Dear Spammer (HUMOR)
Dear SpammerBy Angela Giles KlockeDear Spammer,Please don't delete! This is sent in accordance within the laws of myhome. If you wish to be removed from my replies to your spam, pleasehit reply yourself and send an e-mail to my non-existent address.I'd like to thank you for the letter you sent about making millionsin just two weeks. I regret to tell you, though, that you are a weeklate. See, someone else got to me first and I am already amillionaire. At least I can report to you that it does indeed work soyou should probably keep spamming folks in hopes that they, too, willsend you the required $29.95 to find out how to do it like me. It maybe that I just got lucky, but you never know.The e-mail you sent about refilling my Viagra prescription was indeedpriceless. How did you know? I've had it on my list to do for weeksso your spam letter allowing me to refill for only $49.95 was sowelcome! I still don't know what this stuff is for really but I hadto get in on it when everyone else was and you should see my nails --they're gorgeous! Consider the check in the mail already.Did you really mean it when you e-mailed me about the free cable TV?Or about the free satellite? Which is best, do you think? I am torn.Of course, what confuses me more is how I can get either one for freefor only $69.95! Wow! What a deal! And lucky for me, you take creditcards because I just sent in my $59.99 for the activation of theguaranteed VISA your e-mail a few weeks ago promised. Question - youreally do keep all my vital statistic information private, right? Idon't usually give away my bank account number and social securitynumber so easily, but I sure did want that VISA. When will it gethere so I can order my choice of cable or satellite?In closing, thank you the most for the e-mails about how I canpurchase lists of e-mail addresses so that I, too, can be just likeyou. Now I can annoy the heck out of innocent Internet users bysending spam e-mail to every address they might have listed on theirsite, even autoresponders (cause that IS the most annoying), and bejust as welcome each day as you. I can't thank you enough for helpingme with all of this and to show my gratitude, I'm going to be sure tospread the word about you right away to some wonderful near and dearfriends of mine ... SpamCop and SpamBusters ... and let's not forgetyour ISP because they love to hear about their customers.No really, you don't have to e-mail me again to thank me. I know howyou are feeling so please, spend that time wisely by getting ready tostart all over again with a whole new scam.Best of luck ... GET A JOB!The SpameeAngela is the publisher of THE WRITING PARENT, the zine especiallyfor parent writers(mailto:TheWritingParent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), and owns her ownpublishing business, Klocke Publishing(http://www.klockepresents.com).[end]Angela Giles Klocke - Writer/Publisher/Editor/Wife/Mom++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++In Udder Words - Yet Another Klocke Publishing ZineFor Writers! http://klockepresents.com/udderwords.htmlSubscribe - mailto:InUdderWords@yahoogroups.com++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I think it
Article on Consumer Protection on the Internet (Part 1) (9/9/01)
Consumer Protection on the InternetPart 1by Robin NoblesEven today, when many of us have been on the Net for years andyears, it's hard to believe the magnitude and power of theInternet. With that power, regretfully, comes problems.How can you protect yourself when ordering goods and services orconducting business over the Internet? And, where can you reportfraud if it happens to you?Please keep in mind that this article isn't meant to be an allinclusive listing of how you can protect yourself over theInternet. Instead, it's meant to serve as a guide for obtainingmore information and reporting cases of fraud.First, let's discuss how consumers can protect themselves overthe Internet.Let's say that you want to order a product online. Just like youwould do with "brick and mortar" businesses, you want to orderfrom a reputable company.How can you tell if it's reputable? To begin with, study the siteitself. Have they taken the time and expense to create a Web sitethat is professional and businesslike? Does the ordering processgive you confidence in the company? What is the company's policyon returns? Is there an "About us" button for you to learn moreabout the business? Does the company have a privacy policy? Lookfor a link to a privacy policy, and see how the company uses theinformation you provide when you order.You can take it a step further by learning how to evaluate thequality of online resources by taking Internet Detective's onlinetutorial. http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.htmlNext, look for