"Wake Up Now" bares all the hallmark "red flags" of a product-based pyramid scheme that relies on recruiting members into chain-selling. The "products" that they allegedly "sell" is merely a bundle of discounts, coupons, and tax software that can simply be searched for and purchased individually on the internet by anyone without having to sign up and pay their monthly fee ($24.95 up to $99.95).
I contacted Jon M. Taylor (MBA, Ph.D., President, Consumer Awareness Institute) and asked him to take a look at the "Wake Up Now" website. Here is his analysis:
"Eric -
Thank you for writing. I believe you have come to the right place for information.
Regarding Wake Up Now –
Their products or services may be good, but that is not the key issue. Get their compensation plan and run it through the 5-step do-it-yourself MLM evaluation on my web site at – www.mlm-thetruth.com
I did the analysis, and the answer is quite obvious. You should soon find it listed at the end of the 5-step evaluation. At the bottom of the page for each step is background information that is well worth reading to better understand the reasons for each specific “red flag.” Also, be sure to read the other reports on my website, which will help you understand the inherent flaws in all endless chain recruitment systems. They report on thousands of pages of research and feedback from all over the world – and are well worth reading to protect yourself and your loved ones.
I have analyzed approximately 500 MLM programs. The villain in such unfair and deceptive systems is the compensation plan, which encourages unlimited recruitment of a network of endless chains of distributors. The compensation plans for all of them assume an infinite market, which does not exist in the real world. They also assume a virgin market, which does not exist for long. They are all therefore inherently flawed, deceptive, and unprofitable except for those who got in at the start and sit atop the pyramid. New recruits are being sold a ticket on a flight that has already left the ground. All my research confirms this.
In short, almost all entrepreneurial chains are money traps. Our research shows that an average of 99.7% of participants (and close to 99.99% of new recruits) are doomed to failure and loss in such a recruitment-driven MLM. In other words, coming in at the bottom, your odds of profiting are virtually ZERO.
As a general rule, except for the founding distributors, the more a person invests in any MLM, the more he/she loses – which is true for any scam. The truly lucky ones are those who refuse to buy into it and walk away. You will be better off avoiding them, not only for your sake, but for the sake of others who would likely suffer losses from your having recruited them.
If you want to be thoroughly informed, read my latest book “The Case against Multi-level Marketing as an Unfair and Deceptive Practice,” which can be downloaded free of charge from my web site. After reading it, you would likely feel comfortable agreeing with me that a “good MLM” may be an oxymoron. MLM should be per se illegal, like “pay to play” chain letters and no-product pyramid schemes.
Please warn 5 people by sending them to our web site, then ask each of them to warn 5 others, and they each 5 more, etc. etc. Handy answer cards and other helpful tools for dealing with MLM recruiters can be obtained from the same web site. Feel free to post my web site on Facebook or Twitter pages to warn and educate those you care about.
Good luck at staying solvent – and helping others do the same. If you need suggestions for other income options, please read my article "1,357 ways to make more money than in MLM" – also available from my web site.
- Jon M. Taylor, MBA, Ph.D., President, Consumer Awareness Institute
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site for MLM research and guides – www.mlm-thetruth.com"
I believe "Wake Up Now" is using deceptive practices to prey upon people who are suffering in our current economic crisis, and luring them into a flawed business model, where only the 1% at the top of the pyramid has any chance of making any income or profit.
My demands:
Please investigate for fraudulent and deceptive claims.
User Recommendation:
Stay away
Resolution:
Unresolved
Monetary damages:
$0.00
Comments:
MJM in New Jersey
Jan 15, 2015 12:05 AM
Give up, its a scam bro. Stop embarrassing yourself...
MJM in New Jersey
Jan 15, 2015 12:04 AM
"Mk" = WUN more brainwashed idiot
MJM in New Jersey
Jan 15, 2015 12:03 AM
STFU
MJM in New Jersey
Jan 15, 2015 12:02 AM
You are a complete idiot. Brainwashed by WUN to boot. God help you...
