The Fusion Shopping Network

[legoman]

Hey Glim, Fusions comp plan is done. I believe if you contact Frank or Cynthia they can email it to you. You can also access it when you become an affiliate. Everything is done legally. You can check out there bio's here. Fusion Shopping Network :: About (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/about-us)

[GlimDropper]

Hey Glim, Fusions comp plan is done. I believe if you contact Frank or Cynthia they can email it to you. You can also access it when you become an affiliate. Everything is done legally. You can check out there bio's here. Fusion Shopping Network :: About (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/about-us)

Howdy legoman, welcome to Realscam.

I saw your threads about Fusion over at MMG was was thinking of asking you about the comp plan over there, thank you for stopping by. I see the comp plan isn't available to the public on their site but you say that it is to the people who enroll in the program? Before or after paying $149?

I've listened in to a few of the calls, they seem to be saying a lot of the right things but the devil, as always, is in the details. I know Frank got burned in Zeek, Cynthia in Zeek and (I think) Pro Sun and I'd like to think they came out of that experience with a heightened appreciation for legitimacy and best practices. Or conversely, the implications of not doing so. I'll give them the benefit of doubt till they give reason to do otherwise but I will say, if they're comp plan is as squeaky clean as they claim, I can't think of a single bushel worth hiding it under.

And just from an obligatory "I helped make the rules so need to abide by them" standpoint, this particular topic is for Profitable Sunrise. Feel free to start a new one for Fusion Shopping Network if you please (particularly if you get details of the comp plan) but off topic posts in unrelated threads aren't encouraged. Legoman didn't start this sidetrack and I appreciate him coming here and bringing news but the "traffic cop" in me says it's time to move along

[cbasinger]

Dear Glim,

This from "this Cynthia Basinger woman". Indeed you are correct in terms of your reference to my "heavy" involvement with The Fusion Shopping Network. I am the Director of Sales & Marketing. I would be happy to give you an interview if you so desire and apprise you about our company and its current status.

I became involved in network marketing over 30 years ago, dabbling in Amway, Neways, Melaleuca, Telecard Network, and NuSkin. I took a long hiatus from the industry because it involved too much time away from home and family, my first priorities. Later, when I learned about Zeek, the online, virtual nature of that business was appealing. As far as my involvement in this business and subsequently Profitable Sunrise, I'm sorry to acknowledge that I was naive -- too trusting -- in people who appeared to be legitimate and thus led me to believe that certain programs I would just as soon forget about were not operating honestly and legitimately. Sadly, as I am certain you are aware, I wasn't the only trusting soul, as you can well appreciate. Live and learn. Happily I am doing both.

Inasmuch as I understand you participate in our conference calls, you must therefore realize that we do not intend to do anything that would warrant our company being the subject of discussions on your site. I respect your efforts at exposing companies who refuse to live by the rules. They -- the rules -- are there for our protection. Note that my "day job" is managing a law firm. I have held this position for over 12 years. It would be extremely irresponsible for me to venture into anything intentionally that was illegitimate or a scam.

I applaud your attention to all things shoddy. It's a dirty job, but I guess someone's got to do it.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Basinger

[wserra]

I start this thread, having become curious about its subject as a result of the post (reproduced below) by "cbasinger" from page (ahem) 97 of the Profitable Sunrise thread. GD noted that the discussion it started properly belongs elsewhere. So here we are.

From the relatively small amount of available information, the Fusion Shopping Network (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/) ("Fusion") wishes to be a type of MLM buyers' club. Details are very sketchy, despite the fact that the domain was registered (through GoDaddy (http://who.godaddy.com/whoisstd.aspx?domain=fusionshoppingnetwork.com)) some five months ago. BTW, the address the registrant gave is (according to Zillow (http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10015-E-Mountain-View-Rd-UNIT-2012-Scottsdale-AZ-85258/8055409_zpid/)) an 1100-sq-ft condo. They claim that they are worth belonging to because one will get discounts on certain eGift items. How much you will realize in savings, if any, of course depends on the amount of the discount, and whether similar discounts are available from something as straightforward as Amazon. It's hard to tell, since they have no products for sale (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/gift-cards.html).

