forums : Jungle Scene

"What's your anywhere?"

Sup Y'all

I recently have been given a great opportunity and wanted to pass it on to you. Let me ask you a question....Who doesn't want to travel and who doesn't want to make money??? Not many right...well here's your opportunity to do both. Why pay regular rates on flights, hotels, car rentals, and all the other things you do while vacationing??? You don't have to anymore. By becoming a travel agent you will never have to again. I have started my own business booking flights and hotels for incoming artists in the underground music scene. Word is getting out there and more and more promoters are coming to me first to see if my prices are better then others such as: Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia...etc and so far I've beaten there price every time. Now they are getting a better deal and I am making a commission so all parties are happy. So when you are looking to book your travel go to my .com site @ http://www.go2anywhere.gttrends.com. If you are interested in a wonderful business opportunity go to my .net site @ http://www.go2anywhere.gttrends.net. Under marketing tools click on the power point presentation. Once you've looked at that if you are still interested feel free to contact by email at bigstackvertigo@gmail.com. Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to hopefully doing business with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Eichberg
Associate Travel Agent of GT Trends
"What's your anywhere?"

Re:

why do you think its appoopriate to keep spamming the board

i've been in the travel industry for 12 years i don't promote it in inappropriate places

this is the second thread about this....first time i was like whatevs

but chill with the spam, is this some weird pyramid scheme?

Re: Re:

^^^^^^^^^^^

World Reknown...

if it bothers you, ignore Dip's thread. you say things all the time that i ignore =)

plus, this is jungle related, for we all know who Dip is. so just like any other thread...

if you dont care for it, perhaps sometimes it's better to just "pass on thru" with no words =P

Re: Re:

werd live and let live

Re: Re:

Wow...i'm putting it out there for promoters so they can save money. Sure they don't mind..who doesn't want to save money. Working together is the key man. Ignore it if it bothers you!

Re: Re:

How much to get my mail order bride here from russia?

Re: Re:

hahaha...i'll get right on it...hehe...and to answer your question Broken_records...it is multi-level marketing. Maybe it's not for everyone, but it can help a lot of people out. It's helping me out already...I work from home and make money. Regardless of what it is, my site can still be cheaper then other sites out there. it's just another option...the consumer can decide for themself. Just tryin' to hel people out!

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According to haggard ...

How much to get my mail order bride here from russia?
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Re: Re:

so it IS a pyramid scheme....

that's extremely unfortunate that you would bring this to your community

http://www.mlmwatch.org/

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According to dipvertigo ...

hahaha...i'll get right on it...hehe...and to answer your question Broken_records...it is multi-level marketing. Maybe it's not for everyone, but it can help a lot of people out. It's helping me out already...I work from home and make money. Regardless of what it is, my site can still be cheaper then other sites out there. it's just another option...the consumer can decide for themself. Just tryin' to hel people out!

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According to haggard ...

How much to get my mail order bride here from russia?
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Re: Re:

There's no scheme man. It's traveling and making money. Like I said it's helping me and can help many others in a time where people need the extra income. Get over it!

Re: Re:

I learned no matter what u do/ There's gonna be haters out there hating you/ Dont get mad about it / If you play the game then know the rules / Ppl gonna be jealous if you're doin things that they cant do/ Sukkaz off the street / Or even dudes that be in ur crew/ Jealousy up in their hearts / Envy in their eyes / Quick to try to pull you down while ur on a rise / All up in ur business/ Constantly tellin Lies/ JUST KEEP UR EYES ON THE PRIZE AND PAY THOSE HATERS NO MIND




No disrespect to anyone.. Just a lil something im working on.. Thought it seemed fitting... Just a rap song..

[ mcdre - 6 Aug 2008 17:47 ]

Re: Re:

i'm not being a f**king hater dre, pyramid schemes are bad for dip bad for our community, bad for my moms...just bad in general

do i want people to save money on travel sure
do i want dip to make ends meet? yeah

but i am not f**king down with people getting screwed out of money and time and thats what mlm and pyramid schemes do

call me a hater all you want, i am sorry I am the one that has to bring the bad news

but don't kill the messenger
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According to mcdre ...

I learned no matter what u do/ There's gonna be haters out there hating you/ Dont get mad about it / If you play the game then know the rules / Ppl gonna be jealous if you're doin things that they cant do/ Sukkaz off the street / Or even dudes that be in ur crew/ Jealousy up in their hearts / Envy in their eyes / Quick to try to pull you down while ur on a rise / Always gettin jealous/ Constantly tellin Lies/ JUST KEEP UR EYES ON THE PRIZE AND PAY THOSE HATERS NO MIND




No disrespect to anyone.. Just a lil something im working on.. Thought it seemed fitting... Just a rap song..
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Re: Re:

NOT SAYIN YOU ARE... HENCE the NO DISRESPECT comment right after...

If I wanted to call you a hater, I would.. Im not..

Just a rap.. I like you.. Im not gonna disrespect u on a plublic message board..

Re: Re:

A promoter coming to me to book a flight, hotel etc for an artist they're bringing in can't get screwed. If people wanna look at the otherside of the business, that's cool too, i'm just putting it out there. No ones holding a gun to their head a saying they have to do this.

