iZigg is a new MLM company that promises wealth based on text message advertising.
Let’s state the obvious: Texting is a big trend.
Now let’s state the not-so-obvious: The cast of characters behind iZigg are the same bunch who were closely involved with Burnlounge, where the FTC filed a lawsuit and shut them down. Then they went on to another company called LocalAdLink, another alleged scam that had people paying a bunch of money to get listed on Google.
The players:
Brian Underwood:Â Master Distributor Burnlounge, National Sales Director, LocalAdlink
Dr. Scott Elliott: FTC vs. Burnlounge (sued by the FTC), then heavily involved promoting LocalAdLink
Jason Borne: VP and Founding Partner in Burnlounge, Founding Partner in LocalAdLink
Opinion:
This is a classic “lots of hype” money game that will not last. If you don’t believe me, here is a list of companies that I said the same thing about. How are they doing today?
- iJango
- Burnlounge
- YTB Travel
- MyMusicTicket
- BioPerformance
- Ad Surf Daily (ASD)
Hi Ty,
Thank you for warning us regarding this Scam.
Regards,
Ramiro
I’ve looked at iZigg and found the products to be legit and comparably priced to other text marketing products available through other companies. And, the 90210 short code is definitely a good code. What is your reasoning behind why the FTC would come in and shut them down?
I also have a hard time believing that Dave Liniado, successful on his own, would partner with these guys if he didn’t feel that they were creating a legitimate business opportunity.
And my final comment is, you listed businesses that you had been right about. How many were your wrong about?
I agree with Teresa. I looked at iZigg and liked what I saw. Came onboard early on and have had an absolute blast with the program. It’s an easy story to share.
Businesses that come on are finding the product very beneficial and agents are making money.
Ty, I haven’t seen a response to Teresa’s final question to you. Why is that?
To everyone else, check it out for yourself and see what you think.
Well, in 7 years of blogging about Network Marketing, I don’t think I’ve ever been wrong on one of these deals, but feel free to have a look at the archives…
Well thats helpful.
Ty …Unfortunately, you are wrong on “one of these deals” as you stated above. The one company that I know of that you are dead wrong about is YTB Travel. I’ve been with them for almost 5 years. I am a licensed travel agent of which I have extensive continuing educational training and sales to back it up. In fact, one of my clients is in Hawaii right now staying at the Royal Hawaiian which was a booking for over $17,000!! My other clients are professional speakers and trainers that I arrange their group cruises.
Yes, YTB Travel was sued by the California Attorney’s office a few years back but we were never once, not even for a second shut down. The case was settled and YTB Travel continues to operate as a fully licensed travel agency. In fact, we are ranked number 29 in the United States for top sales producing travel agencies.
We continue to receive accolades from our travel partners and I am proud to be a YTB Travel agent.
Please correct your facts before stealing someone’s dream. I love to travel and that’s why I got involved with the travel industry and with YTB Travel.
What is YTB Travel’s volume in 2010 compared to 2008?
Ty, you old dog you. Thanks for posting. I didn’t see anything about scam in your post. The people involved have a shaky past but “A Big Trend” and classic “hype” don’t mix. It’s either a big trend or its all hype.
Hype means nothings there, trend means its popping like wildfire. So if somethings there, how can it be called hype?
Buddy, just keeping you on your toes. Not in iZigg but let’s give theme a chance at least. They’re going to keep trying until they get it right. I think it’s a first, innovative ( mlm ), and definitely noteworthy to watch and see where this goes.
Hey Ty,
I am glad someone saw thru this scam and is willing to let others know it is not legit. I had someone send me an invite to this on Direct Matches and it did sound too good to be true. Thanks for the heads up on this one!!
Deborah
Good info. Not everyone is willing to take on these big names but you did. Thanks
I am using this product, and have introduced this product to several local businesses. We are all having positive results. As opposed a juice company or some other commonly found consumable product, iZigg has a product that provides quantifiable results to businesses. If a marketing product makes you more money than it costs, then that’s good business any way you slice it. You are wrong about this one.
Hype or not….the only succesful MLM to stand the test of time is Amway. All others come and go. The creators are the only ones who make money until the momentum phase is complete. Once that is done, it fizzles out and the creators launch the next (what they call “trend”). Face it, most MLM’s are formed due to undercapitalized management and preying on peoples emotions. In the end, MLM should stand for “Many Listless Memories”.
JN, did your Amway upline tell you that other MLM’s do over $100 Billion in sales a year? You know the ones that “come and go and don’t last”, these companies have been in business for 2 to 50 years.
JN, We should have known… we just didn’t work hard enough!
Thanks for sharing this Ty, I respect your opinion when it comes to online mlm’s .
It is companies like these that give our industry a bad name.
Thanks for sharing,
Larry
Hi Ty –
It was great meeting you at the Todd Falcone event back in August. I love the content you produce but I’ve got to disagree with you on this one.
I’m surprised you don’t mention Eyton Elbaz and Dave Liniado in your review. (Google them!)
Elbaz founded Applied Semantics which he sold to Google for a few hundred million dollars. Liniado is a highly respected pioneer in the mobile space with very successful mobile companies such as Mobile Campus and Student Advantage. Neither one of them have ever been affiliated with network marketing prior to iZigg. This is a very well funded company.
These are the masterminds behind iZigg and 90210 and THEY brought in Underwood to build the network distribution model. They new that Underwood knew how to build a massive team and they wanted to take iZigg to market quickly to position iZigg in front of this massive trend towards mobile.
