    -Chris

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