[ dipvertigo - 6 Aug 2008 18:02 ]

Re: Re:

btw this is awesome, way more hits then my other post got....lol Thanks to everyone hitting me up on JSM for your interests and positivity.

Re: Re:

i found this post on scam.com


I’m going to keep beating this dead horse until I have good enough reason to stop! In other words, I’ll keep posting this until I get some real answers.

This is a test. A very simple, non-scientific test to see how comfortable someone would be explaining their involvement in PRT\GTT. This test, however, can only be answered with facts. Simple facts. I’m not asking for opinions disguised as answers. I already got that from PKW. I get it, some of you are comfortable with your decision. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for someone to prove me wrong. Who wants to try?

If you’d like to view the post in context, here’s the link:
http://www.scam.com/showpost.php?p=75377&postcount=1633

Let’s pretend:
I’m a motivated, intelligent (I did say pretend), friendly person who likes to travel. I have many friends with interests much like myself. We all do well in life. The opportunity to save money on travel as well as make some money sharing a business opportunity with others appeals to me. Besides that, I have $215.00 burning a hole in my pocket. At the end of a GT Trends meeting, I’m approached by a member of GT Trends who would potentially be in my up-line who says, “So what do you think?” I reply with the following:


I have a few concerns.

1. I don’t want to be involved with any opportunity that could be considered a “card mill” or “pyramid scheme”. (See the FTC and ASTA rulings on both. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/mlm.htm http://www.astanet.com/education/cardmill.asp ) I’d like some actual proof that the focus of this company is being a third party seller of travel. (Show me the numbers)
Also, if this company is not a pyramid, why is it that in the “7 ways to make money” page do you have to get to reason # 7 to learn about selling travel?

2. The GTTrends card says “owner of Longhorn Travel” and displays the IATA # belonging to Longhorn Travel. At the time of printing said cards, GTT didn’t own Longhorn Travel and the IATA # nor has it been transferred. I also understand that the original IATA # was revoked and this fact was not addressed by the company in a timely manner. (Please explain.) http://www.traveltrade.com/headline_...articleID=6468

3. I’ve seen the criminal history of the President of this company. (http://www.buttecourt.ca.gov/online_...rchProcess.cfm Search for Armstrong, Ronald for dates between 1980-2005)
I believe that some crimes are of a personal nature, but I have concerns about the forgery and identity theft conviction. (I’m not looking for the “I know him personally and he’s a good Christian man” response. Own up to your actions!)
Also, as a convicted felon of identity theft, and being the owner of the company, how are they (PRT\GTT) allowed to process credit card information? (I thought convicted felons couldn’t get a credit card processing account.)

4. I know some people (and heard of others) that have signed up with GT Trends and have booked travel months ago, but have not been paid commissions. Why is that? (Sorry, this is something I heard, so no link is available.)

5. Is it true that one needs current IATA/IATAN credentials to be a third party seller of travel? (This is a yes or no answer. You’ll have to figure this one out.)

6. I’ve heard that the reason that PRT changed its name to GTT is that they wanted to go public, but the ticker symbol “PRT” was taken.
(This is not true as you can register PRT ticker symbol now if you like. http://www.nyse.com/audience/listedcompanies.html - click on “SYMBOL LOOKUP”) Why is this being said?

Now pretend you are the member at the meeting that I am addressing. These are red flags to me. What facts could you give me to ease my concerns? Again, I’m looking for straight answers, not just “they’re working on it” or “this will all be addressed soon”. I’m looking for facts.



Other links:
http://www.classactionlitigation.com/library/ita.htm - Go to the “Instant Travel Agent” section. (I don’t care how old the articles are if they’re still valid.)

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/features/mlm.htm - Has a good example of the “What is your product?” question. Is it the travel discounts, or the manual? Or is it the card?

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pyrdalrt.htm - What to watch out for. A nice guideline for MLMs.

http://www.ticked.com/chriscrossings/2001/crmill.htm
http://www.larry-adams.com/0101_article.htm - Articles on card mills.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.a...category_id=80





Travel Gent was right, this is being spoon-fed to you. I’m not promoting any other company, I’m just wondering how anyone can be comfortable in their decision to stay with PRT\GTT after answering these questio

[ broken_records - 6 Aug 2008 18:15 ]

Re: Re:

Dude you way too much time on your hands.

Re: Re:

you aren't hearing me though...
i don't really have time to waste...just giving you a heads up

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According to dipvertigo ...

Dude you way too much time on your hands.
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Re: Re:

sounds great to me

Re: Re:

Well I don't know if it's just me, but none of your links worked...I think if you felt so intently about this, maybe check and make sure everything works before you unleash a post like that. Also, I googled the Ronald Armstrong thing and this is what I got...

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?s=a6d50e60295e3b4da1ac6eeb41ecd2e1&t=4403


And it's the only thing I found...
I'm not trying to start anything at all, but by reading some of what is on the thread from Scam.com, this has worked for people. I can also say that most people that frequent this site are smart enough to know, when they are being scammed and I KNOW DIP IS WITHOUT A DOUBT! So if it's something that doesn't work for you, cool, if it is, cool. I think to get up and make A HUGE deal out of something that you could have simply ignored because it's not for you, is kinda silly...

