Is the Ampmark Gum Co work-from-home opportunity a scam?
October 1st, 2009 | by admin |t asked:
Got a link to this opportunity on Yahoo Hotjobs. Wondering if anyone knows anything about Ampmark or has participated in their work-from-home program. I couldn’t find anything on the web about whether it’s a scam or not.
FLORIA
3 Responses to “Is the Ampmark Gum Co work-from-home opportunity a scam?”
By Jennifer F on Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
It’s cute, It’s for real but I wouldn’t touch it - for 25 people you earn $125? There are companies that for that many customers you could be earning $500. - Plus it costs $30 per month.
Any company that states- 30 day FREE advertising - translates into - additional cost afterwards to advertise.
By myanow86 on Oct 7, 2009 | Reply
I tried over 18 home businesses in the course of 3 years so please forgive the length of this post but you will find it very informative. Learn from my mistakes! Also make sure to read all the way to the bottom because I have included a list of the top 10 work at home scams. I am a mother of two little girls who are actually tugging on my arm as I write this so I will try to be brief. Many people are looking for work from home companies. All the scams definitely create a big problem but also, there is a problem of people misunderstanding the difference between work from home “jobs” and work from home opportunities. There really are not work from home “jobs”. To get that you have to start working for a company in their offices first, then they MAY allow you to take the job home.
Most of the work from home opportunities that are legitimate offers are not an hourly pay type job. They are business opportunities that help you in starting your own business from your home. What you should do first is to decide if you are simply looking for an hourly rate type job or if you are looking for more of an opportunity for additional income such as what you would make in your own business being your own boss from home. Small home businesses have some small costs involved, less than $500 to start is reasonable and I would stay away from those wanting $1000-$5000. It doesn’t cost that much to start and run a home business so you shouldn’t pay it.
If you are coming across places that say free then I would RUN don’t walk the other way! They never are. I tried them many a times and 3 weeks later I had to buy this and 6 weeks later that. After 6 months these “free businesses” had cost me over $800 on average.
After trying 18 things I work about 18-25 hours per week for a National Medical Benefits Company. This is a nationally known and reputable home business which is what you need to make sure you are looking for. I have been with the company almost a year and a half now and I make over $3500 a month! In your first month, depending on how many hours you can work, I have seen people make anywhere from $500 to over $2500. And your income will increase each month because you get paid residual income as well.
The best part is they have 401(k), direct deposit, life insurance and a benefits package most of which you get from day one. In addition, there are no products, no hard selling or pushing, no cold calling, no home parties and no telemarketing! That was VERY important to me. I absolutely love working with them and I can’t believe I am making what I am making and in so few hours per week. The neat thing is there are other people on your team that you work with so you are never alone. You have great team support and you get to know the other people on your team pretty well.
I was a bit apprehensive at first because I know a lot of companies are not legit but this company is the number one National Medical Benefits Company in the US. They are a member of the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Dental Plans and the owner of the company actually sits on the board of The Consumer Health Alliance to which we are also members. Also they were featured in “The New York Times”, “Wall Street Journal” “Time Magazine” “American Medical Review” and even in the May 2008 issue of “Parents Magazine”. Even “60 Minutes” did a big special on this home based business.
Even more then all this is they are accepted at over 100,000 retailers nationwide. These are fortune 500 companies like Sears, Target, K-mart, Rite Aid, CVS, Wal-mart, Publix and more. These companies would never work with a company that was anything less than reputable.
TOP 10 WORK AT HOME SCAMS:
10. Craft Assembly
This scam encourages you to assemble toys, dolls, or other craft projects at home with the promise of high per-piece rates. All you have to do is pay a fee up-front for the starter kit… which includes instructions and parts. Sounds good? Well, once you finish assembling your first batch of crafts, you’ll be told by the company that they “don’t meet our specifications.” No matter what you won’t get paid.
9. Medical Billing
In this scam, you pay $300-$900 for everything (supposedly) you need to start your own medical billing service at home. You’re promised state-of-the-art medical billing software, as well as a list of potential clients in your area.
What you’re not told is that most medical clinics process their own bills, or outsource the processing to firms, not individuals. Your software may not meet their specifications, and often the lists of “potential clients” are outdated or just plain wrong.
8. Email/Rebate Processing
This is a twist on the classic “envelope stuffing scam” (see #1 below). For a low price ($50?) you can become a “highly-paid” email processor working “from the comfort of your own home.”
Now… what do you suppose an email processor does? If you have visions of forwarding or editing emails, forget it. What you get for your money are instructions on spamming the same ad you responded to in newsgroups and Web forums!
7. “A List of Companies Looking for Home workers!”