The absence of products doesn't stop them from selling the "opportunity (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/opportunity)". They boast of a "commission and referral plan second to none – developed by a prestigious group of the world’s top loyalty consultants, lawyers and business pros". As was observed in the other thread, they don't tell you what it is. In fact, on their "Terms and Conditions" page (http://www.fusionshoppingnetwork.com/terms-and-conditions), they say that "Fusion Shopping Network has not yet completed the design and programming of its compensation plan". Guess that "prestigious group of the world’s top loyalty consultants, lawyers and business pros" takes its time. But trust them and sign up anyway. Having agreed to all these various pigs in pokes, you are then told to pay $150. The only product available is the membership.

Oh, by the way, did you notice that gleaming steel-and-glass office building on their home page? Well, it isn't them. They give their address as 109 E. 17th St., Suite 4678, Cheyenne, WY 82002. That's a "virtual office" (http://www.alliedoffices.com/loc/us/wyoming/cheyenne/executive-suites-of-downtown-cheyenne.html), the current euphemism for a fancy mail drop. Pay somewhere between $150 and $350 a month, and someone will answer your phone, forward your mail, and otherwise pretend you have an office.

But perhaps Ms. Basinger, their "Director of Sales & Marketing", can make it look more attractive.


I became involved in network marketing over 30 years ago, dabbling in Amway, Neways, Melaleuca, Telecard Network, and NuSkin.

Encouraging.


Later, when I learned about Zeek, the online, virtual nature of that business was appealing. As far as my involvement in this business and subsequently Profitable Sunrise, I'm sorry to acknowledge that I was naive -- too trusting -- in people who appeared to be legitimate and thus led me to believe that certain programs I would just as soon forget about were not operating honestly and legitimately.

So much for thirty years of network marketing experience. Hey, folks here and elsewhere knew they were scams from Day One.


Sadly, as I am certain you are aware, I wasn't the only trusting soul, as you can well appreciate.

I actually don't think it has much to do with trust or naïveté‎. All it took to identify those two as scams were an objective viewpoint and the IQ of bowl of ramen. Since I believe you have the latter, I doubt you have the former. Even if you were not larcenous, you were greedy. Not the best traits for a "Director of Sales & Marketing".


Note that my "day job" is managing a law firm. I have held this position for over 12 years. It would be extremely irresponsible for me to venture into anything intentionally that was illegitimate or a scam.

I completely agree. I am glad you concur that your "ventures" into Zeek and Profitable Sunrise show that you are extremely irresponsible.


I applaud your attention to all things shoddy. It's a dirty job, but I guess someone's got to do it.

There's nothing dirty about exposing scams. The dirty part is promoting them. Remember saying the following?

About Profitable Sunrise (https://www.facebook.com/profitablesunrisereviewlegit/posts/362106573904624): "I got back every penny I deposited and then some and would have continued to do so if the US regulators hadn't stepped in."

Also about Profitable Sunrise (https://www.facebook.com/profitablesunrisereviewlegit/posts/142360145934160): "Article says no complaints have been received by Wisconsin investors. The regulators as usual don't understand the business model. If this were a Ponzi, we would not be told we would need to withdraw half of our Long Haul balance. We would not be able to draw out our daily interest earnings from the private plan. No money could come out at all unless it was from the first in. This is so not an illegitimate business."

About Zeek (http://asdupdates.com/wordpress/archives/tag/liquidation/page/2): “Zeek Rewards wasn’t a Ponzi, I think this whole thing is a big misunderstanding”.

And people should trust you for financial advice?

[GlimDropper]

Dear Glim,

This from "this Cynthia Basinger woman". Indeed you are correct in terms of your reference to my "heavy" involvement with The Fusion Shopping Network. I am the Director of Sales & Marketing. I would be happy to give you an interview if you so desire and apprise you about our company and its current status.

I became involved in network marketing over 30 years ago, dabbling in Amway, Neways, Melaleuca, Telecard Network, and NuSkin. I took a long hiatus from the industry because it involved too much time away from home and family, my first priorities. Later, when I learned about Zeek, the online, virtual nature of that business was appealing. As far as my involvement in this business and subsequently Profitable Sunrise, I'm sorry to acknowledge that I was naive -- too trusting -- in people who appeared to be legitimate and thus led me to believe that certain programs I would just as soon forget about were not operating honestly and legitimately. Sadly, as I am certain you are aware, I wasn't the only trusting soul, as you can well appreciate. Live and learn. Happily I am doing both.

Inasmuch as I understand you participate in our conference calls, you must therefore realize that we do not intend to do anything that would warrant our company being the subject of discussions on your site. I respect your efforts at exposing companies who refuse to live by the rules. They -- the rules -- are there for our protection. Note that my "day job" is managing a law firm. I have held this position for over 12 years. It would be extremely irresponsible for me to venture into anything intentionally that was illegitimate or a scam.