I will say though, I looked up the ticker information and that was true...

**********
According to broken_records ...

i found this post on scam.com


I’m going to keep beating this dead horse until I have good enough reason to stop! In other words, I’ll keep posting this until I get some real answers.

This is a test. A very simple, non-scientific test to see how comfortable someone would be explaining their involvement in PRT\GTT. This test, however, can only be answered with facts. Simple facts. I’m not asking for opinions disguised as answers. I already got that from PKW. I get it, some of you are comfortable with your decision. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for someone to prove me wrong. Who wants to try?

If you’d like to view the post in context, here’s the link:
http://www.scam.com/showpost.php?p=75377&postcount=1633

Let’s pretend:
I’m a motivated, intelligent (I did say pretend), friendly person who likes to travel. I have many friends with interests much like myself. We all do well in life. The opportunity to save money on travel as well as make some money sharing a business opportunity with others appeals to me. Besides that, I have $215.00 burning a hole in my pocket. At the end of a GT Trends meeting, I’m approached by a member of GT Trends who would potentially be in my up-line who says, “So what do you think?” I reply with the following:


I have a few concerns.

1. I don’t want to be involved with any opportunity that could be considered a “card mill” or “pyramid scheme”. (See the FTC and ASTA rulings on both. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/mlm.htm http://www.astanet.com/education/cardmill.asp ) I’d like some actual proof that the focus of this company is being a third party seller of travel. (Show me the numbers)
Also, if this company is not a pyramid, why is it that in the “7 ways to make money” page do you have to get to reason # 7 to learn about selling travel?

2. The GTTrends card says “owner of Longhorn Travel” and displays the IATA # belonging to Longhorn Travel. At the time of printing said cards, GTT didn’t own Longhorn Travel and the IATA # nor has it been transferred. I also understand that the original IATA # was revoked and this fact was not addressed by the company in a timely manner. (Please explain.) http://www.traveltrade.com/headline_...articleID=6468

3. I’ve seen the criminal history of the President of this company. (http://www.buttecourt.ca.gov/online_...rchProcess.cfm Search for Armstrong, Ronald for dates between 1980-2005)
I believe that some crimes are of a personal nature, but I have concerns about the forgery and identity theft conviction. (I’m not looking for the “I know him personally and he’s a good Christian man” response. Own up to your actions!)
Also, as a convicted felon of identity theft, and being the owner of the company, how are they (PRT\GTT) allowed to process credit card information? (I thought convicted felons couldn’t get a credit card processing account.)

4. I know some people (and heard of others) that have signed up with GT Trends and have booked travel months ago, but have not been paid commissions. Why is that? (Sorry, this is something I heard, so no link is available.)

5. Is it true that one needs current IATA/IATAN credentials to be a third party seller of travel? (This is a yes or no answer. You’ll have to figure this one out.)

6. I’ve heard that the reason that PRT changed its name to GTT is that they wanted to go public, but the ticker symbol “PRT” was taken.
(This is not true as you can register PRT ticker symbol now if you like. http://www.nyse.com/audience/listedcompanies.html - click on “SYMBOL LOOKUP”) Why is this being said?

Now pretend you are the member at the meeting that I am addressing. These are red flags to me. What facts could you give me to ease my concerns? Again, I’m looking for straight answers, not just “they’re working on it” or “this will all be addressed soon”. I’m looking for facts.



Other links:
http://www.classactionlitigation.com/library/ita.htm - Go to the “Instant Travel Agent” section. (I don’t care how old the articles are if they’re still valid.)

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/features/mlm.htm - Has a good example of the “What is your product?” question. Is it the travel discounts, or the manual? Or is it the card?

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pyrdalrt.htm - What to watch out for. A nice guideline for MLMs.

http://www.ticked.com/chriscrossings/2001/crmill.htm
http://www.larry-adams.com/0101_article.htm - Articles on card mills.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.a...category_id=80





Travel Gent was right, this is being spoon-fed to you. I’m not promoting any other company, I’m just wondering how anyone can be comfortable in their decision to stay with PRT\GTT after answering these questio

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[ ladyofdnb - 6 Aug 2008 18:39 ]

Re: Re:

For everything negative about multi-level marketing you can find there's probably also something positive out there. I never knew WR had such a negative political alignment against multi-level marketing! It's chilling.

Anyway all I got to say is do your thing Dip! Book those flights and get those people under you papa

Re: Re:

Thanks Pete...you keep dancin' and i'll keep bookin'!!! lol

Re: Re:

sorry its a bug on Junglescene i will fix the links...but f**king come on the owner of the company is a two time felon
I am not trying to question whether dip is a good guy or not...I just want him to know what he is getting into

and pete this is not a question of whether you can make money in a pyramid scheme, the further upline you are the more you make...everyone downline is a sucker and in most cases it is ILEGAL that means you go to jail Pete, surely you understand that right?


