Remember the group of ambulance chasers who followed California’s play with a class action law suit of their own just days after Jerry Brown made his bold attempt to topple what he called a “gigantic pyramid scheme”?

We all know by now how successful California was in shutting YTB down.

In June, the court ruled that the groups initial class action “failed to provide sufficient factual allegations” concerning those who were not Illinois residents. The group has re-filed once again and “corrected their deficiency” by amending the first filing to give it a go once more. The first filing did not have standing to sue because the plaintiffs brought their case under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. In addition, after spending over one hundred hours pleading and arguing, counsel for the ambulance chasers realized they had framed their clients relationship and argument with YTB incorrectly. The new suit now holds claim that the relationship between YTB and RTA’s are under consumer laws, (business-to-consumer) even though the RTA-YTB relationship would typically be viewed as business-to-business.

Do words like “failed”, “corrected”, “deficiency”, “amending”, “incorrectly”, and “realized after 100 hours of arguing”, give you a warm fuzzy concerning the counsel that is representing this group?

After admitting so many errors in the first filing, it appears that Counsel is just as clueless about the Network Marketing Industry as our critics who have been yammering about pyramids and scams for years. They may have even sought advise from the likes of Robert Fitzpatrick, Jon Taylor, and heaven forbid, John Frenaye. (After Wednesday’s post, you know what a huge mistake that would be.)

The suit filed back in August of last year went after the same four executives California did, Lloyd Tomer, Scott Tomer, Kim Sorensen and Andrew Cauthen. The new filing has added a smorgasbord of other names and companies to include two former board members, Timothy Kaiser and Clay Winfield, as well as their companies, Meridian Land Company and Winfield Development. The list also includes Beryl Martin, the printing company owned by Sorensen and Tomer, and while none of the defendants have been with YTB since October 2008, our new co-CEO who just joined back in April, Robert Van Patten has also been named in this new plea.

We’ll call it what it is: a shotgun approach.

Counsel certainly didn’t get any help from the plaintiffs in this action concerning YTB’s marketing model or opportunity. When we looked at the list of Plaintiffs in the filing we found an average of eight months worth of experience with the company. Two gave up in just four months, and decided playing the role of victim was a much easier option to make the millions they were after when they signed up.

• Courtney Speed – 4 months
• Kwame Thompson – 4 months
• Grace Perry – 5 months
• John Stull – 6 months
• Faye Morrison – 11 months
• Jeff and Polly Hartman – 18 months

Surprised? Not me.

I got a call yesterday afternoon from a client who debarked in the port of Miami with his family of three. He called to tell me that I was right, a five day was too short, and he’ll be booking a seven day with me just as soon as he can. Of course, I’ve been with YTB for four years, not four months. So it’s not surprising that this group who “dabbled as a travel agent” for an average of eight months were not as productive. I think back to my first year, and remember how slow bookings were. But I was also new to the industry, and spent a considerable amount of time learning, not selling. What I did sell was from pure passion about a product I loved.

I found a couple of humorous concepts in the filing which I’d like to share with you just to show how ridiculous this new suit is.

The claim states that BandBVacations.com is not a business that sells products or services. Since YTB strictly controls my actions, they are the ones who are selling the products and services. Therefore, the call I got from my client from Miami apparently was routed through the home office and not directly to me. According to the claim, everything goes through the home office in Wood River. I couldn’t get the call, couldn’t book the cruise, and won’t be seeing the commission since I’m an “agent of the travel agency”. I don’t offer a 100,000 ton cruise ship product, YTB does. The service of an excellent vacation to the Caribbean, also YTB’s.

Poppy cock! My clients don’t even know who YTB is, but they do know Doug and Ronda with BandBVacations.com, and Illinois will have a tough time finding anyone who has a better relationship with someone at the home office over any one of our RTA’s.