I applaud your attention to all things shoddy. It's a dirty job, but I guess someone's got to do it.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Basinger

Thank you for stopping by Cynthia, welcome to RealScam.

We all have a past and we've all made mistakes, all that really maters is what we do from here. I have listened to a couple of your calls and can faithfully report that you people are saying all the right things. You hired competent legal counsel (Grimes and Reese) and hopefully are following their advice in ways that Paul Burks only pretended to. From where I'm sitting now I do not believe your company's intentions are anything less than honorable.

That being said there is little information available about your business model and even less about your compensation plan. I'm sure you understand that no one, myself included can reach an informed opinion about your company without those details. Your website went live what, two days ago? I don't think you're even officially in full launch mode. So it isn't much of an issue that a full presentation of your companies particulars isn't yet public but from a best practices stand point making that information available should be a priority.

To take your word, and Frank's at face value your company will never become much of a topic around here but it will draw mention. I'd like to give you some time to make your information available before starting a separate topic but one will be created. If nothing else than to keep this thread on it's own topic.

And a late edit to add a link to the Fusion Shopping Network discussion thread (http://www.realscam.com/f9/fusion-shopping-network-2985/).

[Soapboxmom]

From LinkedIn:
http://m.c.lnkd.licdn.com/media/p/4/000/184/1aa/048d0bb.jpg
3rd
Cynthia Basinger

Firm Administrator at Knox, Lemmon, Anapolsky & Schrimp, LLP

Sacramento, California Area (http://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&sortCriteria=R&keepFacets=true&facet_G=us%3A82&trk=prof-0-ovw-location)Law Practice (http://www.linkedin.com/search/fpsearch?keepFacets=true&facet_I=9&trk=prof-0-ovw-industry)




Current (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cynthia-basinger/7/974/2a1#background-experience)


Knox, Lemmon & Anapolsky, LLP (http://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&company=Knox%2C+Lemmon+%26+Anapolsky%2C+LLP&sortCriteria=R&keepFacets=true&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos),
Knox, Lemmon, Anapolsky & Schrimp, LLP (http://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&company=Knox%2C+Lemmon%2C+Anapolsky+%26+Schrimp%2C +LLP&sortCriteria=R&keepFacets=true&trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos)




Education (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cynthia-basinger/7/974/2a1#background-education)


University of California, Davis (http://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=17942&trk=prof-0-ovw-edu)





60connections

From Facebook:



https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-frc3/t1/c0.0.60.60/p60x60/419720_10200376418985613_1182910475_s.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3?hc_location=timeline)Cynthia Basinger (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3) changed her cover photo (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001245885270&set=a.4155799885846.2163307.1009423640&type=1).

January 25


https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/l/t1/75923_10202001245885270_179600208_n.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001245885270&set=a.4155799885846.2163307.1009423640&type=1)
https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-frc3/t1/c0.0.60.60/p60x60/419720_10200376418985613_1182910475_s.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3?hc_location=timeline)Cynthia Basinger (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3) changed her profile picture (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001239165102&set=a.1504203397591.2071184.1009423640&type=1).

January 25


https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/s720x720/1497804_10202001239165102_1042275499_n.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001239165102&set=a.1504203397591.2071184.1009423640&type=1)
https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-frc3/t1/c0.0.60.60/p60x60/419720_10200376418985613_1182910475_s.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3?hc_location=timeline)Cynthia Basinger (https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.basinger.3) changed her cover photo (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001234284980&set=a.4155799885846.2163307.1009423640&type=1).

January 25


https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/1517598_10202001234284980_1906031170_n.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202001234284980&set=a.4155799885846.2163307.1009423640&type=1)

Meet the brilliant cbasinger, who registered here using her e-mail from the law firm listed above. They will no doubt be overjoyed to have their staff publicly tangled up in various scams and uneconomic schemes.

[Soapboxmom]

Wouldn't want the company Facebook page run by our charming Cynthia to be lost:

7093

Law enforcement and her employers might find this quite handy!

[GlimDropper]

From the Pro Sun thread Wes linked to above:


Dear Glim,

This from "this Cynthia Basinger woman". Indeed you are correct in terms of your reference to my "heavy" involvement with The Fusion Shopping Network. I am the Director of Sales & Marketing. I would be happy to give you an interview if you so desire and apprise you about our company and its current status.