I’m having tremendous success with iZigg and so are the business owners using the platform. iZigg pricing blows away the competition and their mobile platform simply rocks. (Liniado built it)
Anyone getting involved with iZigg NOW (before mass market adoption of mobile marketing) will be very glad they did 6-12 months from now. Those that don’t will experience the pain of regret.
Best –
James
Everyone is so quick to run down another company to promote themself or their company of choice. Why can t you be a good politician and run a clean campaign. If you tried the Izigg product and put it to use you would see it works great, is priced right, and creates great value. I used the product to take my HVAC biz from 350k a month to 1.8 million a month. Numbers do not lie. You really upset me that you bast something that you have never tried so how do you know what you are talking about. I am a proud member of Izigg, so is the president of my bank, so is the general manager of a great hospital, yes many pillars of the community are using the Izigg platform to build their companies. In matter of fact Gov. Arnold S; of Ca is using the platform. Just remember run a clean campaign..
Ty,
I am amazed that a professional(?) like you would have a headline like this about any new company. Then allow knucklehead comments to be posted like “Thank you for warning us regarding this Scam” or “I am glad someone saw thru this scam and is willing to let others know it is not legit” or “It is companies like these that give our industry a bad name”
Talk about biased unprofessional reporting. Are you trying to get a job on FOX News?
BTW, this company has been paying me a nice check every week and so are a couple of other mlm companies. Hmmm…I wonder if they are scams too.
John
I never said anything about “getting a nice check”. Ponzi schemes and cash gifting programs can give you a “nice check”. The question is, (given the reputation of those involved) is will this company last?
Only time will tell if the company or any company will last. Kinda like Bear Stearns? You are correct, you never did say anything about a check. I did, because that is what is important to me and people that join a company. What you did say is pretty damning and unprofessional. And your rebuttal, even mentioning the “P” word or cash gifting? Wow!
John, with all due respect, look at the companies that these guys have previously been involved with. Burnlounge and LocalAdLink. If you don’t see iZigg following that same path, great….but to call me unprofessional for simply bringing it up is a stretch. If the money is the most important thing to people, why don’t more people sell drugs?
Did you take James’ advice and research Eyton Elbaz and Dave Liniado? Maybe you should do that before you simply say a company isn’t going to last. Also, as I said in my earlier post, Izigg is helping the American business owner STAY in business. That helps our economy. It’s not just about the money that people are making selling the Izigg product. It is about restoring the American dream. I am proud to say I am part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
Maybe that would be a more constructive use of your time too!!??
Ty,
Once again, you are taking liberties with your spin. I never said “money is the most important thing to people” Then you go on to say “why don’t more people sell drugs?” “Ponzi schemes?” Are you kidding me? You said the company is a scam. Read your headline. Then you never deviated with your negative biased slant. You still haven’t.
John
Okay John, What would you call LocalAdLink and Burnlounge? Great business opportunities?
One way mlms suck people in is that they can make a nobody feel like a somebody, but its only a short-lived illusion. The leaders of Izigg probably wouldn’t touch most of their agents with a 10 foot pole outside of there.Thanking my lucky stars I can sell things and services without paying people to give me the “right tools” and “appeal”. I also got into the right career field, so by not being desparate, I can see it for what it is, and hopefully let others see it too.
I did some research and even spoke to my friend who is promoting Izigg on his facebook page and working feverishly to get his business owner friends and family to join.
Then I Googled “send text messages from computer” and I not only saw that mobile marketing isn’t a new concept, but that ANYONE can purchase a plan for a fraction of the cost to send out multiple messages to those that agree to be on the business owner’s market list. No short code or competing for any easy key word.
Such texting service providers work through major carriers also enable auto-responder, emails, remove from list option, etc.
My friend has to purchase a service for at least $99 (cheapest plan) + $15 a month, and the $99 start up fee. He is a struggling caregiver. What the heck is he going to need advertising for? A good time easy lay? He also has (if he is going to get anywhere) to get to willing participants before his local Izigg competitors and their recruits do, and then sell the product that eventually some companies will realize they don’t need.
IMO, Izigg is the Amway of mobile marketing. Meetings in fancy places with [most likely] compensated endorsements from has-been “celebrities”, and the very few who have temporarily mastered selling a more expensive glamorized service before the general public wises up. Who cares if you sell as long as you find other suckas paying for a service they don’t need in order to sell it, right?
Many will find that they have invested much time, energy, and money of high risk for little reward if any at all. Small frugile business owners and foundation and church organizations have much more cost effective options. The much larger price and hassel is not worth a cool zip code. Larger companies can absorb the price of their own short code (ie. T-A-R-G-E-T).
Well, Izigg leaders better not blow that nice chunk of change they are getting, because this will probably be the last time anyone puts money in their pockets.
Zepps, with all due respect, you’re an idiot. Show me the pseudo or any celebs promoting Izigg? Ever go to a meeting? Zero, zilch, nada, there are no celeb endorsements at all. As far as your friend doing what he does that’s his business. But you’re wrong – there is NO startup fee if you’re buying a plan as a retailer. You pay that IF you want to sell the product to someone else. There are NO long term contracts as well so he can stop when he wants. What’s with this “good time easy lay” comment about? You’re a moron. As fas as meetings in fancy places. Hmmm… I’ve attended meetings in the back room of a restaurant, in a coffee shop, etc. Fancy places are where big annual things happen like any other company jerk. But mostly, a group of business supporters ’cause that’s what this is, get together more often than any chamber of commerce I know of for support and ways to help each other. It’s always the ones with no money or personal success that bitch and moan.