In this one, you pay a small fee for a list of companies looking for home workers just like you. The only problem is that the list is usually a generic list of companies, companies that don’t take home workers, or companies that may have accepted home workers long, long ago.
6. “Just Call This 1-900 Number For More Information…”
Not much to say here. Don’t Call!
5. Typing At Home / Data Entry
Here’s how it works: After sending the fee to the scammer for “more information,” you receive a disk and printed information that tells you to place home typist ads and sell copies of the disk to the suckers who reply to you. Like #8, this scam tries to turn you into a scammer!
4. “Turn Your Computer Into a Money-Making Machine!”
Well, this one’s at least half-true. To be completely true, it should read: “Turn your computer into a money-making machine… for scammers!”
This is much the same scam as #5, above. Once you pay your money, you’ll be sent instructions on how to place ads and pull in suckers to “turn their computers into money-making machines.”
3. Pyramid Schemes (this is NOT the same as Multi-Level Marketing MLM)
If you’ve heard of network marketing (like Amway, Mary Kay or Pampered Chef), then you know that there are legitimate MLM businesses based on agents selling products or services.
The problem arises when there is no legitimate product or service at all and it is all about finding new recruits and not only can you lose all your money, but you can be charged with fraud, too!
2. Chain Letters/Emails (”Make Money Fast”)
They promise that all you have to do is send the email along plus some money by mail to the top names on the list, then add your name to the bottom… and one day you’ll be a millionaire.
Actually, the only thing you might be one day is prosecuted for fraud. This is a classic pyramid scheme.
1. Envelope Stuffing
This is THE classic work-at-home scam. It’s been around since the U.S. Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, and it’s moved onto the Internet like a cockroach you just can’t eliminate.
There are several variations, but here’s a sample: Much like #5 and #4 above, you are promised to be paid $1-2 for every envelope you stuff. All you have to do is send money and you’re guaranteed “up to 1,000 envelopes a week that you can stuff… with postage and address already affixed!”
When you send your money, you get a short manual with flyer templates you’re supposed to put up around town, advertising yet another harebrained work-from-home scheme.
SO that’s the top 10.
Please beware of these scams. There are some legit home businesses out there so be careful. Look for companies in business over 10 years. Look for companies with a needed product or service, something you would be proud to represent. Look for companies that have a national reputation and are members of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Also, don’t be hung up on the BBB either. Did you know, common misconception here, that the BBB is NOT a government regulated agency? That in fact, they are local independently owned franchises where anyone, who pays the right price, can be a member in “good standing”. This is true!
As for those of you who say…..”I want to work from home but I don’t want to have to pay for anything”. Well, that’s great! But it will never happen. Let’s be honest, there is no such thing as a free lunch. As we talked about above there is a difference between a job and a business. You should NEVER have to pay for a job….but again…chances of finding a home job are about 3%. At any rate, if it is a true honest home business you need to expect to pay….Mr. Walt Disney didn’t start the Disney empire “without paying for anything”. Neither did Mr. Sam Walton, owner of Wal-Mart.
If you want to learn about REAL home businesses visit. Good luck to you in your search. Also feel free to contact me at any time with your questions!.
I should write a book! LOL Good Luck!
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By Momof4 on Oct 9, 2009 | Reply
I’ve never heard of Ampmark Gum Co. But I saw the word “scam” on your question, so I thought I’d answer your question by giving you a few things to look into when chosing a company to get involved in. Im using what we looked for and the answers we’ve found to help guide you into checking if a business is right for you or not. Don’t go to blogs because they don’t distinguish if a business is legit, real or a scam. Blogs are places that negative people go to only to vent their flustrations on something that did not work for them. If a company is fairly new, then the probability that their listed in scam reports isn’t there yet. I say yet, because every business gets a negative report from a consumer, x employee or an x representative down the line. Usually these people (employees or x independent representatives)are the ones who did not do what was needed to succeed in business because they didn’t put the time or effort needed to succeed, or do what other’s who “have” succeeded in that particular industry had advised them to do. They didn’t follow the advice of others who succeeded to the t. Anyhow, these blogs people go and post all these negative things that are usually 80 percent false accusations. They can’t fess up to the fact of the real reason why they failed in business. Instead of standing up and admitting to what they really did or did not do, they try and pass the buck onto someone or something else to try and justify their failure. Basically to make them feel better and luer people away from what could of been a big time opportunity for them to do something with their lives. That’s what blogs are basically about. So when searching for a business for yourself, look for yourself, not anyone else’s. Talk to the people who are involved in the company “now” not then. The ones involved then and not now are failures that are only going to give you negative feed back and take it away from you. Which isn’t right. You need to be a leader not a follower. If your a follower of negative impact, your going to fail! That’s not what you want to do. Businesses take time to build. The average time to build a business is anywhere from 2 to 5 years. Depending on how much work and effort you put into it. Most people quit under 3, because they gave up on what they could of had because the income wasn’t what they wanted it to be. Instead of working their business and acheive what they wanted in whatever time frame it took, they throw there hands up in the air and quit, or get too much negative feed back from others just out to destroy their dream, then they quit and turn around and go along with what everyone else says and call it a scam or a fake or whatever. Don’t let these people pull you into their lifestyle. They’re unhappy people who didn’t have what it took to succeed, not did they take the time and real effort into “building” a business. Okay, my book is over… The End LOL
Here’s the list:
1. How long have they been in business? We checked to see how long our company was around, at the time it was nine years old and now it’s 15. Getting involved with a business under 5 could be good taking it from the ground floor, it’s a challenge. But if all goes well, it could be very profitable for you. Do you know when they started? Ours started back in 1993.