As an RTA I’ve made a net profit from travel sales, but the suit claims that this is impossible for most, if not all, RTA’s. I would agree that that it would be impossible for any RTA who spends less than six months in this business. But to say it’s impossible for the 25th Largest Seller of Travel in the Nation with $425 million in gross product and services sold, and a net of $27.9 million is a farce. I know the margins in the industry stink, but that’s not because it’s an illegal pyramid. Unless of course you want to call Carnival, Pleasant Holidays, Disney, Sandals, and Holiday Inn a scam. (I will agree however with a growing number about United and American Airlines.)

I’d would assert that a number of RTA’s have figured out how to make a profit, including yours truly. Instead of complaining about it, why not find someone who is making a profit and learning how to do what they do?

And finally in a very strange twist, while the suit claims that we don’t sell a product or service. (In order to make it sound like a “pyramid scheme”) The suit deducts and supports it claims that it’s impossible for RTA’s to make money selling travel in the following mannor.

(You’re going to LOVE this…)

YTB Defendants marketed and sold products to the travel purchaser market generally. As of 2007, YTB was considered the 26th largest travel agency in the United States, and their market share continued to grow. YTB Defendants directed their operations at the travel purchaser market generally by marketing and selling their products and services, such as airline tickets and cruise packages, to the public at large. Moreover, YTB Defendants’ illegal pyramid scheme injured both their travel agency competitors as well as travel consumers. YTB Defendants stole market share from brick-and-mortar travel agencies, putting many out of business. Moreover, by eliminating their competition, YTB Defendants increased the cost of travel for travel consumers at large. As such, Defendants’ illegal pyramid scheme was directed at the travel consumer market generally, effected the consumer market and otherwise implicated consumer protection concerns.

Give me a second here…I have to dry my eyes.

Do you see what they’ve done here? By taking the products and services away from us, (the RTA) the suit slaps YTB Corporate with not only defrauding consumers, (our clients) but Corporate is solely responsible for Cruise Value Center closing, Liberty Travel layoffs, and the Joystar bankruptcy. They all sold a product and service that YTB not only took away, but YTB is now increasing the cost of that product or service to these consumers.

Picture Ron Head or Coach here when I say “WOW!”

Come to think of it, this IS filed with the courts now, so this idea that YTB is putting Travel Agencies out of business has to be true right? (Nah…it doesn’t cut the mustard when John Frenaye pull that stunt, so why should it with me.)

The point here folks is to show you how absolutely absurd this new filing is, and this is a second swipe at it after the first attempt needed to be amended. If you want to buy into this crap, I’d have some serious reservations about how much common sense you actually have. This entire claim is nothing more than a fishing expedition to save face for those who wouldn’t take that time to learn a craft that frankly is very easy to talk about. And because it’s easy to talk about, simply opening your mouth and telling someone that you sell travel will give you the same shot as Travelocity when they see some Roaming Gnome on TV.

And to the Plaintiffs in this case, the quote is NOT “punt”, it’s “try, try, again”.

Idiots.

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Do You ZamZuu?

It’s been somewhat of a negative week here on this blog, so I’ve decided to switch gears and adjust a bit to a lighter direction to finish up the week. I just don’t know how some people can be so bitter day in and day out. It’s not that they don’t have fun, but when you do it at the expense of others, criticizing day after day, to me that just reeks of the large pile of manure that’s gotten so high it’s overshadowed any real issues that are going on in our industry right now. You were given two ears and two eyes, but only one mouth for a reason. That’s why I decided to promote Paul Henderson’s idea of industry standards at the beginning of the week. While I don’t agree with the way he went about it, I do agree with his message of industry standards so everyone has a playing field they can not only see and understand, but a clear guideline in who can call themselves a “Travel Agent”.

As much as this industry need some type standard requirements, accreditation and training, some are content to simply complain about what’s wrong, thinking if they market effectively against the Card Mills, the problems will magically go away. Mind you, this type of marketing has been going on for YEARS, while they readily admit that the programs they despise continue to spring up relentlessly.

So you may want to ask them…”How’s that working for you so far?”