Ty – may be you should explain why you think it’s a scam. Simply calling it a scam is bad journalism, if you consider yourself a journalist. You could have provided detail information aside from naming the players and their backgrounds. FYI: Sam Walton went bankrupt many times before founding Wal-Mart, which is from bankruptcy today. But, it doesn’t mean that they could or will go bankrupt because Sam founded the company – Bad call Ty – sorry.
Mark,
1. How much does it cost to get involved and what do you get for that cost?
2. How many customers do you have (not involved in the business)?
Cost depends on what you want to do. If you want to become a retailer and sell the mobile messinging service it’s $99. If you want to build a team it’s $350. If you’re a business owner and want up to 2,000 messages a month to send it’s $99 with no contracts or other fees.
Well I just joined a few days ago, And I tried to dissect this thing every which way possible and get pass the MLM thing, with that aside and the bad press on the with the people involved, which I dont care less from the bad businesses they had in the pass. Coming from business owner like myself (I own a real estate company, commercial flooring, and a construction company with my brother) I have seen alot of failed businesses in my life, what you have to commend from these guys is, and alot of people can take a note from is you have to keep going and not sit sit around and not do nothing about it, especially in this economy. I have 33 real estate agents in my office and not everyone is good. I have 8 that are producing 2-3 a month, but the other 25 are not doing anything. They come to the trainings,do 1 on 1’s and no matter what you provide and try to motivate, they dont close a deal. But at the end of the they do point a finger one way on another and try to blame, instead of looking in the mirror. Human nature, it is what it is. And as far as Izigg, if you dont own a business and dont know how much advertising cost are, there is no place for someone to talk. Just my real estate business alone is about 5-7k a month on advertising with maybe .6 to 1% return. I just read a Shakeys, who did text marketing and did over 10%, unbelievable! At this point MLM is secondary, main focus is my current businesses. but you cant deny text mobile marketing is the future and its instantaneous. And the lead generation is one of a kind. And if it works for me, thats when the MLM comes in and I am going to start referring my network of business owners. I personally been in some failed businesses myself in the pass, but is it going to stop me from keeping my wheels rolling, no. I get it, if you dont get it. Don’t get involved! BTW I signed up a few business owners already and have appts with night club owners and a friend of mine that owns a Para-transit company.
Hey Ty –
this is great info! It’s all just an opinion and it just
so happens that you have great facts to support
your opinions.
Thanks for all your research!!
Kody
Denver Co
Robert,
I agree with you and glad to see a “bigger picture” analysis of this. I found IZigg by accident when searching for an innovative business opportunity. Checked out the presentation and found it appealing, but wanted to do my due diligence.
I found this thread and it seems that there is a mixture of opinions but I found yours most unbiased because from an entrepreneur point of view, ” we all have failures, this is not going to stop us from failing forward”.
Saying a company is going to fail from the start just because the owners have had failures is ridiculous. If every business I have personally been involved with was a raving success, I would be on an island somewhere forever.
I cannot think of one person who is a success who never had a failure or set back.
I think you bring some logic to this thread that is needed.
Renee
Tampa, FL
Ok grea info only its been like a month and the conversation ended. I was wondering if the few of you that mentioned you had joined could state your progress here. How did those meeting go with those prospects?
Ty – all due respect – I think the fact that you base your opinion of Izigg on fact that some of those involved had businesses that previously went bad speaks more to your lack of knowledge about business than it does about izigg being a bad opportunity.
Was Ford Motor company a bad opportunity? Henry Ford was bankrupt multiple times. YOU would not have invested and would have not made a fortune like other stockbuyers did.
Was Hershey a bad opportunity? Mr. Hershey – the founder was bankrupt multiple times. YOU would not have invested and made a fortune like other stockbuyers did.
Was Heinz Ketchup a bad investment? Heinz was bankrupt several times previously. YOU would not have invested and made a fortune like others did.
Would you do business with Donald Trump? He filed bankruptcy twice.
Would you do business with Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, or Thomas Jefferson? They were ALL bankrupt.
Your premise that people should stay away from a company simply because some involved were bk previously is pure rubbish. All due respect. It speaks more to your lack of understanding of the business world. I would say someone who has been bk a couple of times – prob has a good chance of success as they have learned quite a few things in the process.
Geniuses and mega-leaders/giants that went bankrupt:
Thomas Jefferson, Monticello and all his possessions including 120 slaves auctioned off to pay his debts. Filed several BK’s
Abraham Lincoln, US President, his partner in store died. Was this HIS fault?,
Ulysses S. Grant, military genius,
William McKinley, US President,
Benedict Arnold, military genius, if not for his actions at Saratoga where he charged the redoubt – Continentals might have lost at Saratoga and we would still be British. He also broke the siege of Ft. Stanwix through sly manipulation without even firing one shot. If not for that – we also might be British today
P.T. Barnum
Lenny Bruce
Buffalo Bill Cody, legendary showman and frontiersman
Francis Ford Coppola, made the greatest movie of all time, giant in the film industry
Walt Disney, genius years ahead of his time
William Durant (founded General Motors)
Mark Twain (later – made all the money back and repaid everyone)
Mathew Brady the single most pre-eminent civil war photographer – after war – people lost interest in his work. Was this his fault?
Henry John Heinz, inventor of ketchup, initial company failed due to bad harvest, was this fault?