I became involved in network marketing over 30 years ago, dabbling in Amway, Neways, Melaleuca, Telecard Network, and NuSkin. I took a long hiatus from the industry because it involved too much time away from home and family, my first priorities. Later, when I learned about Zeek, the online, virtual nature of that business was appealing. As far as my involvement in this business and subsequently Profitable Sunrise, I'm sorry to acknowledge that I was naive -- too trusting -- in people who appeared to be legitimate and thus led me to believe that certain programs I would just as soon forget about were not operating honestly and legitimately. Sadly, as I am certain you are aware, I wasn't the only trusting soul, as you can well appreciate. Live and learn. Happily I am doing both.

Inasmuch as I understand you participate in our conference calls, you must therefore realize that we do not intend to do anything that would warrant our company being the subject of discussions on your site. I respect your efforts at exposing companies who refuse to live by the rules. They -- the rules -- are there for our protection. Note that my "day job" is managing a law firm. I have held this position for over 12 years. It would be extremely irresponsible for me to venture into anything intentionally that was illegitimate or a scam.

I applaud your attention to all things shoddy. It's a dirty job, but I guess someone's got to do it.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Basinger


Thank you for stopping by Cynthia, welcome to RealScam.

We all have a past and we've all made mistakes, all that really maters is what we do from here. I have listened to a couple of your calls and can faithfully report that you people are saying all the right things. You hired competent legal counsel (Grimes and Reese) and hopefully are following their advice in ways that Paul Burks only pretended to. From where I'm sitting now I do not believe your company's intentions are anything less than honorable.

That being said there is little information available about your business model and even less about your compensation plan. I'm sure you understand that no one, myself included can reach an informed opinion about your company without those details. Your website went live what, two days ago? I don't think you're even officially in full launch mode. So it isn't much of an issue that a full presentation of your companies particulars isn't yet public but from a best practices stand point making that information available should be a priority.

To take your word, and Frank's at face value your company will never become much of a topic around here but it will draw mention. I'd like to give you some time to make your information available before starting a separate topic but one will be created. If nothing else than to keep this thread on it's own topic.

We have a not fully launched company with a two day old website and a lot of missing information. Perhaps not the best way to introduce a company but nothing all that damning. I'm not sticking up for Fusion Shopping Network, just pointing out that there isn't enough information to form an opinion of them as of yet.

Approaching this from "what we can say" about them standpoint, while their founders do have some impressive credentials (Dr. George in particular) none of them have any corporate experience in network marketing. Mrs. Basinger has a background in the field which will be valuable to the company and experience as a business manager but unless FSN has hired outside consultants there doesn't appear to be anyone there with practical experience in running a company of this type. While there are some here who would count this as a plus (at least relative to some of the people who do run companies like this) this really is yet another question. There are challenges in any business but MLM companies have some issues unique to themselves, will this leadership team be able to translate their previous experiences productively to a new industry?

Again, these questions can not be answered at this time. But as answers emerge we will post them.

[wserra]

Mrs. Basinger has a background in the fieldfrom which she defended both Zeek and Profitable Sunrise. I really don't need to know anything else.

You're a charitable guy, GD.


There are challenges in any business but MLM companies have some issues unique to themselves

Chief among them being "How can we sell a fercockt business model to people who don't know better?"

[GlimDropper]

from which she defended both Zeek and Profitable Sunrise. I really don't need to know anything else.

You're a charitable guy, GD.


LOL, not charity, humanity. I've been a damn fool before and it takes a continuing effort not to be one again. I'll take blame for my faults but it's easier to ask credit for the effort if I'm willing to extend the same courtesy.

I have a much better memory for faces than I do for names and while not in any way a representative sample, judging by the facebook profile pictures of many of Fusion Shopping Networks early supporters I wouldn't be surprised if most of them were former Zeek Rewards members. Is that, in and of itself a red flag? Just based on their early marketing I'm not sure it is. Granted, this is a point in the conversation where the details of the comp plan would come in handy but just looking at how this company is being presented so far I don't think I'd call it a reload scam yet. It's very early in the game but so far I don't see any of the high level ponzi pimps paying this program any attention. That isn't a bad thing.

But again, there are still many unanswered questions.



Chief among them being "How can we sell a fercockt business model to people who don't know better?"


Don't forget a few gonifs who do know better to help rope the others in. I share the rational skepticism about MLM that is common here. But there is such thing as a legal multilevel marketing company. Even if I wouldn't recommend joining one I will admit it's better to join a legal one than an illegal one. We don't have enough information about Fusion yet to say which side of the line they fall on but I expect that to change soon. Am I wrong to give them the benefit of doubt till we know for sure? I don't think I'm trying to be optimistic I'm just waiting for the facts to come in.