MJM in New Jersey
Jan 15, 2015 12:00 AM
Wrong Kyle. It is actualy idiots like you promoting these obvious pyramid schemes as a legitimate income producing opportunities is what gives the industry is (well deserved) bad reputation. Anyone with half a brain can see this is a scam through and through, to say otherwise would simply be lying to yourself. Unless, of course, you were brainwashed by said MLM scam. Stock is in the toilet, reps are not getting paid, and people still have the audacity to promote this crap. Shame on you. I will sit back with a beer and watch it all collapse-along with your unrealistic dreams of retiring young with perpetual residual income...HAHAHAHAHA
Devon Duell
Nov 09, 2014 11:44 PM
Let me just clear the air here.. Anyone who is in WakeUpNow needs to get off of this page and stop posting. ironically, you guys are the ones giving network marketing a bad name by blasting it out on pages like this. you are making it harder and harder for the industry to gain any traction in today's world. Why do insist on talking to people who don't like network marketing? Why try to convince them to change their mind? What do you have to gain other than "being right"? you are wasting your energy and confirming their opinions by aruging. Their mind is made up, let them make a living the way that they want to make a living. They aren't right, and we aren't wrong, and vice versa. The people who see the value will join because of the value that they see. Nobody can argue that, not even the naysayers. people will begin to realize that not ALL network marketing companies are illegal soon enough, SO RELAX... Their life is not your life, their opinions don't pay your bills. stay in your lane and grind, let you and your team's success speak for themselves. Sincerely, A proud member of WakeUpNow
Corey Canestrare
Jul 07, 2014 2:50 PM
Coupon Book ? Wow, I love to joke and be humorous online but when it comes to MLM people just lose all common sense. Just go to wakeupnow.com and you can see what products they offer. Coupon Book.....lmfao People may have some valid points on why MLM can be considered a scam but some of you just chime in with no knowledge its hilarious.
Corey Canestrare
Jul 07, 2014 2:46 PM
Simple math question here: If you pay $100 to get exclusive deals (exclusive meaning not freely available) and save $150 utilizing the exclusive deals; how much did you profit ?
Corey Canestrare
Jul 07, 2014 2:40 PM
WUN is a SaaS (Software as a service) company. They offer 3 suites packages, Platinum - Gold - Silver. Platinum Package - $100/MONTH Gold Package - $65/MONTH Silver - $25/MONTH So "WHERE DO THEY GET THE MONEY", every time a customer purchases a package the company makes money. For example I join today and buy the platinum package, I pay $100 and the company profits $10 - $18 from that one purchase. Remember this is a monthly charge I will be paying. The rest of the money from my $100 goes to cost ( labor, marketing, sales support) just like any other company. "reward for finding a coupon" lol Tax Software Finance Software A Vacation Club 22% off my ATT Bill Language Software That is one amazing coupon !!! hahaha
Rico
Jul 07, 2014 2:10 PM
So here is my question: If WUN pays it's people for getting other people to buy discounted products, where do they get the money they are paying you? If this isn't a scam then where is the money? Is it some rich guy just giving his money away as a reward for finding a coupon and sharing it or are you paid for your work from what others paid by joining?
Rico
Jul 07, 2014 2:05 PM
So here is my question: If WUN pays it's people for getting other people to buy discounted products, where do they get the money they are paying you? If this isn't a scam then where is the money? Is it some rich guy just giving his money away as a reward for finding a coupon and sharing it or are you paid for your work from what others paid joining?
