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Check your credit card statements for any improper charges by Amazon!

I just found a series of unexpected small transactions from Amazon on my credit card.

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Comments Off on Amazon’s Frustrating Kindle eBook Pricing

A quick observation about Amazon’s book pricing: While the Kindle price for a book is generally less than the “new book” price from Amazon itself when a book is first released, the price never seems to go down.  Thus, for most books, the Kindle price never seems very attractive:

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Comments Off on Beware: Focus Group & Survey Scams

I’ve never participated in a focus group, but recently I’ve seen a surge in ads (on Craigslist and other employment sites) promising $50, $100, or more to participate in a focus group. Unfortunately, most of these ads are scams.

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Comments Off on Facebook Blocks Complaints About Its Own Misleading Ads

Facebook’s advertising system has always had one nice feature for consumers: if you mouse over the right margin of any ad, an “X” appears, and if you click on the “X” you can ask not to see that ad in the future. In addition, you can “report” your reason, designating whether you simply find the ad “uninteresting,” or you can flag the ad as “misleading” or “sexually explicit” (among other options).

But Facebook has exempted its own ads from this “opt-out” system, and has deliberately prevented users from complaining about misleading ads by Facebook itself.

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“Somebody should do something about that.”  It’s a common refrain, and it’s meaningless. And sometimes, there’s just nothing that anyone can do.

While researching “giveaway” marketing strategies recently, I found a web site (EveryDayLifeToday.com) promoting a wide range of attractive free prizes.  Superficially, the site seemed legitimate, but it’s now clear that it’s a scam.

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Comments Off on Product Lifetimes and Support for Software and Computers

I’ve been annoyed many times over the past 20 years when software and hardware makers renounce their own products, claiming that they are “no longer supported.”

Sometimes it’s designed to force customers to spend more money to buy upgrades, even if customers don’t need any new features.  However, there’s also a reasonable limit to how long a company can be expected to train its staff to work with customers using older software versions (often on antiquated computers and operating systems).

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Several recent events are making me wonder: how many businesses are adopting unethical, illegal practices to survive during the recession? Read more »

Comments Off on Just Say No to “Gurus”

Do not pay money to a “guru.” Ever.

The word “guru” implies a blind faith which many embrace in their religions, but it iisn’t appropriate for business.

Don’t buy a “course” or “system” or even an ebook about “How to Make Money from AdSense” or “Internet Success Secrets” or “Money Machines” or any other gimicky name.

And don’t pay money to buy “secrets.”  There really are no “secrets” about how to make money. There are strategies, of course, which can often work when properly applied — but they aren’t secrets. Read more »

Comments Off on Honesty in Marketing and Blogging

Online marketeers should pay attention to two recent legal developments: Read more »

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(December 11, 2008) — I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to obtain support from Dell for my Dimension 5150 (e510) computer. I’ve finally concluded that Dell will not provide support, for any price. Read more »