One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from two of my favorite people I truly admire and respect. One is Neal Boortz and the other is Harv Ecker. Both men are incredibly intelligent and extremely successful. The quote I’m talking about, you’ve read here before.

“Don’t believe a word I say – unless you can verify it on your own to be true.”

That lesson is one that has proven to help me uncover the pure crap I see and read on the internet. Admittedly, I’ve had great fun over the years with screen names over on scam.com and anti-mlm zealots like John Frenaye as I’ve exposed their bizarre behavior, twisted perceptions, and limiting beliefs. Because I’m successful in doing so, I get to live “rent free” inside their heads day after day as they attempt to poke and pry at me in frustration.

Admittedly, I still enjoy it when something they’ve said or done comes my way – and is just too good to pass up. It just sits there on a silver platter waiting for me expose just how desperate, sloppy, and dysfunctional their brainwashed minds really are.

Case in point: John asked one of the commenters to contact me the day before yesterday – and someone actually did.

John – bless his heart – attempted to warn everyone that they can get a better “cash back” deal from Bing.com over ZamZuu. This stems from years of ranting and illusions that YTB Travel is more expensive for consumers than any other Travel Agency. Yet, I routinely beat out all of my competitors with our group cruise bookings time and time again.

Sorry…I’ve got ample bookings with several groups that prove this to be true, and they can blather till the cows come home – it’s not going to change my superior pricing.

Now John’s banking on perceptions about Bing.com and the power that name appears to wield. Their cash back program would sound like a formidable foe for anyone who doesn’t know how these types of programs actually work – nor takes the time to verify pricing for themselves. While John actually talks a good game about “savvy shoppers” he’s banking on “low life’s” that read his dribble in an attempt to change their perceptions. For example, while the comments section went on and on about Wal-Mart and Best Buy – none of them actually took the time – or even considered that neither Wal-Mart or Best Buy were even offered as a “cash back” store through Bing.com.

Yet both are offered through ZamZuu for cash back. Why?

Wal-Mart has a contract with a company called LinkShare and Best Buy has a contract with another affiliate company called Commission Junction. As big and bad as Bing is (say THAT ten times fast -”Big Bad Bing”) they can’t rip that contract out of the hands of either network because each “network” is both bigger and better than Bing could ever hope to be. To show you the power of these affiliate networks I found a couple stores that are offered on both ZamZuu and Bing.com.

Old Navy for example offers 7.5% cash back with ZamZuu – but only 4% through Bing.com. Banana Republic is exactly the same with 7.5% through ZamZuu and only 4% from Bing.com.

Then there’s Ghiada. John, once again clueless – proclaims the customer earns nothing back, but the percentage to share with the pyramid is greater through ZamZuu. That’s the lie that’s been embedded into his brain – reading crap from others who make this kind of stuff up to cover their own failures and insecurities about MLM. We’re greedy “middlemen” who are out to pick his pocket.

The goof never even took the time to check – did he?

Because of John’s fascination with girdles, he must be in dire need of one of those Slimvest’s for guys to turn that beached whale look into something more slimming. I did a price comparison for him on the Slimvest and look what he would have found if he stop “talking” and started actually “doing” for a change. He could buy it direct through Ghiada.com for $89.95 – or – he could save himself $20 instantly with ZamZuu with the “pyramid” price of $69.95.

Those greedy pyramids! What a rip! Instead of getting “cash back” in the form of a check – he gets an instant 23% savings with ZamZuu. The HORROR!

And because he’s too brainwashed and stupid to even check – he doesn’t have enough cash on hand to buy a company like Jerome Hughes did with Ghiada – which in turn makes him even more angry and bitter. Furthermore, who would you use for his spokes model? Ainsworth?!

To be fair, and all poking at John’s expense aside – ZamZuu isn’t the be all and end all for everything “cash back”. Bing.com and others will beat out ZamZuu on several stores, just as ZamZuu does with Bing.com. Neither company can be the best for everyone on everything. (So you can save your next blathering rant on your blog with a list of stores Bing.com beats out ZamZuu there Johnny.)

How did I spot John’s obvious mistep so easily? A large portion of the ads on this blog are offered through Commission Junction. Each time someone clicks one of those ads and purchases one of the 30 or so banners that rotate here, I get paid. I also have accounts with LinkShare, ShareaSale, and Google Affiliate Network. I’ve tapped into a very successful affiliate network over the years, and have been a student of this type of marketing for years. John? Not so much. It’s obvious that once again he’s playing the part of “expert” on yet another subject that he knows nothing about.

I understand the power and leverage “networks” like these bring to the table. Most people do and the flock to them trying to get in front of the money shift that’s going on here on the Internet. But for some bizarre reason when you add “marketing” and it becomes “network marketing” – all of the sudden it turns into a scam. For people like John, it suddenly becomes dirty and sleazy. So much so, that John would rather pay full price at Wal-Mart rather than get a couple of bucks back through a free program like ZamZuu at Wal-Mart because he’s angry, bitter, and frustrated over what he thinks MLM has done to HIS industry.

Truth be told – he can’t get past the few pennies that will trickle up to Coach. Instead, he’ll give it to a guy like Bill Gates because Bill’s company isn’t tied to MLM – even if it costs him more money to do so. That’s the real issue here folks. In John’s little world MLM is dirty – it’s cheap – and it’s sleazy. There’s no reasoning, there’s no middle ground, there’s nothing but bitterness, anger, and resentment over a company and model he can’t control or eradicate.