[NikSam]

... But there is such thing as a legal multilevel marketing company.....

Correction, not legal but "legitimized".
And I hope not for long.

There is nothing legal in stealing money in pyramid fashion.

[GlimDropper]

Correction, not legal but "legitimized".
And I hope not for long.

There is nothing legal in stealing money in pyramid fashion.

NikSam, I haven't earned the honor of calling you friend but I've long appreciated your contributions here. Argue what you think the law should be and many odds are we wont disagree. But you've grown past kiddy table debates where words mean only what we'd like then to. You can argue that MLM should only be considered "legitimized" but you can't say it isn't "legal." The facts aren't with you there so that isn't a beach worth fighting on. We'd be much better served by arguing what is true and should bloody well be obvious.

What is the Direct Seller's Association definition of the word "customer"? They don't have nor do I expect them to ever have one. They are one of the better funded and more prominent political pressure groups lobbing on the behalf of their member companies and because of that they have no incentive to define a simple and fundamental concept like what a "customer" is. You see there is no law anywhere that forces MLM companies to include people who only wish to purchase products (perhaps at a discount) with people who view the company as an income opportunity. So it's perhaps safe to assume to only reason they refuse to draw a clear line between product buyers and opportunity seekers is because it would give a more accurate indication of the average income those opportunity seekers really do receive. My impression is that accurate average earnings isn't a statistic your typical MLM company would wish to use as a selling point or else they wouldn't try to pretend that some income opportunity seeks are really just "customers." In my humble opinion this is a better type of argument to make against the industry than just trying to pretend that the industry isn't legal.

Growing up American ABC TV had a series of Saturday morning public service announcement's called School House Rock. A bunch of commercial length educational shorts running the gamut of math and grammar basics to elemental civics. One told the story of how a bill becomes a law [YouTube link] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0). While I hate to trash the idealism of my childhood but to be honest, bills get written by companies or the special interest groups who represent them and once they buy enough of our elected officials they become law. A rather small number of people make a mega-crapload of money off MLM and either through direct lobbying or through groups like the DSA laws get passed which are not designed to advance the interests of average MLM affiliates so much as the people who own MLM companies. That's why there isn't a legal definition of the word "customer" as it relates to MLM opportunities.

If we're going to argue against the abuses of this industry, and we are going argue against the abuses of this industry, let's not waste time pretending that what is isn't. Let's focus on why what is shouldn't be.

[EagleOne]

This reminds me of all the hype that Ultimate Power Profits/Global Online shopping network had that never got off the ground; and also Wake Up Now which was also going to be this great MLM shopping club opportunity which also crashed and burned. Kind of hard to do any due diligence when none of the links work except to signup and give them money. Real great opportunity my assets. I hope Cynthia is a better office manager than she is a judge of legitimate and legal programs.

[legoman]

@Eagleone, the above post Cynthia has explained about past mistakes. Rest assure Dr Frank George And Cynthia are not here to launch a scam program. Some members above here have the mentality to shoot first and ask questions later which is immature and unprofessional in opinion and to judge someone by there past poorly choices in programs. I wish there were more intelligent people here like GlimDropper and You. The Comp plan is 10 pages long and even has a glossary section so you can understand what your reading. A power point is soon to follow to share with people, but we're still in soft launch phase. Commissions, bonuses are base on sales, not recruiting. Maybe that's why the ponzi pimps have said no.For more info and if you would like to set up a interview with Dr George or Cynthia, I'm sure they would be more than happy to.

[ribshaw]

Its difficult to come up with new and creative ways to say "give me a break", but let's give it a good ole try.

If Fusion Shopping was offering to broker heating oil or gallons of milk to members at a discount, then sign me up. Discounting stuff at retail in any capacity, and operating under the pretense that affiliates are somehow going to be able to make a buck doing anything other than recruiting new members? Color me skeptical, but lil ole me is going to compete with Amazon and EBAY? Right after they feature my abs on the cover of this month's Men's Health.

No product or prices to evaluate, just the promise that this is going to be big. The gist I got was the brokering of discount cards or codes at the consumer level. Is this not already being done in spades and why on earth are affiliates needed to do it? Set up a website, if the value is there people will buy= Easy Peasy. One can go to Ebay or any host of other sites and find these items readily available at a discount. The more popular the merchant, the lower the discount. I am left wondering, where does the commission fit in, does the merchant give a bigger cut to make the affiliate rich? Seems unlikely.