Corey Canestrare
Jun 11, 2014 1:53 AM
Has anyone done research on the management of the company. CEO, President, COO? Has anyone done research on their previous investments? Has anyone done research on why wakeupnow reverse merged in 2010? Has anyone done research on what product they offered when they first came out? This article is very basic: "an average of 99.7% of participants (and close to 99.99% of new recruits) are doomed to failure and loss in such a recruitment-driven MLM. In other words, coming in at the bottom, your odds of profiting are virtually ZERO" Lol have you tried interviewing some people who have joined in the past 6-12 months ? If you want an in-depth review from a more extensive look into the company I suggest you guys take a look at: http://www.insidenm.com/articles/inside-wake-up-now/ Or contact me and I can break down the management, the products, the stock approach, the reverse merger, the future, the possibility of you making a change for you and your family like I've done.
Michael "Mk" Simpson Jr
May 04, 2014 1:25 AM
Cute. Get back to work for whomever it is that signs your pay checks and decides your hours lol. Cheers.
Sean Lee Walthour
May 03, 2014 10:47 PM
And btw, nobody is ever FORCED to buy anything, anywhere. However the scam victims (members) are always forced to buy and .. that's called untwisting your argument so the truth can be seen.. happy scamming
Sean Lee Walthour
May 03, 2014 10:44 PM
Why pay for a membership when I can personally save the money myself by cutting out the MIDDLE MAN (wun)? That's like me paying for free coupons just because I'm too lazy to get them myself.. yeah, I saved money in the store, but I either broke even or lost money paying for the coupons... some of us know better.. do u tho :-)
Sean Lee Walthour
May 03, 2014 10:28 PM
More like an idiot to think it isnt a scam. If I SOLD u a FREE coupon book for the supermarket, u WILL save money shopping, still, I STILL SCAMMED YOU in the first place....
Michael "Mk" Simpson Jr
Apr 30, 2014 6:45 AM
Lolol. That was a funny episode, but that was basically the EXACT opposite of what WUN does. Nobody is forced to buy or sell any products. It's basically paying for a costco membership in a digital warehouse, and in the meantime you are hiring new employees to open franchises of your business. You don't have to waste any money on anything.
James88
Feb 18, 2014 8:09 PM
A scam is a scam no matter how you try and spin it. Just because you make a little money doesn't mean you are not scamming others in the process. That is MLM in a nutshell.
James88
Feb 18, 2014 8:08 PM
You're industry is the reason you get a bad name.
A1
Feb 14, 2014 6:34 PM
When you call a company a scam please be specific. If the company is paying as they say they will, but you still feel they are a scam, say why specifically. To say that WakeUpNow's compensation plan "assumes an endless market" , and " assumes there's a virgin market" is to list biased opinions. A compensation plan speaks in numbers, ie; bring in x amount of people = making x amount of dollars. When you call a company a scam just list an instance where a person brought in the required amount of people and they did not receive the advertised payment. That would be a scam.
tiwaz13
Nov 27, 2013 2:09 AM
It's not my website. It's a website I found when doing my own research on MLMs. I contacted the owner of the site (Jon) to research WUN. The above complaint is a copy of the email reply he sent me. I think you need to re-read it again. Look, believe what you want, just be aware that most people consider MLMs to be nothing but barely-legal product-based pyramid schemes, and not worth the trouble they can cause you. The only people that make money are those that get in early at the top, at the expense of victimizing those in the chain under them. "Penn & Teller" even did a an episode of their Showtime show "Bullshit" that fully debunks MLMs as nothing more than "get rich quick" schemes. I suggest you watch the episode and do more research before getting involved with WUN or any MLM company. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep3pO7X7fEQ
Denis James Lange
Nov 27, 2013 1:14 AM
Im still not shur what to think Iv did my research so for your the only one saying its a scam at same time trying to get people to go to your website. .
LB
Oct 29, 2013 12:58 AM
Lol
Kyle Haydt
Oct 11, 2013 3:57 PM
You would have to be a complete idiot to think WakeUpNow is a scam. Do some research before trying to slam a company who's doing nothing but help people get ahead in life. They're products do save people more money than they're spending, so they come out ahead even if they don't ever sign someone up. People like you are the reason the industry get a bad name.