Pay-per-click Marketers Beware!

My Blog No Comments

I want to share with you a horror story that I just experienced with my until-recently current Ad Network. I had been running a very successful PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaign through Google Adwords with an amazing conversion rate of 18% and was making a ton of money for both myself and the Ad Network I was working with (no need to name names). On some days I would generate over 500 leads for this particular Email submit an offer. I couldn’t have been happier.

As you know, we PPC marketers have to take all of the financial risks when working for an Ad Network promoting their offers. Lose some, win some is our way of life, but in the end, it all balances out and I always manage to stay out of the red. However, this latest horror story is one that everyone should and can learn from.

I was running an awesome campaign that was doing fairly well. In order to help generate the leads, I spent over $4,000 of my own money promoting this offer through Google Adwords. Thirty days after the month was over I received my commission check from the Ad Network and noticed that it was substantially lower than what I had expected. Apparently, I was running an Email-only offer through Pay-Per-Click and the Ad Network refused to pay me my commission for all of those leads that I generated through the Pay-Per-Click. Apparently, that offer was not approved for Pay-Per-Click and was an Email-only offer.

Naturally, as you can imagine, I was furious! I had been working with this company for over a year and had had zero issues with them; I had a perfect record with them and had made them thousands upon thousands of dollars, and now they were trying to screw me out of my share of the sales and leads I drove to them. Worst of all, I had already invested that $4,000 of my own money in promoting their offer, which I know for sure resulted in multiples sales for them. Well, I knew they weren’t going to play ball with me, and I was basically out $4,000, while they were counting rolls of bills like a fat cat, so I dropped this Ad Network like a bad habit.

The good news is that I am CERTAIN that this will never happen again. I switched to Flux Ads – and they are great! Each offer is clearly labeled, explaining which methods of marketing each offer accepts – leaving no room for error. Also, I accidentally ran an Email-only offer through PPC and my Account Manager immediately contacted me and let me know that I was running an offer through unauthorized traffic. Unlike the previous network that had zero contact with me and let my mistake (due to their miscommunication), line their pockets with greenbacks. The Flux Ads guys are really on top of stuff. I love it! Don’t believe me? Check them out for yourself:

Paypal Supports Fraud Buyers During Transaction Processing

My Blog No Comments

If you are an online seller and are using Paypal, you must have had a number of problems with locked accounts. I am a seller and I have had many other sellers tell me that Paypal’s transaction processing policies support buyers who lie about the whole process. Apparently, it just takes one complaint from the buyer to lock your account if you are the seller.

I recently sold a surfboard on eBay. I confirmed all the details about the buyer including his contact information and physical address. I got the money transferred to my account and immediately send it through USPS mail. After 2 days, I got confirmation that that product was received by the buyer and they gave the name correctly. However, the buyer lied to Paypal that he never received the product and filed a complaint against me.

I only got to know about this after 2 days when I found my account was locked. At first I didn’t know why I found a locked account and upon asking, they told me about the buyer’s complaint stating that I did not send the product after payment. Upon receiving the email, they immediately locked up my funds and I am desperate to get my money back.

My big problem with the whole thing is that they didn’t even bother to check with me regarding the situation. They did not want to hear both sides of the story. I don’t know how they assume that the buyer is always right. Is the seller inherently evil and fraudulent? I have sold hundreds of products through Paypal and I have never “not sent” an item after I got paid. Even then, they wouldn’t listen to me.

What’s more, I had about $7000 in the Paypal account and now all of it is locked. It is as good as losing the money and not to forget the hundreds of hours that I have spent with them on the phone. All in all, this is the most frustrating thing that I have experienced in my life, and Paypal is responsible for all of it.

I seriously do not like the way they do transaction processing and I am looking for a Paypal alternative. Please help me in any way you can. If you know a good payment processing service, please post it here, so I can check it out and get rid of PayPal.