Oh he’ll give you plenty of lip service to the contrary. All you’ll get is more deflecting in an attempt to cover up his obvious lack of understanding and sloppy articles riddled with holes.

And to think I once considered this guy intelligent. It’s the only reason I picked him out of a crowd of no name cowards to debate. How sad to see “debate” turn to “desperation” by misleading people with lies and bizarre reasoning in an lame attempt to cast a shadow of doubt and fear in others. Relegated to blogging about a company and a model he knows nothing about even after the intense obsession the last three years.

He never considered it would last this long. YTB should have been long gone based on the limiting beliefs that crowd and block logical – rational thinking. The longer YTB lasts – the deeper the frustration and feelings of being a victim penetrate.

YTB and ZamZuu just keeps going. That my friend is the best revenge and the best way to make guys like John look like the goof he really is. The louder the mouth, the easier it is to do.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?

I don’t know if you saw one of the headlines on the front cover of Travel Weekly’s Power List issue on Monday or not. If you didn’t because you were too caught up in the Power List rankings, I certainly can’t blame you. Regardless of whether you saw the headline or took the time to read the story, it’s another example of why we need to conduct our own due diligence when making any decision.

I’ve told people for years “don’t believe a word I say, unless you can verify it on your own to be true”. I wish I could take credit for such an insightful quote, but I have to give credit where credit is due from individuals who are far more successful than I. I first read this quote at the beginning of “Secret’s of The Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Ecker, and while I have not listened to Neal Boortz and his syndicated radio show in quite a while, he also quotes this same phrase continually.

With the advent of internet information and the ability to find reviews and opinions on just about any subject you can imagine, it’s not all that difficult finding something you can trust as truth these days. Long before I got involved in YTB I would frequent and post on Cruise Critic. I found it a great resource to ask questions and obtain information about a particular ship, a port of call, or things to do and see while enjoying my favorite form of vacation. Back in March, Cruise Critic and Royal Caribbean came under fire for what Tripso called “paid cheerleaders” who manipulated the board for personal and financial gain. The entire ordeal caused such an uproar that one blogger went as far as calling the Royal Champions “shills” and Royal Caribbean “puppet masters” in his blog.

Now TripAdvisor is facing some of the same issues about the integrity of some of its consumer hotel reviews. It may or may not be of interest that Cruise Critic is a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, but to find this type of manipulation out in the open once again should be noted. News broke about TripAdvisor in early June when another blogger found the following notices, posted in red type above the flagged property’s TripAdvisor rating.

“Message from TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor has reasonable cause to believe that either this property or individuals associated with the property may have attempted to manipulate our popularity index by interfering with the unbiased nature of our reviews. Please take this into consideration when researching your travel plans.”

In all, 92 such notices where found on TripAdvisor, and it has stirred questions concerning how many more reviews have been compromised on the site. When TripAdvisor uncovers hotel employees writing glowing reviews, trashing competitors, persuading guests to remove negative reviews or providing incentives for customers to write positive reviews, it posts the notices. In addition, Travel Weekly reports that TripAdvisor posts this notice regardless of whether TripAdvisor and the property have an advertising relationship.

Both Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor have gained considerable notoriety and respect over the years for its unbiased reviews and opinions when traveling. (Even from me.) Regardless of all the fuss and attention over YTB and claims about being uneducated, untrained, and unqualified to promote destinations, sites like Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor have been regarded as viable sources to collect information to form opinions. Truth of the matter is, people value other peoples experience and the relationships they form either with a site or a person. I’ve participated on a number of forums and sites like Cruise Critic and have used sites like TripAdvisor when researching any subject.

What this all boils down to is integrity. I’ve sat here for several minutes in an attempt to communicate just how we as readers can pinpoint and sense integrity or the lack thereof. It’s a gut instinct that most anyone should be able to ‘out’ when reading. (At least I know I do.) While participating in any forum or blog, I can quickly form opinions on who I can trust and who is blowing smoke simply to manipulate my own beliefs and opinions. If you truly need to understand how all this works, head over to Scam.com or over the NoTravelMLMs and in about two seconds you’ll know what I mean.

Both sites are full of doting parents who need to save you because they don’t believe you have the capability of finding or forming your own opinions. Unlike Cruise Critic or TripAdvisor, if you do form an opinion that differs from theirs…about all I can tell you is good luck with defending it. (Been there, done that, and have a T-shirt they gave me that says so.)

There are many oddities in the Travel Industry and being a doting parent appears to be one of them. While I can appreciate the concern, the way this industry gets all wrapped up in saving everyone goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen. Far too much focus and attention is geared on what’s wrong here, instead of what TripAdvisor has done in attempts to correct the issue.

We are after all adults, and adults should be able to make thier own choices and decisions be it an occupation or a vacation. If the wrong choice is made, we should take responsibility for that choice instead of playing the role of victim. It’s sad to see, especially in a country such as ours that was founded on freedom of expression. Yet there are those who spend all thier time and energy being a watchdog for everyone else and manipulating how you should think and act.

You as an individual have every resource and ability to form your own opinions and choices, especially in this day and age. If it differs from others, so be it. Who’s to say that they’re right and you’re are wrong? (Or vice versa) It’s your life and your choice and that’s what matters most.

I’m okay with that.

Are you?

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Do You ZamZuu?