**********
According to ladyofdnb ...

Well I don't know if it's just me, but none of your links worked...I think if you felt so intently about this, maybe check and make sure everything works before you unleash a post like that. Also, I googled the Ronald Armstrong thing and this is what I got...

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?s=a6d50e60295e3b4da1ac6eeb41ecd2e1&t=4403


And it's the only thing I found...
I'm not trying to start anything at all, but by reading some of what is on the thread from Scam.com, this has worked for people. I can also say that most people that frequent this site are smart enough to know, when they are being scammed and I KNOW DIP IS WITHOUT A DOUBT! So if it's something that doesn't work for you, cool, if it is, cool. I think to get up and make A HUGE deal out of something that you could have simply ignored because it's not for you, is kinda silly...

I will say though, I looked up the ticker information and that was true...

**********
According to broken_records ...

i found this post on scam.com


I’m going to keep beating this dead horse until I have good enough reason to stop! In other words, I’ll keep posting this until I get some real answers.

This is a test. A very simple, non-scientific test to see how comfortable someone would be explaining their involvement in PRT\GTT. This test, however, can only be answered with facts. Simple facts. I’m not asking for opinions disguised as answers. I already got that from PKW. I get it, some of you are comfortable with your decision. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for someone to prove me wrong. Who wants to try?

If you’d like to view the post in context, here’s the link:
http://www.scam.com/showpost.php?p=75377&postcount=1633


Let’s pretend:
I’m a motivated, intelligent (I did say pretend), friendly person who likes to travel. I have many friends with interests much like myself. We all do well in life. The opportunity to save money on travel as well as make some money sharing a business opportunity with others appeals to me. Besides that, I have $215.00 burning a hole in my pocket. At the end of a GT Trends meeting, I’m approached by a member of GT Trends who would potentially be in my up-line who says, “So what do you think?” I reply with the following:


I have a few concerns.

1. I don’t want to be involved with any opportunity that could be considered a “card mill” or “pyramid scheme”. (See the FTC and ASTA rulings on both. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/mlm.htm
http://www.astanet.com/education/cardmill.asp
) I’d like some actual proof that the focus of this company is being a third party seller of travel. (Show me the numbers)
Also, if this company is not a pyramid, why is it that in the “7 ways to make money” page do you have to get to reason # 7 to learn about selling travel?

2. The GTTrends card says “owner of Longhorn Travel” and displays the IATA # belonging to Longhorn Travel. At the time of printing said cards, GTT didn’t own Longhorn Travel and the IATA # nor has it been transferred. I also understand that the original IATA # was revoked and this fact was not addressed by the company in a timely manner. (Please explain.) http://www.traveltrade.com/headline_...articleID=6468


3. I’ve seen the criminal history of the President of this company. (http://www.buttecourt.ca.gov/online_...rchProcess.cfm
Search for Armstrong, Ronald for dates between 1980-2005)
I believe that some crimes are of a personal nature, but I have concerns about the forgery and identity theft conviction. (I’m not looking for the “I know him personally and he’s a good Christian man” response. Own up to your actions!)
Also, as a convicted felon of identity theft, and being the owner of the company, how are they (PRT\GTT) allowed to process credit card information? (I thought convicted felons couldn’t get a credit card processing account.)

4. I know some people (and heard of others) that have signed up with GT Trends and have booked travel months ago, but have not been paid commissions. Why is that? (Sorry, this is something I heard, so no link is available.)

5. Is it true that one needs current IATA/IATAN credentials to be a third party seller of travel? (This is a yes or no answer. You’ll have to figure this one out.)

6. I’ve heard that the reason that PRT changed its name to GTT is that they wanted to go public, but the ticker symbol “PRT” was taken.
(This is not true as you can register PRT ticker symbol now if you like. http://www.nyse.com/audience/listedcompanies.html - click on “SYMBOL LOOKUP”) Why is this being said?

Now pretend you are the member at the meeting that I am addressing. These are red flags to me. What facts could you give me to ease my concerns? Again, I’m looking for straight answers, not just “they’re working on it” or “this will all be addressed soon”. I’m looking for facts.



Other links:
http://www.classactionlitigation.com/library/ita.htm - Go to the “Instant Travel Agent” section. (I don’t care how old the articles are if they’re still valid.)

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/features/mlm.htm - Has a good example of the “What is your product?” question. Is it the travel discounts, or the manual? Or is it the card?

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pyrdalrt.htm - What to watch out for. A nice guideline for MLMs.

http://www.ticked.com/chriscrossings/2001/crmill.htm
http://www.larry-adams.com/0101_article.htm - Articles on card mills.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.a...category_id=80





Travel Gent was right, this is being spoon-fed to you. I’m not promoting any other company, I’m just wondering how anyone can be comfortable in their decision to stay with PRT\GTT after answering these questio

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[ broken_records - 6 Aug 2008 19:02 ]

Re: Re:

pyramid schemes are a scam that feed off the ignorant pete...

its illegal
its immoral

what's to like bro?

i guess it speaks volumes that people are willing to let greed dictate how they feel about something


**********
According to unifire ...

For everything negative about multi-level marketing you can find there's probably also something positive out there. I never knew WR had such a negative political alignment against multi-level marketing! It's chilling.