They’ve learned no lessons from jokers like Robert Fitzpatrick, John Taylor, Dean Van Druff who have been attempting to slander, (sorry “educate”) the public about the pitfalls of MLM for years. When smart people run across this type of propaganda they see right through the hype. Most of these jokers have been at it for decades and are no closer to ridding the world of this model than they were back then. In fact, the industry has boomed despite the organizations designed to promote how you’ll loose your family, friends, all your money and dignity along the way. You would think you could find a better mouse trap after all this time, but that’s all you get when emotions overrun your logical thinking.

So I’ve decided to take a break, regroup and hopefully come back with a solution instead of joining this obsession over the problem.

The purpose here isn’t because I want to ignore the issues, but change the vibration and mood to enable me to come from a more positive approach. As we’ve seen over the last couple of years, very little has changed for the critics and their perception of Travel MLM’s despite all the changes made by the companies themselves.

They’re still convinced that the only way to correct any issues is to take up the role of snitch, enforcer, or better clarified for me as “Mall Cops”.

Right or wrong, the stereotype of a “Mall Cop” is one who just couldn’t make it as a “real cop” and the only “enforcement job” they can get is that of a security guard. I actually know a “Mall Cop”, and can assure you that not all of them actually fit that stereotype, but the fact remains that most people do perceive the profession in this way.

Hollywood recently came out with a movie that we saw a trailer for when we hosted our daughters birthday party with hundreds of other screaming girls just wooing over Zac Efron in High School Musical 3. (Don’t ask…) Both my wife and I love Kevin James to begin with and find his physical comedy incredibly funny. The roll of Paul Blart seems perfectly suited for him and it looks to be somewhat of a “Die Hard” spoof with some very funny slapstick comedy.

So the wife and I will be heading out to dinner and a movie to escape and laugh out loud. Why not? It takes less energy and puts both of us in a much better mood and enjoy what life has to offer. (Okay, what Hollywood has to offer, but you get the idea.)

If you know what’s good for you, you too would be best served in finding something to laugh at. (And doing it at the expense of others doesn’t count, because slamming someone to the ground just makes them lower, not you higher.)

While it’s difficult dealing with negativity and critics who only know how to use one part of their anatomy, YOU would be better served to use two others by either seeing or hearing of something truly enjoyable to help change the negative vibrations being pummeled on you via the media, the internet, and even people you might know personally.

Watch this trailer and see if it doesn’t turn that frown upside down, and if it does, I hope to see you at the theater this weekend.

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Do You ZamZuu?

I realize there seems to be a tremendous amount of focus on YTB in past months. Being publically traded can be both a blessing and a curse for MLM companies. The blessing is that it’s a way to legitimize our model when we report to someone like the SEC and makes this notion of “illegal pyramid scheme” harder to promote. The curse is that it brings out the nut cases who want to ignore the Government is aware of who we are and what we do, but still try to push the issue of MLM being “illegal”.

I caught an interesting development on Monday that I wanted to pass on concerning a number of other publically traded MLM’s that are also getting some heat from some very deranged and shady characters. (“Shady” meaning he’s already a Convicted Felon.) What’s even more amusing to me is that two of the better known Anti-MLM Zealots, Robert FitzPatrick and Jon Taylor appear to have been caught in their own lies and MLM myths. Court probing may find that Robert Fitzpatrick and Jon Taylor were also involved in some way for shorting MLM company stocks.

In June of last year, Judd Bagley of “Deep Capture” (a hunter of illegal short sellers) concludes that convicted stock manipulator Sam Antar and securities class action litigator Howard Sirota were working in concert with convicted stock manipulator Barry Minkow’s Fraud Discovery Institute (FDI) to manipulate the share price of USANA, a public company. You may or may not know about several law suites filed last year concerning USANA, but it got so bad that even the SEC and Distributors themselves got in on the act in California. The SEC never found any wrong doing and closed its case nor did the Distributor suite go anywhere after cleaning off the mud that Minkow attempted to throw out in the press via his bogus report.