2. Are they registered with the BBB. Ours is registered. I think this is important one. Don’t read compaints on your company. Anyone can file a complaint rather it’s false or not, It’s another type of “blog” where people can go and see if there’s complaints on a company. Every business person knows that complaints are filed all the time. It happens, but it doesn’t mean the company is not legit. If they’re registered with the BBB it pretty much just means it’s public.
3. Who’s involved with the company? Like in ours Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki has endorsed our company. Check to see if anyone has endorsed this company. Also, meet with the co-founders. We’ve personally met our co-founders and found from our first meeting that they were incredible people with incredible visions. See if their’s a time where you can meet them. If your going to be doing business, there should be a time where you should have the chance to meet with them.
4. What is the compensation plan now, and what was it like before.
See the history of the comp plan and see if increases and never decreases in it’s history. We checked with the records in our business and found that in over the years, the compensation plan had only gotten better each year. As long as we’ve been involved, we’ve now witnessed the compensation plan always increasing. Check the history on yours.
5.Have they been featured in magazine’s? For instance our company has been featured in several magazines Like Success, Fortune, USA Today etc. Check to see if they have. You can get a lot of information on the company by reading about them.
6. Has Inc 500 rated them? This magazine or slit rated our company the 22nd fastest growing company in revenue in it’s first 5 years. Inc 500 shows the top 500 businesses in revenue growth. Check to see what Inc 500 rated the company your looking at. This is an important one because you can follow their growth path and a few other things.
7. Do they have a physical address that you can go to? Check for an address not just a P.O. Box
8. Where are their headquarters? Our world headquarters is in Farmington Hills Michigan, Personally been there, (If your here in the states) Other headquarters in different countries. and US headquarters in Charlotte. I think this is vital because if a company only has a P.O. Box or a web site only, then it should raise a red flag.
9. What does the start up cost take care of? In my business headquarters takes care of all the billing for my customers, Inventory, Customer services, Order Entry, Employees, workman’s comp, Cross referencing, Licensing, Insurance, paperwork, accounts payables, accounts receivables etc.
10. What is the product and service you would be selling.
Is the product and service in high demand? For instance we offer services that people are already using every day and paying for anyway, but at a lower cost. Things like Local and Long distance telephone services, Internet, video phones, digital phones, cellular phones through all the major cellular providers. We make a percentage every single month they pay their bills. Everyone uses them and everyone pays for them. When money gets tight, would they keep your service or be able to run to the store and be able to purchase them on sale? Leaving you to have to wait until they run out of what they just purchased, or wait until their finances get settled? This is what I mean by high demand.
So many different things to check out in making sure a business is a good one to get involved in. If the business feels right to you, and all questions are answered to your satisfaction, then I’d say jump in. Running a business is different then a job though. You have to treat it like it’s your child and not just something your going to “try” you have to believe in the product and service and go at it full force. This is your future your talking about, no one else’s.
I hope my examples of what we looked into with our business helps you be able to find the same answers in your business. Forget about asking the common question and asking someone how much they make in their business to determine if you’d get involved in it or not. In a business, it doesn’t matter what one business is making over another. It only matters what you do in “YOUR” business. I **** it when people ask me how much I make. Because they’re not going to walk into and start up their business making what I make. I’ve been involved with my business for over six years. So yeah, I will make more. If you tell someone how much you make, then it’s a psychological thing that they expect to make that amount in a week, and that is just not going to happen. Six years of building a business verses 1 day. So don’t even ask. Look at the possibilities for YOURSELF.
I created a blog on my yahoo 360 page profile in regards to home based businesses and this plus more information on this topic. Your more then welcome to look at it to help you decide if this company is right for you.
Hope this helps!
Tiffany
P.S. if you have any questions, feel free to email me at