Anyway all I got to say is do your thing Dip! Book those flights and get those people under you papa
**********

Home Based Travel Agent

What Is A
Referral Travel Agent?



Most of the "become a travel agent today!" deals you see advertised involve becoming a "referral agent." The companies offering these deals may say you'll be an "associate agent" or and "independent agent" or something else, but you'll be a referral agent nonetheless. That means that your job is simply to refer potential customers to the sponsoring agency -- get them to call a toll-free number where the agency's "inside agents" will take care of closing the sale and handle the booking details. In exchange for providing this service, you receive a portion of the commission earned by the agency.


So far, there's is nothing new or controversial in this. It's called "bird-dogging" and has been going on in the travel industry for years. What's new and controversial is the aggressive packaging and marketing of the concept that has occurred in recent years.

To complicate things a bit, there are two basic types of referral agent programs. One incorporates a multi-level marketing (MLM) component, whereby you not only receive compensation for signing up new agents but participate in the commissions generated through their activities as well. To some observers this looks uncomfortably like a pyramid scheme. Consequently, agencies in this category have been attacked on legal grounds. Some have been outlawed in several states. Others have gone out of business as a result of the legal actions taken against them, only to resurface after modifying their programs. Not surprisingly, they have been attacked vigorously by travel agents and the travel trade press. In short, they have been unstable.

Referral agencies of this sort are becoming increasingly rare. For one thing, MLM programs require hefty margins and the 10% commission on a lot of travel products is wafer thin, especially when you are trying to divvy it up for a downline.

If you do encounter a referral agency using this business model, I would recommend extreme caution.

Non-MLM Referral Agencies
Another type of referral agency has been more successful than the MLMers, at least in gaining the grudging respect of the travel industry. These agencies are multi-level to the extent that they pay a bounty or referral fee if you sign up new agents, but they don't have any of those complicated formulas that promise that you'll earn income though a "downline" of the agents you've signed up. They, too, have been controversial, although they have actually managed to some good notices from the travel trade press if not from the rank and file travel agent. These are the kinds of agencies I will talk about here.

How they work
Referral agencies have remarkable similarities. It's almost as if they all worked off the same business and marketing plans. Here are some of the hallmarks of a referral agency:

A $495 sign-up fee. Most, maybe all, referral agencies will charge you $495 to become one of their agents. If they charged $500 or more, they would trigger much stricter regulatory oversight, a fact that raises eyebrows among more cynical observers. In addition, you will probably have to pay an annual fee of $99, $149, or more.

A photo ID card. A big part of the marketing lure is the photo ID card they issue to their agents. This card, you are told, will unlock the door to discounts and privileges available only to travel agents. This is why referral agencies are called "card mills" (the term is an insult) by many professional travel agents.

A bounty on new agents. Referral agencies are constantly looking for more agents. They will pay you anywhere from $75 to $200 for each new one you recruit.

"Selling" travel. Most referral agencies encourage you to talk up the joys of travel in general, talk up their agency in particular, and pass out to all and sundry a business card (which usually costs you extra) with their 800 number. The card contains your "PIN number," a unique identifier that assures you get your commission. One of the most attractive aspects of this deal is that once a customer has your PIN attached to his or her name, you receive a cut of all that person's travel in perpetuity.

No commissions on airline tickets. (Or a least very low commissions.)This is not too surprising since the airlines have stopped paying base commissions to travel agencies.

Fixed commissions on everything else. Most referral agencies "assume" that the commission is always 10% and pay you a portion of that commission (typically half ) on everything other than air. In fact, the agency may be earning a commission as high as 17% from some suppliers. In this case, the referring agent gets 5%, while the agency itself gets 12%.

Agent-only discounts. Most referral agencies offer special in-house deals to their own agents. These are deals you purchase through the agency, as opposed to deals you request from a supplier using your ID card.

Is it a good deal?
Viewed strictly as a way to make money by selling travel, the answer is probably no. First of all, you're not "selling travel" precisely. As I just explained, you are referring business to inside agents who do the actual selling. That's one reason why the commissions never exceed 50% of a fixed 10% commission. If you are looking to roll up your sleeves and do the same job as a "traditional" travel agent, this deal is clearly not for you. On the other hand, a five percent commission for simply referring a customer is not a bad deal at all. And that appeals to a great many people.

Figures released by the major referral agencies suggest that the average referral agent is only referring about $5,000 in business a year (most of it their own, presumably), so none of them would appear to be getting rich. Of course, some referral agents no doubt refer far more business and do fairly well.

I suspect, however, that few people join these agencies to get rich. Even the management of referral agencies will admit, off the record, that none of their agents is making a living doing this. The few who join wanting to be full- or even part-time travel agents no doubt soon realize their mistake and seek out the more businesslike deals available to home-based travel agents, which I describe elsewhere on this site.

Most people who sign up do so for the benefits -- real, imagined, or a bit of both. A salesperson for one referral agency said that "most of our members pay for the card in one weekend just with the hotel discounts." (Assuming a three-day stay and a 50% discount, that suggests these people are used to paying $330 a night for a hotel room!)