Oscar Wilde, had to go bankrupt after being found guilty and imprisoned for homosexuality which at the time was illegal
Milton Hershey – founded Hershey’s chocolate. Only had a 4th grade education. Four companies failed. Fifth was Hershey’s
Henry Ford – first 2 companies failed. Ford Motor – only had $233 balance when he sold his first car
Donald Trump – twice filed BK
Michael Jackson – was on brink of BK at the time he died
Bjorn Borg, one of the greatest tennis players of all time
Frank Baum, wrote Wizard of Oz, literary giant
Elton John
Tom Petty
John Connally, Texas Governor
Stan Lee, comic book genius
Need I say anymore?
JP, my point has nothing to do with failure and everything to do with promoting scams that were shut down.
If you want to roll the dice with iZigg, go for it, but don’t you think people should know a little something about the characters involved before they sign up?
@JP, J Rothstein and various others… JP your LONG drawn out reply was simply a waste of space and time…What Ty, and MANY others including myself, is concerned about has nothing to do with filing BK’s!! That’s actually a laughable argument and you, like ALL the others that have swallowed the “kool-aid” without checking the “sugar” content, overlook some FACTS that CANNOT be disputed! You and others also say that the argument Ty laid out is “unprofessional” and “shows his lack of business knowledge”…I am NOT a friend of Ty and would not even know who he is were it not for the due diligence I did when I was also informed of the FTC ruling against these guys. If you had done YOUR due diligence you would understand that the issue here is NOT about “triumph over failure”…lol…its about someone committing fraud and taking advantage of other people, like you and I, in the past seriously enough to warrant VERIFIABLE legal action against them,. Specifically against this guy Elliott. And, Borne was absolutely aware of this and what the ramifications of the case were and are! Before all of you go around doing what so many others in the past have done, speaking from feelings and not able to discern or even WANT to know the facts, check out this ONE fact alone and than make comments about how you feel…In mu opinion the facts of that FTC case and the past fraud and borderline criminal activity were enough to keep me and MANY others from being part of iZigg. Add to that a legitimate posting I made to the iZigg blog that to this day remains unanswered by ANY one of the principals of this company and there was no way we were going to sign on to this. I always asked myself this question (and maybe you should too): If they have nothing to hide than own up to this FTC stuff PUBLICLY and tell people how you have resolved this? How this is different from the past? Step out and face it because this info is not hard to find for anyone that really wants to know the truth.. I would if it were me AND I had nothing to hide….
At best iZigg is a crap shoot all by itself like most businesses are but when you add to it management and key players that have PROVEN track records of fraud and deceit than you really have are taking a chance..in my opinion…
I am on the National DO Not Call list and just today these scum of the marketing “Industry” sent me a text. There should be 0 (as in ZERO) marketing to cell phones. Cells are a paid for service that should be free of unasked for advertising. Cells should be a safe place, especially when I am on the Do Not Call List.
You can tell its going to be a scam outfit when there is no way for the people hitting the website to have direct contact with the company. Legit companies would welcome direct contact. Not these guys. I had to do an internet Who Is to find them and spam mail their web host to prove a point. I suggest clever hackers DOS these guys if they want to be helpful for a change.
They are hiding behind this scummy company, domainsbyproxy.com. So I wrote them to let them know their client was in violation of federal codes, the Do Not Call list. See my note below to domainsbyproxy.
—– note to domainsbyproxy ——-
Well, since you have a drop down category for Spam-IM, you are apparently aware of the actions of your scummy clientele. Thanks for giving them a safe haven. I am reporting izigg.com (probably doing me no good at all) because they are in violation of the federal do not call list. I have received SPAM IM from them and have asked them to stop. This is in violation of a federal code.
Sean
Thanks for providing such a valuable service.
——— end of note ——–
I suggest others do the same and spread the word. I rather think domainsbyproxy should be illegal as well. Too many scum out there clogging up the internet and trying to “monetize” everything.
Sean
iZigg is a permission based service. The only way to receive text from anyone using the iZigg service is to opt in to a campaign at 90210. There is NO WAY for iZigg to get your number and just start spamming you. DORK! And, you can opt out at any time by simply replying STOP…
I agree with you Nick! I have liked iZigg for the opt in/out feature. Now I’ve been an agent for some time now and it’s working out for me! You have to give you all into this business to be successful. If it wasn’t working for you when you were an agent, then you didn’t give it your all. Each one of my clients like using the iZigg program and have renewed every month.
Well everyone needs to get used to it whether you like it or not. Mobile marketing is coming in a big title wave. Major companies are pushing billions not millions, BILLIONS of dollars to Mobile Marketing. Because thats where the paradyme shift is going. Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Disneyland all are using Mobile text marketing. Just face it..
Ty, thanks for the post.It is truly important to know the history of company owners and master distributors before getting involved.Just having that knowledge helps us to make an informed decision.
At least we have the internet to research people involved in these companies. Then… it is jump in if you would like, but at least you know what you are jumping into.
IZigg can be amazing and have tremendous growth or success. It can also be a total flop. I guess we will never really know. We would all be proceeding at are own risk, just like in most MLM today! 🙂
Well I will have to say, I’m still not convinced that this opportunity is indeed a scam. Therefore, I will give it a try and report back to you sometime after to see whether it was worth it or not.
Thanks for the info though TY!
Hi rizz,
I am working with izigg and it has been a great experience. Whether not iZigg is a scam, it is still working and working great, making people lots of money.