Now these same idiots seem to be after both Pre-Paid Legal and Herbalife. The Herbalife story has gotten so much attention in recent weeks that it even made CNBC’s Mad Money in which CEO Michael Johnson came on the show to assure investors that there is no lead found in their products.

There was never any health or safety issue with Herbalife products. Inaccurate and misleading information released to sensational media and online news coverage is nothing new to any of us in YTB. There is always an ulterior motive and it’s been found that FDI (Federal Discovery Institute) founder Barry Minkow admitted profiting from “puts” on Herbalife stock.

All these attacks on publically traded MLM companies have gotten so bad that USANA has already decided to take the company private after being public since 1996, and it was also suggested by Jim Cramer of Mad Money for CEO Michael Johnson to take Herbalife private. (My take is that Johnson doesn’t like the idea according to the video I watched.)

While it’s yet to be determined if FitzPatrick and Taylor will be convicted in all this mess, this investor would love to see these two idiots have “Convicted Felon” on their resume for all the lies and myths they promote about MLM. Having these two busted for illegal activity would certainly help those of us who know from experience that MLM is a viable business model and an excellent entry level for anyone looking to get into a business of their own.

While I can’t say the YTB has remained under the radar by any stretch of the imagination, at least our company stock has remained fairly clean compared to USANA, Pre-Paid, and Herbalife. Let’s just hope these nut cases are actually convicted for doing what they have done to these other MLM’s before they decide to set their sites on YTB.

It does make me wonder however just who was doing any “Pump and Dumping” with our stock. “Rumor” has it that Directors were doing all this “Pump and Dump” in an attempt to hurt the “little guys”, but after all the positive press released after our Annual Report back in April, me thinks the Pump and Dump was nothing more that Day Traders who knew how to take advantage of such positive press in a small stock like YTBLA.

If you don’t know Rod Cook’s MLM Watchdog site, you should. He’s one of the good guys in MLM. (Even if he has come out against YTB at times.) If you’re an investor like I am in YTBLA, you should keep an eye on this developing story, it could prove to be huge for us and put a stop to Zealots who promote nothing but myths and lies about MLM.

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Do You ZamZuu?

I was asked to fill in for my Second Level Director Monday night to do a YTB Presentation. We had a couple of guests who were running late and while we were waiting the subject turned to my “Dear John” post on Sunday with a basic line of question and answers about Anti-MLM’ers and this small group of Traditional Travel Agents which can be generalized as “What is their problem?!”

Being among friends and knowing that they obviously have a much higher level of understanding and appreciation for what YTB is really all about, I began to list the pile of myths, misconceptions, rumors, and flat out lies about our company in a very comical way.

While I had them laughing and shaking their heads in disbelief over how anyone could be so far out in left field after so much time, study and focus has been dedicated to our model and company, it paled in comparison to what was forwarded to me yesterday morning and the following comedy of errors.

Anti-MLM’ers have always tried to justify their position with examples and the experience of others. Of course none of it is their own, they have none, so they take the word of someone else as fact and try to parade that around as their proof that MLM just doesn’t work.

As of yesterday, I was introduced to a couple of “Ghost Writers” who claim to be well educated, intelligent people one inside and one outside of the Travel Industry who happen to agree that Travel MLM’s have had a horrible impact on society as a whole. The two have collaborated together and have “caught up with” one Robert Fitzgerald to get his take on Travel MLM’s. Mr. Fitzgerald was our “expert” and was quoted and referenced his book, “False Profits” discussing how we MLM’ers basically take advantage of you poor unsuspecting souls.

As it turned out, our Anti-MLM’ers may want to consider drinking our Kool-Aid because whatever they’re drinking is not only causing them to forget the names of who they’ve “caught up with”, but which company and industry they are actually talking about!

Check this out and get a tissue because it may bring tears to your eyes from laughing so hard.