If I am at a store and want to know the best price available for almost anything I can have a 12 year old use their smartphone to find it for me. Next go to the manager and play let's make a deal. If they want the sale, they will usually match the price. Not sure where the affiliate marketer comes into that transaction?

As Eagle mentioned, there are a whole host of buying club type set-ups where dissatisfaction is the norm. Yeah, I am sure this is going to be different.

Ripoff Report | direct buy directory of Complaints & Reviews (http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/direct-buy)

Top 207 Complaints and Reviews about DirectBuy (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/furniture/directbuy.html)

Men get prison in online-shopping-club case - Los Angeles Times (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/17/business/la-fi-scam-watch-20120417)

Ripoff Report | usa shopping club directory of Complaints & Reviews (http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/usa-shopping-club)

Smart Shoppers Savings Club Reviews | Scambook (http://www.scambook.com/company/view/17733/Smart-Shoppers-Savings-Club)

[GlimDropper]

Legoman, could I ask a favor?

The ten page comp plan you decribe, is it in PDF or some other portable document format? If it is and unless FSN has objections, could you post it here?

If instead of using the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom of the page you click "Go Advanced" and get a larger selection of post controls. One of them looks like a paperclip and manages attachments. Click on that and it walks you through the steps to upload a file like a PDF and make it available on site.

I think the best way to prove what the comp plan is, is to make it public.

[Whip]

I think the best way to prove what the comp plan is, is to make it public.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Whip412/aagh.gif (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Whip412/media/aagh.gif.html)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Whip412/aagh.gif (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Whip412/media/aagh.gif.html)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Whip412/aagh.gif (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Whip412/media/aagh.gif.html)

[legoman]

Yes its in pdf, no sorry can't post it yet. By the way wserra posts is unacceptable damaging to my friend Cynthia's character. If you want to converse professionally please have your members show professionalism. Thanks Glim.

[wserra]

to judge someone by there (sic) past poorly (sic) choices in programs. I wish there were more intelligent people here

Man, I really need to find a source for stronger irony meters.

[wserra]

By the way wserra posts is unacceptable damaging to my friend Cynthia's character.

Quoting her own words - that's really hitting below the belt.

[Soapboxmom]

<snip first heaping pile of dung>......
2. We can take contributions. We can raise revenue through affordable donations from those who believe in our business model and our quest to create and nurture a long term MLM business that we can all be proud of for many years to come. This can quickly provide much if not all the money needed to keep gaining momentum towards launch.

Notice the use of the word “donations.” Why not do what most network marketing companies do during a “prelaunch”? You are all aware of network marketing companies that have used the enticement of prelaunch benefits to illegally raise startup money by promising special positions or other advantages to those who “get in first!” What’s up with this “get in first” baloney? If the company is more than a fly-by-night scam, why the urgency to get in first? Any company intending to be around for a long time should have an opportunity that benefits EVERY SINGLE PERSON regardless of when they join. If not, then you should run away, fast! The SEC and FTC are cracking down severely on this. Want it from the “horse’s mouth? Go to our website and click on “FTC INFO” and “SEC INFO.”

It is important to understand that accepting investments without providing a stake in the company is selling unregistered securities to unqualified investors. I’m sure many of you remember the legal hassles created by companies who made that mistake. In the past, many MLM companies got away with this. Those days are over. Promising a “get-in-first” contributor a favorable position in exchange for money creates a legal but unfulfillable contract. When the company does not launch, which is too often the case, it is exposed to potential breach of contract lawsuits from every person who put in their “got-duped-first” money that lined the pockets of just a few. How many times has this happened? How many of you have been duped by overhyped promises? We are sure this has left many of you jaded, suspicious and skeptical.

Know this - we will always work our hardest to not do ANYTHING that jeopardizes our record of integrity with any agency, partner or distributor. Our company WILL NOT take prelaunch contributions in exchange for any type of company advantage. EVERYONE will have the same opportunity for success - today and years into the future. Would you want it any other way?

So what can we do? As mentioned in option #2, we can accept donations. Based upon our investigations and the opinions of our MLM and other legal counsel and consultants, this is very legitimate because there is no false promise of anything in return and so there is no real or implied contract created. Many companies will eagerly tell you if you give them your money, you will get something fabulous in exchange, even though you likely end up with nothing. We won’t do that. We will not promise any material return. You are contributing to our goal because you believe in what we’re doing and because you want this company to succeed.