So my view is whether or not it fails or succeeds I am going to get in and work it and make as much as I can.
If your looking for a sponsor so that you can get in. Message me and let me know.
Ty did Not give any substantial proof that iZigg is a scam…
It is NOT…
There is a REAL product with a REAL service!
Go to my website for increasing social proof from around the country….
Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water here….Text marketing is extremely effective and isn’t always associated with MLM. I’m a part time sales agent for Text2VIP, one of the industry leaders. They’ve been around over 2 years, no complaints, customers are happy, they work with big brands and have solid rep. I can’t speak directly for izigg as to it’s legitimacy, but I make good money with Text2VIP and feel good about helping my clients.
I am still in the dark as to why the FTC would file a lawsuit. I have contacted the FTC and they have not published any info on Izigg. Have also requested FOIA to read any complaints regarding IZIGG filed with FTC.
Guys I love the idea. I am involved and am getting positive results from 80 percent of businesses, much better than the radio sales I try to do. Do I think it will last? No. So what..What in technology does last? In the meantime, however, I plan on using it and selling it as much as possible.
The Ney sayers can’t stand it, because they know deep down this the deal of the century, so get in or get out of the way.
I looked into the izigg deal and like most things- I wouldn’t say it’s ALL bad or all good. I ended up selling text marketing for Text2vip and I’ve been with them a bit over a year now. I wasn’t big on the “stigma” the MLM’s carry. Plus, because Text2VIP has so many national brands as clients already I’ve found it helpful in getting my own accounts sold. We aren’t the cheapest pricing around, but the customer service they provide my clients is unreal. Good Luck to everyone!
Not sure what to think about izigg, but I know a bunch of mona vie people seem to have jumped on the train wreck!!! BTY way in everyone’s opinion what is the new up and coming MLM?
Izigg looks great I do have a few problems with them and one is the contact:
If you have any questions regarding any iZigg products, please get back with the iZigg Agent that led you to our site.
Umm…I don’t have an agent…so I take it there is no support. Well truthfully the sms business is almost self contained. Hence the reason why I am watching a small company called SlideSMS.
Imagine getting everything iZigg offers for half the price and getting unlimited SMS. Also a free plan to test the service or just to use it for personal use. Slide is focusing on business but also focusing on the end user and adding more of a community feel. Really as a teacher I don’t want to pay $99 to reach out to the parents of my student about homework assignments and what not. If the school is not ready to adopt it and pay for it I would still like to use it.
Slide will be going more along the lines of the affiliate model. It is FREE to sale it with a residual income potential.
Everyone, thanks for your comments and opinions. Mike, thanks for your time on the call today…I too have already had a small handful of friends get burned by these izigg people and I think the more shared information and truth out there-the more people we can save from getting scammed by izigg too.
If they got burned by the “Izigg people” then they just didn’t work the program. That’s kind of like buying a piece of exercise equipment and just staring it instead of using it and then wondering why it doesn’t work! I am working it and making money and helping businesses survive. I also have recruited some people that just stare at the walls and wait for the calls to miraculously come in and then point fingers at me or Izigg when they don’t. You can lead a horse to water……
I am an izigg rep. I personally love it! I did research the company before I joined. I wasnt impressed that Brian Underwood was with another company that had been shut down. Not having his side of the story, I decided to put that matter aside (forgive and forget). I am very happy that I did. Most people know that timing in network marketing is really important. The timing to join is now. Companies are just figuring out the whole text marketing thing, so to be in this company before the big “hit” is very important. You can join as a Sales rep for $99, then you make a residual 25% income from everything you sell. With our economy, that gives a lot of people Hope!
I was with izigg for all of about 3 weeks. The first time their servers went down my client tried to reach out and let them know but there was no one to contact, check out the website, they don’t give a number for even “support”. The rest of the businesses I had talked to about it in my area were not enthused to find that the keywords they would want for their business were already “taken” by izigg members, many were not even being used-just squatted like a domain name. Some ended up going with Club Texting and the rest with Text2vip. Many people I speak to w/ izigg are not happy that the supposed “value” of 90210 disaapears when the keywords are unavailable and the top people get out of the ponzi with their money….the rest are left to try to sign businesses up on the next short code 90211.
I would like to know from an Izigg rep what is the age that you can become one? Someone sold this bill of goods to my 17 year old & I am trying to figure out how to get him out of it.
Misleading headline/article. You are calling it a scam in your headline instead of proving that it is one. It’s good to question any company because of the people involved. That is justified, but you have to be more fair in your headlines. I get it…you get more traffic by simply calling something a scam, but is that ethical? Kinda hypocritical. I’m not involved with this company but I am doing my research as a marketing professional. I already own my own SMS business but I’m considering iZigg’s platform for my business clients and not for the MLM side of things. What I’ve found thus far is that their pricing packages for businesses is VERY competitive to that of other SMS platforms that are non MLM companies. I may be able to provide more feedback once I complete my research of their platform. Until then, be more fair in your headlines. Had you simply put a (?) after “iZigg Scam” in the headline instead of after the FTC part, I would have less of a problem with it. Just my two cents.
izigg ripped me off for $450.
I made all kinds of promises but after they got my money, no one would return any of my calls.
I’ve signed up with a TRUE SMS (long code)company. (They don’t have to go thru agggregators) and they offered me 2 keywords and unlimited messages for $49.00 per month AND a free TEXT Biz card exchange with NO contract! It works even on Pre-Paid phones. (Short codes don’t)
They also have a FREE affiliate program which you make 25% comission when you resell, so why pay $99 per month for 2,000 messages and why pay a $350 or $2500 fee to resell a MLM business model that may NOT work?
