(Added Forward: It turns out that I struck a chord with this post. If you want to get the word out, please click the link above to Digg this post.)
(Further Update: The website I posted about no longer advertises its trial as “free” - it clearly states that it is $1.)
(Further Update: I removed the reference to the company as I honestly just didn’t feel right in defaming them. It is not so much the company that I am ranting about here as it is the techniques.)
Ok, if you are a regular reader of my blog then you know that I have never before posted a rant here.
I know there are a lot of scam artists out there, but never before has one affected me so much, so I am very motivated to post it here for all to see.
First off, let me tell you something - I HATE SHIFTY INTERNET MARKETING PLOYS!
I’m not talking about bad products that don’t deliver (although I hate those too) - I’m talking about dishonest and unethical forms of selling that product.
For example, have you ever seen one of those countdown timers that says “This special offer is only available until midnight! Act now!” Then you go back the next day and see that the same offer is available until midnight of the next day!
What happens with your trust of that business? Or that marketer? And all of this because they want to add an extra percent to their conversion rate.
The funny thing is, you can increase your conversion rates through SEVERAL other ethical ways, and yet companies (big and small) choose to “trick” their customers into making a purchase.
Enter the company that I dealt with. I am not going to mention who they are simply because I don’t want to give them ANY publicity (negative advertising is still advertising). However, I will tell you what happened.
Recently my wife and I decided that we wanted to open an e-commerce store selling physical products. She started looking around for good directories of wholesalers and dropshippers.
She came across a site that seemed promising, and offered a free trial to access what was inside.
She clicked on the “Free Trial Signup” link, and started to fill in the form. It, of course, asked for her credit card information, but promised her that she would only be billed $1 and NOTHING MORE.
Here is the EXACT wording on their site:
There will be no additional charges to your card beyond the one dollar! You have a seven day trial.
First off, since when is a free trial $1? Putting that aside, I understand the importance of charging $1, as you want to make sure it is a good credit card and that the customer is serious.
Well, when my wife entered the site she found that it wasn’t that great, and worse yet, trial members hardly get access to anything. The only way to be able to use the site is to upgrade.
So much for that trial, she thought, and left the site.
Well, on our next credit card statement we noticed not one, but TWO charges from this company! One charge was for $59.95, and the second charge was for $39.95, both within a day of each other.
I saw the charges, and realized that they automatically charge for the subscriptions. This wasn’t a huge surprise, as I do the same thing, but I always make it abundantly clear that the customer will be charged.
So I call up the company four days after the charges appeared on my credit card and asked to cancel and refund the money.
“Sorry,” said the person on the other line, “there are no refunds whatsoever.”
After several emails and phone calls, they still refused to give me a refund.
That’s when I looked closer at their “free trial” sign up form. I noticed on the right hand navigation bar there were two other “bonuses” for signing up, both which clearly stated were free with the membership.
Well, I guess to this company “free” costs $39.95 per month, because that was the second charge on the credit card.
I looked closer, completely in disbelief that a large company such as this one would just charge my credit card without giving me any warning whatsoever, and that’s when I found this small print disclaimer at the very bottom of the page:
There will be no additional charges to your card beyond the one dollar! You have a seven day trial. If you decide to cancel within the seven days your card will not be charged. If you decide to continue, you will get charged on a monthly basis for a minimum forty nine dollars and ninety five cents.
This was in ultra-tiny print far below the button to start your trial.
So there, they included it on the page. I guess they weren’t lying, right?
Well, of course not! If it is in your terms and conditions, and if you include it in tiny print at the bottom of the page where nobody reads then it must be ok, right?
Well, that makes it right legally, but is it really right ethically?
Oh, and it gets better. If you try to close the window before finishing the $1 “free” trial, one of those “live sales chat” windows appears, telling you there are only 4 slots left in the trial offer, and that they are expected to sell out within the next 3 minutes.
That’s funny, I saw that there two months ago…
Matthew Glanfield
P.S. There is a point to this post - DON’T USE SHIFTY MARKETING TACTICS! You can make money honestly and ethically online, and your customers will love how they can actually trust you.
P.P.S. Please feel free to post your comments, even if you don’t agree with me.