Is Wake Up Now Club a scam?

[00000]

I have a friend that is trying to get me involved in this opportunity called Wake Up Now that he says he's making a lot of money from. I have my doubts as it sounds more like a sales pitch than what could realistically be expected. The thing is, I don't want to pass up on the opportunity if it is truly one even though I have my doubts.

Part of the problem is that I really don't understand how the system works. It's called a "vacation club" that gives discounted travel experiences, but also has something called a shopping HUB that gives discounts when you buy things online. The discounts all sound nice, but then how am I earning money other than from the monthly dues to be a member of the club? And if I am only earning from other people's monthly dues, isn't it sort of a pyramid scheme?

I'm trying to do my due diligence here to make sure I'm not missing an opportunity, but also so I'm not falling for a scam. I'm just having a hard time because I can't understand how the system works and how I am supposed to make money from it. So I guess my question is, in your opinion is Wake Up Now a scam? If it is, why? If it isn't, why not?

[lorraineb]

I would personally stay away. Any company the presents itself in its video that they have some "secret" that other companies don't and the only way to get to know what this "secret" is from others telling you it is a huge red flag in my book. The intro video screams scam to me and that is enough for me to stay far away from it.

[jeffrey]

The first thing that doesn't bode well for this is that the link to the "compensation plan" is dead.

From looking at the information that is available on the site, it appears that you have to join this "club" for a monthly fee anywhere between $32.95 a month and $99.95 a month. That means you are $400 - $1200 a year out of pocket. There financial disclosure statement shows that the three director level earnings (I'm assuming these are the silver ($32.95), gold ($54.95) and platinum ($99.95) levels that you can buy into) only earn $67.53 (silver), $156.95 (gold) and $289.93 (platinum) for the entire year. In other words, all people entering on those levels are losing money every year. That doesn't sound like a good earning opportunity to me.

[lorraineb]

Not surprising at all. I could get that from the video they have promoting themselves. Wake Up Now would fall into the scam department in my book. This is especially true since it bills itself as a "vacation club" which have been getting a lot of scam warning from state Attorney Generals across the country in recent weeks.

[moneymaker1008]

General rule to follow is that there is no "program" that will get you rich. You CAN make some extra cash online, but it's best not to join programs and to do it on your own instead.

Also, consider getting a new friend.

[J.Nelson]

Scam?? what??

Ok 1st of all can someone give me the definition of a scam?

I think you guys have completely taken this one over the head.

After an extensive look at the products and services i see what the monthly dues are for.

access to membership privileges like 2 weeks of the vacation club (the company has bought over 10,000 timeshares so the members could take vacations for less)

corporate discounts off their cellphone bill, hotel rentals, rent a cars, etc

the marketplace offers rebates and cash back for their members as well.

The monthly dues arent just for making money that wouldnt make sense. You enroll in the benefits of the company.

It does have a referral program in which you share the opportunity you get paid a commission on it.

referring people is completely optional....You dont have to refer people if you dont want to there are plenty of people who use it for its vacations benefit, or the cell phone discount.


A scam would be you pay for the membership and there is no vacation or there is no cellphone discount

[jeffrey]

Ok 1st of all can someone give me the definition of a scam?

A scam would be you pay for the membership and there is no vacation or there is no cellphone discount

That would be true if memberships weren't being sold telling people that they could make a lot of money. As stated above, they are likely to lose money. Selling the membership that way is a scam.

The benefits are worthless in that you can get the same deals without paying the monthly membership fee through other online outfits.

[The Avid Entrepreneur]

This is not a scam

I have a friend that is trying to get me involved in this opportunity called Wake Up Now that he says he's making a lot of money from. I have my doubts as it sounds more like a sales pitch than what could realistically be expected. The thing is, I don't want to pass up on the opportunity if it is truly one even though I have my doubts.

Part of the problem is that I really don't understand how the system works. It's called a "vacation club" that gives discounted travel experiences, but also has something called a shopping HUB that gives discounts when you buy things online. The discounts all sound nice, but then how am I earning money other than from the monthly dues to be a member of the club? And if I am only earning from other people's monthly dues, isn't it sort of a pyramid scheme?

I'm trying to do my due diligence here to make sure I'm not missing an opportunity, but also so I'm not falling for a scam. I'm just having a hard time because I can't understand how the system works and how I am supposed to make money from it. So I guess my question is, in your opinion is Wake Up Now a scam? If it is, why? If it isn't, why not?

Hey, I am here to tell you that WakeUpNow is not at all a scam. The money is not made solely through the cost of other people's memberships. You make cash back for using the product and shopping online as well as using the discounts to save money. I actually have an MBA so let me give you a real definition of a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is where a company makes money solely from the exchange of money without actually offering any product or service. That clearly leaves WakeUpNow exempt from that definition. WakeUpNow offers several things and the Vacation Club is just one of many of the great things offered with the membership. The core product is actually a personal finance software suite to help people better manage their money and track their taxable expenses. I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Ildefonso L.Baerga

[J.Nelson]

That would be true if memberships weren't being sold telling people that they could make a lot of money. As stated above, they are likely to lose money. Selling the membership that way is a scam.