I don’t want all of my cell phone contacts lost if the MLM company goes out of business! BTW I own my database, who owns yours if you are with this MLM company?
Do your due diligence before you buy into or resell short codes, they fail…
Can anybody suggest a website or any other media where I can learn all the facts of SMS messaging without these facts being linked (a.k.a. biased) to any company? Not sure what long code, aggregators, short codes, and the like even means and would love to learn to make an informed decision regardless of what company I join. Thanks much guys (and gals)!
joe, what is the name of the sms company you signed up with for $49
all i’ve got to say is hmmmmm
I am so glad that I found this post. We have an office in Boca, Nice building. I noticed a group of like 8-10 guys in gym shorts,track gear hanging out in our Fourier. I could tell this one guy about 45 was pitching hard at the group of 25-30 yro. About an hr and a half later a very excited kid walked in our office and asked what we do. We are a digital marketing company. We too offer mobile marketing. The look on the groups face was priceless. I walked out and handed out a few business cards not one of them took a moment to look at my title. I am the Director of Mobile Marketing. They started a very scattered hectic pitch. After about 2 mins of rambling he grabbed the “founder” of the company. I figured lets have some fun. I asked him about his connectivity, which aggregator they used? No answer. I asked if their short code was a dedicated or shared short code? He said it was dedicated so I asked are you sure.(unless its 1 company using the short code its a shared short code) Then he started to catch on I might be somewhat educated in mobile marketing. I asked if his SC was provisioned across all carriers, “ummm no metro pcs boost and some others I think”. Now his group of kids were looking at him like come on sell this guy. This is when he said he had never sold an account himself!!! He “just hires super aggressive young take over the world guys”
Something just didn’t sit right about these guys that’s why I researched them and came across this site. I have no idea if this is a scam. I don’t really care.
I do care about mobile marketing and hope these yahoos don’t give the rest of the industry a bad name.
For what its worth the $1,500 unlimited messaging is very suspicious to me. I would love to send 10 million msgs across his platform and run up his bill. The carrier look up would cost more than that.
I am 99% sure there is a catch on that.
Great story Boca, thanks for sharing it. The ‘sales agent’ (and I use the term loosely) avatar which izig goes after sets the stage for such ill-informed presentations and they never pass the smell test when they run into a person with experience in mobile and text marketing such as yourself. Typical. As an owner of a text marketing company in this space, I share your concern that izigg’s going to give the industry a bad rap. I’ve already had 4 former people associated with them (quality folks I might add) come over to Text2Vip to sell for us. Good point on the $1500 unlimited msgs too!
Great gig for ex Mobile Home salesman, what could go wrong there.
SCAM, get a real job
The iZigg system seems to offer a good funnel to bring prospects into. What it does not offer is any assurance that the product pricing will stay competitive as “the majors” start getting in the game. And why wouldn’t they? What do you think Paul? Does the possibility of Google offering service like this free worry you?
Hey Boca and Paul Faherty,
I was at that meeting in the foyer of ‘your building’ in Boca Raton, FL. You must mean the suite you rent in that building? I was one of those guys at that meeting. And your account of how that meeting went couldn’t be any further from the truth. I am 28. That “45 year old guy” was 30. He made your job obsolete by showing your boss that our product is head and tails better than what you’ve been working on since 2001! We launched July 4th, 2010. In one year we became the national leader in Mobile Media. Currently beating Google, Yahoo, and AOL. Are you kidding me?! We have done successfully in 1 year what has taken you 10 years to do poorly? Are you kidding me?! You looked like such an idiot after that meeting. Literally your bosses told our National Director to call them. I’d be angry too if I were you. Because you almost lost your job. We literally almost made your job obsolette. It was embarrassing. We walked away and talked about how bad we felt for you. But I don’t feel bad anymore cause your obviously not an honest/quality individual. Bad talking another company to make yours look better? what is this high school? Your 45 years old, grow up.
Our short code is ‘dedicated’. Dedicated to one platform. And we own it. The most memorable Short Code in the world, 90210. Atan Albez (who sold Adlink to Google) did algorithms and found it was the most memorable short code. Learn your jargin before sounding un-educated. Everyone remembers 90210, and everyone uses it, successfully.
Oh and Metro PCS and Boost never kept anyone from having success in their mobile marketing company since they represent 3% of the cell service in America. $1500 unlimited messages is very cost effective. That’s why we blow companies like you out of the water. So what your trying to say is we’re a platform that doesn’t work…but we are the number 1 Mobile Media company in the US? If you want to do research, then do research. Don’t stop at one site and act like it’s Gospel.
We have:
Cambelle’s Soup
Snoop Dogg
Pete Rose
Marvel Comics
And if this is not enough proof for you, we have been around for a YEAR! We’ll have all the proof you need soon enough.
See for yourselves: http://www.iZigg.com/press/panella
**The person that made this site is piggybacking on the ‘iZigg’ name to sell his ‘MLM Secrets’ product. Because ‘iZigg’ is the most searched word in Mobile Media.
Luckily I can laugh at all this BS. We have nothing to proove. Our hand is on the table. And we certainly don’t post lies about other Mobile Media companies, because we don’t have to.