Looked at that way, becoming a referral agent is somewhat akin to joining a travel club -- except it costs $495 instead of $50 or $60 the first year and $99 or $150 a year thereafter instead of the same $50 or $60. So the question then becomes, just how good are those discounts?

Let's start with air fare. First of all, don't expect to wave your referral agent ID at an airline reservationist and get a discount. Travel agents do get discounts from the airlines but there's a lot of paperwork involved, a higher standard of proof (in terms of establishing that you are, indeed, a travel agent), and restrictions on travel dates. Even then, the travel agent flying on a reduced fare is subject to being bumped if the flight fills up. A lot of travel agents, in fact, think these discounts are more trouble than they're worth.

What you might get from an airline with your ID card is a complimentary upgrade to first or business class on a flight for which you hold a paid-for coach ticket. You show your ID card to the gate agent and ask if there are any "courtesy upgrades" available.

I know it can be done because I've done it myself, although only with smaller, foreign-flag airlines. I seriously doubt that these days you'll have much luck with domestic U.S. carriers.

Now as you might expect, this is the sort of thing that gets "real" travel agents especially hot under the collar. Because they complained so loudly, the airlines (the domestic ones at least) have been getting a lot savvier about travel agent ID cards. Most of them have declared that they will only accept the IATAN card as proof that the holder is a travel agent.

(IATAN is the International Airlines Travel Agent Network, an accrediting organization. Its procedures, while subject to potential abuse, tend to assure that the holders of its cards are actually employed in the travel agency business.)

Because of the furor over this ploy, the referral agencies are very careful about how they position this benefit. Still, the anecdotal evidence is that it can be pulled off, by some people some of the time.

For some people, this ploy can raise ethical questions. Others claim that using a referral agency ID in this fashion is technically illegal, although I can't imagine an airline pressing charges. At most, you can expect to be humiliated when a knowledgeable gate agent turns you down and gives you a piece of his or her mind. Still, a business class seat can be mighty tempting. My guess is that this potential benefit lures a lot of referral agents.

Also, the end of base commissions on airline tickets for travel agencies has made the referral agencies less attractive. Time was when you could book your air travel through a referral agency and get a modest discount. If you flew a lot, those discounts could add up. No more.

Yes, you can get discounts on hotel rates and rental cars by flashing your referral agent ID, but these discounts are not really "travel agent discounts" like the ones extended to holders of the IATAN card. Rather, they are similar in nature to discounts given to travel club members. In some case, however, the hotel discounts are real and very attractive. You have to know the "going rate" to know how good a particular discount actually is.

The "for our agents only" deals on cruises, hotel packages, and the like are something else again. Some of these can be quite attractive. Typically they are for mid-market products in destinations most popular with the masses of American tourists -- Florida, Colorado, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. You are unlikely to find any deals on luxury properties (like hotels on Venice's Grand Canal) or niche products (like trekking in the Himalayas). You are more likely to find cruise deals on Carnival than on Seabourne (although I've seen some very attractive offers).

Still, I must caustion that these "agents-only" discounts may often be no better than you can get by joining a travel club for a lot less money.

One of the major problems with referral agencies, in my opinion, is that their infrastructure sometimes has trouble keeping up with their marketing. In other words, they sign up so many agents that they have trouble answering the flood of phone calls that results. This can be particularly embarrassing when you have handed out a business card to a friend who calls you a week later to complain that "that number you gave me is always busy." Long waits on hold and unmet promises to return calls are other problems.

The agencies are aware of these problems and seem to make a good faith effort to solve them. Once you get through to the agency, the inside agents all seem to be well-trained, efficient, and reasonably accomplished at searching out the best fare. If you have a straightforward ticketing request, you are likely to get good service. At least that has been my experience in dealing with these agencies.

Finally, it must be said that for some people there is the thrill that they are "beating the system" even if, in their heart of hearts, they know they're not really. Clearly these deals appeal to a great many people.

Becoming a referral agent will make the most sense if:

You travel a lot. Those hotel discounts do add up, although it may take you more than a weekend to recoup your investment.


You are an upscale traveler. If you are used to staying in $300-a-night hotels, the discounts may be attractive -- if and when you get them. And if you regularly travel overseas in coach class, getting an upgrade on a single trip could make this deal worthwhile to you.


You are willing to sign up a few new agents. If this is the sort of thing you're good at, you can actually make some money. Just be prepared for some negative blow-back when people to whom you have sold a card find that they get less than they anticipated.


You are bold enough to try for the free upgrade every time you fly. If you are successful, you may find your investment paying for itself very quickly.


My recommendation
So do I recommend that you become a referral agent? Well, frankly, no.It is so easy to become a real home-based travel agent and get great deals on cruises and tours AND make some serious money, that becoming a referral agent makes less and less sense.

Of course, you may not want to become a full-fledged home-based travel agent. In that case, the referral agencies might look like a good deal to you. So why not give them a try? You have nothing to lose but your hard-earned cash and, who knows?, it might work out for you.