You see, Robert Fitzgerald is actually Robert Fitzpatrick. Robert Fitzgerald was a Poet who died in 1985, Robert FitzPatrick is the one they “caught up with”. How someone could forget the name of who they “caught up with” is one thing, but it gets even better when you realize the referenced book they report as FitzPatrick’s “take on Travel MLM’s” was actually written back in 1997, four years before YTB was even founded!

Oh, but it gets even better in the comments section below the post. It turns out, John Frenaye didn’t actually write the post, a woman suddenly appears in this Bad Mix, who nobody has ever seen or heard of before by the name of Kate Holmes who comes to John’s rescue to take responsibility as a “Guest Writer” for this RICH piece of work, which has turned out to be nothing but a comedy of errors.

Being a HUGE NFL Football fan, I could just hear Chris Berman’s voice giving the highlights of this gem with his “Rumblin’ Bumblin’ Stumblin’”

I don’t think I laughed that hard in a long time. These pour souls try everything under the sun to try to maim and malign our Company, and this new found Anti-MLM Zealot they “caught up with” it’s just one more example of how stupid they think people really are.

I’ve been in MLM far longer than these minions have been researching the subject, and any Anti-MLM Zealot worth their salt knows who Robert Fitzpatrick is and he is the cause of so MANY of the myths, legends and lies that are simply regurgitated as fact by those who don’t have the experience themselves to make an informed, educated decision about Network Marketing.

The “99% of all MLM’ers fail” bit…FitzPatrick.

It’s going to “eventually collapse” theory…FitzPatrick.

You’ll “loose all your friends and family” business…FitzPatrick.

And because like John Frenaye, FitzPatrick has been published, we are suppose to take his word as being some sort of “authority” and “expert” in the field of MLM and Network Marketing. If you truly want to get a good, and accurate picture on just who and what Robert Fitzpatrick is all about, and why Zealots feel and act the way they do, you need read a great piece of work by one of the smartest and most effective communicators I’ve ever come across. Len Clements has some 16 years of full time experience in the Network Marketing industry and did an excellent investigative piece back in 2005 on not only FitzPatrick, but both of his propaganda books, “False Profits” (1997) and “Pyramid Nation” (2002).

There are other names you will find that Len takes on with in his piece “Anti-MLM Zealots, Me Thinks Dos Protest Too Much” and I encourage you to read if you have time, or you can just pick up some of the key names and the Readers Digest condensed version from a post I did when I was introduced to all of them during my days of posting on Scam.com.

After the tone and anger of Sunday’s post, I felt it was time to share some “comic relief” and give all of you a good laugh mid week. Some may consider this as only an attempt to poke and attack John personally, and you’re not that all that far off in truth. I still consider this guy a Zealot and when I have something this rich to point at him showing how he constantly trips all over himself day after day with his campaign against a company that I love and respect of course it becomes personal.

Now that he and this other “Guest Writer” have been exposed, John in a classic move is trying desperately to burry this gem with a couple of posts directed at two other former members of YTB.

One post brings “American Destinations” into question with some senior party trip down to Jamaica. Could it be an educational trip to Kingston to learn about the British struggles with Pirates in the 18th Century, you never know. And early this morning for good measure a telling tale of copy and paste of a couple of e-mails, (the last one mine) of how a “Professional Scum Bag” sells some fabricated story of how Coach flies him up to Wood River, only to be scam Coach himself and be kicked out.

I don’t know if it will ever end with John and his Chain of Fools. But I’d suggest that at least for the moment, have a good laugh over this one. It’s very therapeutic and since they enjoy so much misery at our
expense, I think it’s fair that we have a good laugh at theirs.

By the way, if you want to find out what’s REALLY going on with YTB and how we’re doing, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. I’ll have the May monthly out tomorrow and our lead story has a video of a news clip that will give you a sneak peak at what will be unveiled at the National Convention inside the Edward R. Jones Dome.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Travel!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

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