Hey BOCA Lies!,
I am a NEW iZigg marketing rep. Before I join a company, I do my Due Diligence. I invested a week’s time of searching iZigg before I joined. I saw that mobile media marketing is the NEXT Dot.Com BOOM. 9-out-of-10 people have cellphones in big Metro cities. I found out that big companies ARE USING the 90210 short code. Like HOOTERS, PAPA John’s, Toyota, & Lexus, etc. Needless to say, iZigg is GROWING FAST! In a year they have grown to be a multimillion dollar company. Soon we will be big as Google and other Fortune 500 companies. Ty Tribble is ‘piggybacking’ and Boca &Paul Faherty have no idea how successful are iZigg reps are currently doing. Let me say this, “iZigg reps are doing VERY WELL”! iZigg has 100s of reps doing well in this business.
To begin my business with iZigg I invested $2600. and have spent surely hundreds of hours training people in my organization of 58 people (while Izigg has NO training program available to help me unless I’m recruiting – and SADLY that only entails a 3 way sales call or my prospect showing up at a meeting where the ‘top earner’ tells them ‘you can text my name to 90210 and I’m available to help you any time, we’re going into business together and we’re a team’), Currently my organization has sold nearly $100,000. and all I’ve earned is $1600. I continue to listen to calls where, inevitably, I hear ‘top earners’ like Dr Scott Elliot, Michael Rutherford, etc.. claim ‘our company pays back .70 cents out of every dollar to agents!!’ On top of this farce, recently there’s been a HUGE push to sell *agents only* a Facebook product that cost $39.95 A MONTH (while they say it is commissionable – for exactly whom I wonder) iZigg’s official basis for this necessity for us of course is that it will help small businesses by allowing them to monetize their social media (months after ‘some’ agents originally paid for this I doubt it has even made Izigg as much as they paid to develop it – and to date ‘zero’ small businesses are using it because it still isn’t available to small businesses). Now I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but it seems to me we have a money racket going here, where a huge majority of sales come from agency and autoship purchases instead of real retail product sales in the marketplace. The technology is out-of-site and the branding is drop dead sexy, people, that said, iZigg is getting rich based on your agency prices and autoships. In February 2011 Brian Underwood and Dave Liniado told us what the ratio between agency purchases and retail was. They said retail sales accounted for 60% of all money made. Now, knowing what I’ve experienced, I wonder if they were including agent autoships…. and how much worse it’s gotten. Am I just another gullible and disgruntled man playing victim to just another MLM or do I justifiably have cause in raising a flag? Either way, if you’re familiar with the FTC’s case against Burn Lounge and you’ve read the Federal Court’s ruling released in that case on July 7…… you have to admit the similarities are scary for any realistic average American.
I received an email from iZigg trying to recruit me for employment. What is this all about? I was thinking it was a scam. What exactly would you be doing?
Its so funny how many idiots this world breeds that defend these outright frauds.
Can't agree with More!
I had a BAD experience with Brian Underwood, Jason Borne and “Dr” Scott Elliott about 4 years ago when Brian was the Chief Whip for bHip. NEVER AGAIN will I get involved in anything that these guys are involved in, and I would assume that Terry LaCore of bHip never will either!!!!!
Brian Underwood=Scam
I have been involved with iZigg for almost a year now. I purchased the service for my business and it has been great for us. It has allowed us to communicate directly with those who want to hear from us.
When I bought my “package” I liked the annual plan, but did not know that it would also allow me to build a business as an iZigg agent. It is a nice add-in to what I am using it for now.
I have personally met each of the founders and leaders of this company. They have admitted that in a growing business, run by people, people make mistakes, miscalculations and choices that don’t work out. I know this to be true having grown several businesses in the last 14 yrs. What separates us from the scammers and lairs is when we own them, learn from them and take steps to change them. I am not one of their top earners, nor am I some huge business that can give them great press. I have little stake in their success or failure at this point, but what I do have is a brain and a gut. Two things that have served me well all of my 40 years.
Put simply, this service works, the company is outpacing it’s “competition” and people like to say bad things about success. That’s your right as an American. Those of us who know what we are talking about because we are using the service and/or growing a business with iZigg know the truth. It’s a great company for businesses and for individuals, period.
If you don’t like us, that’s fine, but SUCCESS DOESN’T LIE!!
Weird, the only people defending these guys are people involved with the company. If your dumb enough to get involved with a company like this, then it’s your own fault for not taking pages like this as a warning. Get a real job.
Like any MLM, the guys at the top make all the money – from the people at the bottom. There usually isn’t much revenue at all with the actual product, in this case “rental short code” 90210. Guys at the top could care less, as long as they have BS to keep convincing newbies into paying the entrance fee.
Example BS: “Atan Albez (who sold Adlink to Google) did algorithms and found it was the most memorable short code. ”
The fallacy with this pitch is that “90210” being “memorable” is actually of any value. Why is that important when the only time you would use it is when you are looking at an ad that shows the short code along with the required keyword?
If you need to remember it later, then you are stuck having to remember the short code AND the keyword AND the advertiser. Good luck with that.
If no one had smartphones, maybe you could get some consumers to use short codes. But everyone has smartphones. Who is really using short codes??!?!?
Short codes are dead. Actually, they never really were alive. People use Facebook, and Twitter. Which of the following are you more likely to do?
1. Text “coke” to 90210
2. LIKE Coke on Facebook
3. Follow @coke on Twitter
Burn(lounge) me once, shame on you. Burn(lounge) me twice, shame on me!