So, let’s be clear about our goal. We intend to create a completely legitimate, long-term business opportunity for anyone who has a dream they would like to build on. A marketing network with a strong and innovative compensation plan that will attract many thousands and products and services that will attract millions. But we won’t do one thing – we will not make money standing on the backs of others’ failed dreams! A few have heard Frank say this – “I would rather die with an empty wallet than an empty soul.”

If you are going to contribute your hard earned money and be part of our team, we want you to be fully informed every step of the way. Rather than hearing first or second hand that “this company is highly vetted (when in the past we were told that and indeed it was not), the founders have experience with start-ups that succeeded - check out Regenesis Biomedical | Provant® Therapy System (http://www.RegenesisBiomedical.com) and YouTube: AmethystTechnologies Frank George. You will be on the front line of what is happening as this company builds toward launch. We believe you deserve to know what is at stake if we are asking for contributions. Now, please do not judge us as being undercapitalized. Most successful companies started on a shoe string. Apple, Facebook and Google all practically started in garages with more brains than bucks. Why do you think those other companies give you scam promises?? But, in our case, Dr. George personally invested the funds needed to get our Company started and put all the pieces in place. He has “put the money where the mouth is.” It is now time to open the gates and get launched.

We are very good at what we do. More importantly, you are all very good at what you do. But we are phenomenal together! And although that is not all that it takes to succeed, it is a significant component. Yes this company is “in development.” We have had experience with start-ups and developing companies in the past we are prepared for the challenges ahead. If you take a chance and contribute to our company, your contribution will be used 100% to help get the company to launch as soon as possible. These funds will initially be held, and if we do not raise sufficient capital, your donation will be returned.

What will you receive? Satisfaction that you are helping create an opportunity for many to fulfill their dreams over the long term, not just a few for a short time. Now, if the company has a successful launch, at that time we will joyously thank you with a gift. In this case, we feel it is a special and fitting gift – free bids! to be used as you see fit.

We are asking you to join with us in an adventure that will see many moments of joy, annoyance, enthusiasm, anxiety, anticipation – wow, pretty much everything you would expect when pursuing your dreams, right? Yes, it will be challenging, but a challenge worthy of acceptance. This challenge needs a truly cohesive network, with that “in it together” mentality.

We believe we can do this with all of you. Actually, we BELIEVE in all of you. You have demonstrated amazing success in the past. Sadly, your efforts were not supported by strong companies with strong leadership. We can build that strong company. So if you wish to be a part of this, if you believe it CAN be done right, we invite you to climb aboard.

Thank you so very much for your belief, hope and support in what we are creating.
With warmest regards,


Frank R. George, Ph.D. & Cynthia Basinger
Fusion Entertainment LLC
Notice for tax purposes
:

Contributions or gifts to Fusion Entertainment LLC are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.

These little diatribes are beyond delightful. Contributions / donations???? That conveniently lets the scammers relieve one of their hard earned money whilst leaving them no recourse when they abscond with it. Obviously, from the content of this silly chatter, these clowns have been around the block more than a few times. A trail of devastation in their wake no doubt. Peachy!

[ribshaw]

If you want to converse professionally please have your members show professionalism.

Ribshaw laid out what us considers to be some serious business hurdles you are up against, would be happy if you could address those. While he may be one of the more immature people one will ever meet, I can put his collar on if there is a real discussion to be had.

[NikSam]

wait, they already taking money but do not say what for ?
not before they take it ? not after ?

Donations (Contributions) to MLM :) what is this ? what planet is it on ?

Is Donald Kernan (http://www.realscam.com/f11/donald-alan-kernan-jr-dreamertopia-challenges-realscam-2771/index8.html#post63728) on it ?

[Soapboxmom]

The following was removed from the veritable cesspool of the internet, MMG and I had to retrieve it from the Google cache:

Fusion Shopping Network - Fusionshoppingnetwork.com, 3x6 Forced Matrix - Global Fusion Debit Card




Legoman (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Legoman-m535347.html)
Jan 10 2014, 03:58 PM

Post #1: Board Message (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Fusion-Shopping-Network-t463723.html&view=findpost&p=8130466#entry8130466)



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View Member Profile (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Legoman-m535347.html)
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New MoneyMaker
Group: Member
Joined: 10-January 14


http://www.MoneyMakerGroup.com/style_images/mmg/spacer.gif
Introducing Fusion Shopping Network!!!