Re: Home Based Travel Agent

it is highly possible that GTT IS deallying outside the law and to participate in that company puts you at risk too

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According to unifire ...

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According to broken_records ...

sorry its a bug on Junglescene i will fix the links...but f**king come on the owner of the company is a two time felon
I am not trying to question whether dip is a good guy or not...I just want him to know what he is getting into

and pete this is not a question of whether you can make money in a pyramid scheme, the further upline you are the more you make...everyone downline is a sucker and in most cases it is ILEGAL that means you go to jail Pete, surely you understand that right?
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Just because you have cited a shady company owner does not mean that Dip nor myself (multi-level marketeres) are dealing outside of the law.

That's what I don't understand. Pyramid schemes filled full of lies and deceit are one thing. Multi-level marketing is another. There's fine lines differentiating the two right?
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Re: Re:

it has nothing to do with paying dues and everything to do with collecting contacts and pushing the money upline...

that's also how the mob works pete...you've seen the sopranos right? money runs uphill s**t runs downhill

i think i have provided enough information in this thread that people can start to think for themselves

i'll just let it be, the information is out there
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According to unifire ...

**********
According to broken_records ...

the further upline you are the more you make...everyone downline is a sucker
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That just means you got to pay your dues, be patient and do the right thing to get big bucks. I'd rather do that than go to school for 4-8 years! And that's what I'm doing. You got to start somewhere. And if you're smart about it you can get to the top line
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Re: Re:

in the meantime my bride awaits!

Re: Home Based Travel Agent

Wow that was a long read and I really appreciate your response.

GT Trends is not a referral agency as there is no middle man. Yes if someone is interested in becoming an agent I will have a rep talk to them because there may be questions that I can't answer as I am new to the system, but as I grow with it I will be able to do it myself. On my business card is my number only, my email and my two websites...one a .com and one my .net. The fee to sign up for GT Trends is a one time fee of $300. It is $19.95 a month for your sites. It is not multiple fees per year. The $19.95 gets you two websites both affiliated to GT Trends. One is a .com website which is just like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity. A consumer can go on my site just like those sites and make their reservations theirself. They don't even need to go through me it's all right there. The other site is a .net site which is basically your back office and where you send someone if they are interested in becoming an agent. This site also maintains all records of your earning with the company in real time. A check is mailed to you every 2 weeks like a normal pay check if you are working the system correctly. Not everyone one will do this to make money, but if you think about it...if you go on a trip for dirt cheap and have the time of your life you are going to come back and tell the world about it. It's the same thing as going to a movie and telling your friend about it accept you get paid. Like I said before this isn't for everyone. The prices on my .com site aren't always gonna beat the other sites out there, but if it does common sense tells you to book through it. I have already gotten a lower price for promoters on JS so I know it works.

Like I've said many times I am just trying to help. I'm not trying to steer people in the wrong direction. People can do all the research they want and make the decisions based on that. I can't control that.

Here's a great example for those out there that may be interested in this...

I recently was hit up by a friend of mine looking to travel to Hawaii. He asked me to look up prices for flight and hotel. I said cool let me see what I can come up with. So I went and checked how much it would be for the average Joe to fly to Hawaii. $674 per person

I went on my .net site and my rate for that same flight was $511.00

I was stoked....then I went and check prices for hotels in Maui. I went and look at some of the package deals only a travel agent gets and found the Wailia Resort in and Spa. I called there and said, "I am a travel agent with GT Trends and am going to be there at the end of August. What kind of travel agent rates do you have at that time? $300 a night she said. I was like cool. Just for kicks I asked how much it'd be for non-travel agents....$1000. My friend was looking to stay for 5 nights so for the hotel alone as a travel agent that's a savings of $3500.00 and $160.00 per flight so around $3,800.00 savings total. That blew my mind. I called him up and it blew his mind. I told him that's the rate I get it for and said if he signs up to become a travel agent he could get it for that price too. To sign up he doesn't have to talk to anyone he can jsut go to my .net site and sign up. There's no waiting on hold. Either that or I can walk him through it myself. Now he didn't do it cause money's tight and that's his choice, eventually he will...he sees it, but it just shows that this works. Even if he decided to sign up for the $300 just for that trip alone...he still saves $3,500.00

Nuff said!

Sorry I don't use more paragraghs...hehe

Anyone interested hit me up...me...not a middle man...me

Re:

this shouldn't be posted on this forum.... bottom line

its a blatant attempt to snag yourself apps and it has the HIGH potential of screwing your fellow JS members out of lots of cash.....DESPITE your best, if not irrational, intentions.

it would be one thing if you straight up said "I can save you money on travels" but the inclusion of this business presentation makes it spam.

all multi-level marketers are manipulators and thieves, even if they dont realize it, which most of them don't. until its too late....

it may make money but any man of his worth would realize the bulls**t.

peace.........

Re: Re:

But I can save money on travel for people. I already have..through my site. This is an opportunity for promoters to save money. They can't be screwed!!! I think I already mentioned that...yeah...i did.

If people can go on here and talk about an Earthquake, or talk about the Lakers why shouldn't I be able to post something that can help my fellow promoters? You can't get screwed for booking a flight at a lower price...and if you can I like you to explain how...