a graphic to either the BBB Online (BetterBusiness Bureau Online: http://www.bbbonline.org) or TRUSTe(http://www.truste.org/). We'll discuss these organizations inmore detail when we talk about reporting fraudulent activities.But, at this point, see if the business has joined either ofthose organizations and posted the related graphic. If they have,this should give you a good measure of confidence in the businessactivities of the company. Understand that thousands of reputablecompanies have never joined either of those groups due to the highcost, so failure of the company to participate does not mean thatthe company isn't reputable. However, this is just something tolook for as an added precaution.When you find an item you want to order, and when you click onthe "Order" or "Purchase" button, does a little gold padlockappear on the bottom toolbar of your browser screen? Beforegiving your credit card information on the Internet, be sure thatthe gold padlock appears at the bottom of the browser screen,showing that you're in a secure and protected area. If itdoesn't, take your business elsewhere.(This article will be continued in Part 2.)This article was written by Robin Nobles, a professionalfreelance writer and the Director of Training of the Academy ofWeb Specialists. Over the past few years, she has trained severalthousand people in her online and onsite courses in search enginepositioning strategies and has written three books that can beordered through Amazon. Visit the Academy's Web site to learnmore about their online courses and products:http://www.academywebspecialists.com/more_info. Or, visit Robin'spersonal Web site at http://www.robinsnest.com.
Dropship On Ebay? Who Me?
Guess What? I’m actually dropshipping on eBay and making money doing it! Never ever thought I would be this far ahead in my internet career in this short of a time span. As Controller for a manufacturing company I make a decent living, but selling on eBay pays me almost as much…not quite, but I’m getting there! Too awesome!
All the so called “internet guru’s” sell stuff on eBay…at least that is what I’ve learned so far in my search for internet riches. They all want to give you their “one-on-one” eBay training for a few thousand dollars as well. Don’t fall for it…it’s just another way to put a few thousand dollars more into their pockets. Anyone can sell stuff on eBay and you don’t need to pay someone a few thousand dollars to tell you how to do it. They became internet guru’s by suckering some poor fools into paying them a bunch money to tell them their “secret techniques”, which you can find out for free if you search on the internet long enough.
I’m not an “internet guru” or expert, but I can still tell you how to make money on eBay. It’s called “dropshipping” and there is money to be made if you just try it. There are many dropship sites on the internet. Finding them can take time, but it is worth the time it takes to find the right ones.
For newbies that don’t know what a dropshipper is, here is a perfect explanation:
Let's say you ran across a product on a dropshipping site for $20.00. You would sell that product for a price you would determine, let's use $50.00 plus $4.95 postage and handling for an example. After you collect the payment of $54.95 from the customer and their mailing address, you would forward the $20.00 plus $4.95 postage costs to the supplier, and keep the $30.00 as profit, never having to touch or store the Product, as the supplier sends it out to the customer. This type of arrangement is extremely beneficial to both yourself, and the supplier. The supplier does not have to open a storefront, or hire sales people to sell their products, as that is the role of the dropshipper. You, as the dropshipper, have a way to earn some spare money, having no start-up costs, no overhead, no packaging costs or headaches, and can create an extremely useful relationship with the supplier. Dropshipping is a great way to run a business without carrying stock.
Using the above method, you can start your own online store and never have to carry any merchandise. This is how the internet works and it’s great for those who know how to create their own websites and can keep up with their dropshippers product and price changes. That alone can be a challenge, but if you can contribute a few hours a day to your website, dropshipping is an excellent way to make extra money.
Dropshipping is awesome IF you know how to market your site. Without traffic, you have no customers. NO customers means NO sales…NO sales means NO money. But, that is a great subject for my next article. So..until next time, here’s to your success online,
Teri Trantanella
www.toyoursuccessonline.com
www.gtcenterprise.com
www.reflectionsofmedolls.com
www.newveracitynow.com
www.itsallaboutsports.com