The benefits are worthless in that you can get the same deals without paying the monthly membership fee through other online outfits.

Yea maybe he got the message across wrong and as far as the benefits go there are probably company's who offer those same things, just not in the same bundle. You can find coupons online Im pretty sure you can save 70% on a vacation deal without some kind of timeshare tho.....

Its like comparing BJ's and costco's to food lion, or associates or any regular supermarket

(i live in NY so idk what supermarkets they have where you are lol)

[jeffrey]

Hey, I am here to tell you that WakeUpNow is not at all a scam. The money is not made solely through the cost of other people's memberships. You make cash back for using the product and shopping online as well as using the discounts to save money. I actually have an MBA so let me give you a real definition of a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is where a company makes money solely from the exchange of money without actually offering any product or service. That clearly leaves WakeUpNow exempt from that definition. WakeUpNow offers several things and the Vacation Club is just one of many of the great things offered with the membership. The core product is actually a personal finance software suite to help people better manage their money and track their taxable expenses. I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Ildefonso L.Baerga

heh -- OK, the fact that they claim that you can make good money as part of the program is a scam. The other things it offers are simply overpriced since you can find all the "deals" they offer without having to pay a monthly memebership fee. Either way, it's not worth losing your money joining it.

[J.Nelson]

heh -- OK, the fact that the claims that you can make good money as part of the program is a scam. The other things it offers are simply overpriced since you can find all the "deals" they offer without having to pay a monthly membership fee. Either way, it's not worth losing you money joining it.

*claps* you're entitled to your opinion Jeff. I would show you a video proving you wrong but i dont want this to be a tennis match

Enjoy your night

[The Avid Entrepreneur]

heh -- OK, the fact that the claims that you can make good money as part of the program is a scam. The other things it offers are simply overpriced since you can find all the "deals" they offer without having to pay a monthly memebership fee. Either way, it's not worth losing your money joining it.

Listen Jeffrey,

Its clear that you are misinformed and trying to bash a business without knowing much about it. I actually take vacations and have used the vacation club to book travel and not only do they beat the best online price but I get cash-back for it. You should try doing some scholarly research on the subject before trying to bash an great opportunity such as this one. It just makes you look bad bro. You clearly talk like someone who is too afraid to try something like this because of fear of failure, which I should say will not get you very far in life. If you want to make comments such as those, please bring in some valid facts into the argument if you wish to be taken seriously. Also, none of the videos speak of "getting rich quick" or anything like that. It is a business and you make money based on your efforts. Every legitimate business REQUIRES and up-front investment whether it be a restaurant or a shoe store. It simply takes money to make money my friend its just a fact of life and business.

[jeffrey]

*claps* you're entitled to your opinion Jeff. I would show you a video proving you wrong but i dont want this to be a tennis match

Enjoy your night

Oh, please do humor me and show me this video. I hope it's better than the one they have on their homepage

[jeffrey]

Listen Jeffrey,

Its clear that you are misinformed and trying to bash a business without knowing much about it. I actually take vacations and have used the vacation club to book travel and not only do they beat the best online price but I get cash-back for it. You should try doing some scholarly research on the subject before trying to bash an great opportunity such as this one. It just makes you look bad bro. You clearly talk like someone who is too afraid to try something like this because of fear of failure, which I should say will not get you very far in life. If you want to make comments such as those, please bring in some valid facts into the argument if you wish to be taken seriously. Also, none of the videos speak of "getting rich quick" or anything like that. It is a business and you make money based on your efforts. Every legitimate business REQUIRES and up-front investment whether it be a restaurant or a shoe store. It simply takes money to make money my friend its just a fact of life and business.

Actually, I'm not misinformed at all. I see these all the time. I can guarantee you that they don't own 10,000 timeshares (if they did, they would be out of business due to the maintenance fees) What they do is sell remnant inventory at timeshares -- inventory that you can get on many sites without having to pay a monthly fee.

It's not a business you make money off your efforts. The numbers on their site (which I listed above) plainly show that everyone that signs up loses money. Read their own report

[The Avid Entrepreneur]

Actually, I'm not misinformed at all. I see these all the time. I can guarantee you that they don't own 10,000 timeshares (if they did, they would be out of business due to the maintenance fees) What they do is sell remnant inventory at timeshares -- inventory that you can get on many sites without having to pay a monthly fee.

It's not a business you make money off your efforts. The numbers on their site (which I listed above) plainly show that everyone that signs up loses money. Read their own report

Have a goodnight man, continuing to discuss this with you would just be a waste of time because you are stating false "facts". And btw I know how to read, I wouldn't have an MBA otherwise Have fun bashing companies!