Yes it is possible that you can be screwed by the business side of this...but at the same time it's possible that you can strike it rich. People can make their own decisions..as far as I know the people I work with are benefiting from it and helping there friends, family's and colleagues in the process. It's possible for anything to happen man. Just like a car accident, sudden death, my bong breaks...hehe

Shit let people decide for themselves!

Re: Re:

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According to hiddensound ...

"it has the HIGH potential of screwing your fellow JS members out of lots of cash.....DESPITE your best, if not irrational, intentions."

"all multi-level marketers are ... thieves"
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those are some off basecomments!

obviously i know dipvertigo's character and know he wouldn't be one to put people in such situations. if anybody wanted into an industry such as this, dip here would be a good go-to guy.

some things work better for different people. some people will get rich selling cutco knives. other people waste their time and money trying and take on other jobs.

can't hate on people if they're doing their calling and succeeding at it meanwhile. just 'cause its not your thing u don't have to outright dis the guy

[ unifire - 6 Aug 2008 20:13 ]

Re: Re:

Dip you are a good guy. I would hate to see you get screwed. Be careful. If its too good to be true, it is. I am sure you have good intentions but don't expect that the people you work for share your stance.

I'd love to see how your tax filing goes this April. Yikes.

Re: Re:

Good people can be easily deceived, and then they become the deceivers.

I retract the thief comment, but manipulation is the name of the game, but, you know, that is the basis of so many businesses beyond this. how do you think we got in this housing crisis? how did we get into Iraq?

I look at the company as a whole, knowing the guy on top is just raking in cash, laughing his ass off, lighting cigars with hundreds while snorting coke off an Emperor Club's hooker's ass. but i doubt he's doing charity.

it appears the only way to really save is by joining up as an agent... and to even browse for a travel package you have to sign up and give away your information.... and "how much you save" is a deception based on over-inflated values.

i don't want to offend, but I have seen some really good honest people fall into this, and I don't doubt your one of them.


ok im sorry I even got involved too much time to kill!

[ hiddensound - 6 Aug 2008 21:35 ]

Re: Re:

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According to broken_records ...

i'm not being a f**king hater dre, pyramid schemes are bad for dip bad for our community, bad for my moms...just bad in general

do i want people to save money on travel sure
do i want dip to make ends meet? yeah

but i am not f**king down with people getting screwed out of money and time and thats what mlm and pyramid schemes do

call me a hater all you want, i am sorry I am the one that has to bring the bad news

but don't kill the messenger
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i think we r all old enough and experiened enough to know about pyramid schemes.
i personally am not giong to get involved in this business or offer, however you want to look at it, because i dont travel enough or have the time to put into what needs to make money. if you do on the other hand, this is a win win situation for those who travel or know people who travel alot.

********
according to hiddensound...

this shouldn't be posted on this forum.... bottom line

its a blatant attempt to snag yourself apps and it has the HIGH potential of screwing your fellow JS members out of lots of cash.....DESPITE your best, if not irrational, intentions.

it would be one thing if you straight up said "I can save you money on travels" but the inclusion of this business presentation makes it spam.

all multi-level marketers are manipulators and thieves, even if they dont realize it, which most of them don't. until its too late....

it may make money but any man of his worth would realize the bulls**t.

peace.........
********
i think this is a great place to post something like this. we all need to save and or make more money. If people ask the right questions and do the research, as they should before any monitary endeavor, they will come to a conclusion on what they should do. like buying a used car from the newspaper and not even takin it to a mechanic. you may have just bought a lemon. but if you take the proper steps, you would find out its a p.o.s from the beggining.

it has been said before, and i will say it again... if you dont agree with it, dont do it. if you are interested, hit up Dip and find out some more information.

Re: Re:

I think everyone should call whoever they need to, contact somebody, and bok whatever means of travel they can find......



and GET THEIR ASSES TO TIMELESS THIS WEEKEND TO CELEBRATE MACHETE"S BIRTHDAY.

Re: Re:

Kinda like trigger leads for mortgages hahaha crooks

Re: Re:

multi-level marketing is what makes drum n bass BIG

scam the scammers and spam the spammers, do it til the muthaf**kin wheels fly off

live the dream

Re: Re:

^^^^^ BOH

Re: Re:

i haven't found any travel website better than www.kayak.com so far (I gotta big up and thank DJ Faust for showing me that one..)

I was able to get roundtrip tickets from London for @ $650 each thru the kayak search engine (last december)

...the only thing i don't like @ this site is I got to give up too much of my info just to get a price (i don't like to register to various sites even if it's only an email address)
... if they could fix that i'd check it out a lil more (i like to lurk sometimes lol

Re:

I think everyone who has concerns about this business is concerned about dips well being, not that he is a bad guy or screwing people.

This sounds like the company is treading a VERY fine legal line. Don't let THEIR screw up get you caught up dip. Think about it.

Re: Re:

Just ran across this article. California Attoroney General is starting to go after similar travel agencies.

Go to the article dated the 7th.

http://www.criminaldefenselawyers.com/criminal-law-news.html