MLM's often "Over" hype their opportunity to rope people in. Sadly these things never stand up to their claims. I own a SMS Marketing company called HypeText Mobile Media and companies like mine that are legitimate marketing firms get annoyed when companies like IZigg dilute the effectiveness of our industry. Charging people to work is bad ju ju! We offer people the same opp as IZigg for free…and if they want to private label and operate under their own name then we charge a $99.00 Licensing fee and let them keep the lion share of the profits.
Hey! I’m glad I use Izigg for my Small business. For $100/month it has increased business during my slow times and it allows my connect with my customers and let them know what specials I have and if any events are going on. Now I don’t know much about the company, but I do know the man who sold me on using Izigg for my business and he is doing quite well with it. He makes 25% off anything he sells. Not bad for just doing just a little bit of work.
I respond to texts usually immediately. Check my facebook occassionally and very rarely use my Twitter. And I’m guessing most people are like this. Plus, Izigg has made it available to send out a message to all my customers in my database (that I own) and to facebook. So now i am reaching 3-4 times more people because Izigg is doing what it can to help my business grow.
Just Saying
happy business owner and customer of Izigg
@Jimbo22 You say all those at the top make all the money? You clearly have no understanding of how the business model works. You don’t have to participate in the mlm side of the business at all if you don’t want to. For what equates to just 27 cents per day, (i.e. the purchase of the “Retail Agency”) you are in business with iZigg! This qualifies you to start earning 25% passive recurring commisions on all the customers you introduce to the iZigg Mobile Marketing Platform. This has nothing to do the growing a team with iZigg, which is optional.
This article was written soon after the launch of iZigg, I’m sure the pessimistic, fault finding skeptics are now eating their words if you look into how businesses have been transformed over night with the marketing platform.
So the owners had to break through some personal obstacles & failures on their way to success, name one person in hostory who hasn’t. I admire their persistence & action orientated entrepreneurial spirit in the face of adversity.
It is very easy to blame, complain, criticize, find fault & justify your own failures and lack of results in life by pointing fingers to external sources, instead of coming to the harsh realization that you are 100% responsible for creating every aspect of your reality & for your results in life.
The iZigg opportunity allows you to plug into a business model that allows you to create passive income & genuinely help businesses grow without all the overheads & headaches of starting your own business from scratch. It’s called the principle of “leverage”! There has never been a more relevant, socially applicable concept. I advise the wise, true entrepreneurs who can see the power of the concept to get your slice of the mobile media pie before the market is saturated as every business worth their weight will be utilizing a mobile marketing tool of some sort to gain a competitive advantage in the very near future. It’s still a ground floor opportunity, but not for long. It’s not a question of if, it’s when.
I’m off to eat my slice of the mobile revolution pie! 😉
THE Biggest Scam right now is the US GOVERNMENT !!! Capitalism is what built this country and hard working AMERICANS!
I had a guy that is a rep for Izigg call me about the MLM marketing. I did check out the company. My investigation has revealed some disturbing findings. Also, I cannot get them to give me a single reputable client I can contact about their service. Even watching the videos looks like a fishy taking place. My gut feeling says, leave this alone.
To all the "haters" out there of Izigg because of what they have achieved in the market place over the last 18-19 months, its probably time to wake up! 90210 is here to stay! I couldn't be happier with this company and what I have been able to do financially over the past several months. Businesses all across the country are utilizing our platform everyone from McDonalds to Anytime Fitness to Bubba Watson and Mercy Me! I was in the "black" day one and have never looked back! Its a scam that people post BS with out really knowing what the hell is going on.
Hates about iZigg, the same they said about youtube and billions years later…90210 rocks.
Corporate Offices In Atlanta:
3379 Peachtree Rd NE
Ste 330
Atlanta, GA 30326
Neighborhood: Buckhead
(949) 357-3284
Notice – This is a California number, so probably cell phone or answering service.
I was in Izigg early on and became frustrated over and over because I could not get any support when I had questions and when a few people I had recruited could not get support. The idea was clever but looking back, I fell into all the hype. I heard BU is starting another company. Does anyone know if this is true and if so, what kind of MLM company is he getting involved with this time?
All you idiots that are complaining about iZigg should be ashamed of yourselfs. If you were involved in iZigg and didn't make money is because YOU DON'T DO THE WORK!!! If you weren't involved and say it's a scam, that's because you are the competition and your company has no barring on the success that iZigg is having. Before you call something a scam, first defined what a Scam really is. If your doing the accusing then take your own advice and GET A REAL JOB!!!! Because you surely cannot make it in sales. To all you complaining as Biz Nitches…GET A F ING LIFE!!! Good Grief!!!
Tell us how u really feel…. Lol
Is sales not a 'real job' these days?
I am a huge fan of the MLM industry. I have been a part of some great companies and some that weren't so great. What was the difference in the companies that succeeded and those that failed? Leadership and market appeal of the product. I look at those before I choose a company, and I follow my passion
I was getting kind of excited about getting into the iZigg business for both the sales of its services and using it for the promotion of my own work from home business. Now I’m not so sure.
Another Big Scam site is Make-million.com
the site office is in Belize city, the phone nukmber on the site is Fake. the certificates on the site are fake. I called the Chamber of commerce in Belize to verify. Chamber of Commerce said it is not registerd company.
Do not ever invest any money. the website shows as still paying, thats all BS. they owes me more than $200,000.00 haven’t paid a single cent.
I donno how to make them pay to me.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Global-Rippln-Social-Community/538467752858454
agree with keith… you have to treat it like a business. Work and it will work for you