Now Everyone Can Earn Money While Saving Money!
Learn More About This Amazing Business


Attend The Weekly Conference Calls Every Thursday at
5:00 PM PST|8:00 PM EST
Phone: (206)-402-0879 PIN Code: 39182#



Hear About:

• Instant Online Shopping Rewards
• E commerce Site
• Auction and Games Site
• Currently 50 -70 “Instant Download” retailers
• Over 200 “Household” name Gift Card Retailers
• Fusion Shopping Network Mobile App
• Plus Earn Reward Points from purchases
• Always at least 2-5% Discounts
• Earn free gas rewards when you shop at FSN
• Buy Fuse Bucks for Auctions, Games & greater discounts
• Didn’t win the Item you want in the auction? No problem Use your Fuse Bucks to purchase the Item at a discount
• Global Fusion Debit Card use for all Fusion Affiliate business plus POS purchases and withdrawals at any ATM

This post has been edited by Uncle Awesome: Jan 10 2014, 07:28 PM








Replies



Legoman (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Legoman-m535347.html)
Jan 12 2014, 08:13 AM

Post #2: Board Message (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Fusion-Shopping-Network-t463723.html&view=findpost&p=8132462#entry8132462)



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New MoneyMaker
Group: Member
Joined: 10-January 14


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Meet the VIP in Sales and Marketing Cynthia Basinger of Fusion Shopping Network.
Here is a glimpse of what to expect with FSN.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yes, it’s officially 2014! I hope you had a lovely Holiday Season, Christmas and New Years! Now that it’s traditional goal-setting time, how about deciding to gain some financial independence? Or maybe more freedom with your time?

As I said in a note to you before Christmas, the wonderful opportunity we’ve been waiting for is now here – The Fusion Shopping Network! Please read this note, send it to your network and get ready to join us for a fabulous Soft Launch as we finalize our plans for a prosperous 2014!

The Fusion corporate team, Dr. Frank George - CEO, Jon Bonnell - CTO, Mary Ritz - CFO and yours truly have been working day in and day out for many months now with the world’s best comp plan development team, software design experts, securities and investment attorneys, motivation and leadership trainers and networking legal counsel to create a cutting edge, financially rewarding business model with everything a networker has dreamed of – great company, great product, great comp plan and well, simply put, a GREAT, long-lasting opportunity. As some of our consultants have said, we are becoming “The next generation of network marketing.”

Even with all the distractions of the Holidays, we are still on track for soft launch by end of January. You will be able to sign up, begin training and geneology building and take advantage of our state-of-the-art product, sales and compliance training. You will get trained on how to use and sell our On Demand Shopping Rewards business that will allow you to save and earn money on what you already do - shop. That’s it folks, if you shop, you win with Fusion Shopping Network! Plus, all purchasing, sales and training can even be done seamlessly from your smart device.

Here’s a couple details to get those juices flowing – Weekly commissions up to 30% on your customer purchases! Plus, ZERO inventory requirement. That’s right, you will never have to purchase any “product” in order to resell it to your customers – the Company is absorbing ALL of that risk! No “inventory loading” schemes like some past fly-by-night companies! All you do is refer your customers to our web site with your ID and you earn the sales. How’s that for clean, simple and, yes, black-and-white compliant! Did I mention free gas cards and the fact that ALL payments will be auto-loaded onto your personal Fusion card? That’s right, no waiting for checks or confusing deposit requirements. You won’t even need a checking account! Well, I told you we’ve got the best working with the best!

I will be filling you in with more and more details as we move through January. Again, please forward this email to everyone you feel is ready for our “here for the long haul” Company - Fusion Shopping Network.

I share with you the excitement of a bright, bright future!

We look forward to working with you soon.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Basinger
Director, Sales & Marketing
Fusion Shopping Network


To Hear lasts Thursdays pre-recorded call go to: http://sosrecording3.com/ (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/redirect.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsosrecording3.com%2F ) enter the dial in code 2064020879,
then access code 79725

See everyone this Thursdays call for more on the comp plan.

Links and References to Other Pages:

http://sosrecording3.com/ (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/redirect.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsosrecording3.com%2F )



From the Fusion Blog:

MAY 31, 2013:

There is a wave floating over the network marketing industry and I hope all participants will be able to ride it out. Gone are the days when a distributor/affiliate/member, etc. will be compensated solely by recruiting distributors who buy the products or services the direct sales company is offering. Look at what happened with JubiRev last week. In order to be fully compensated, one will need nondistributors or customers purchasing products or services. This is how the regulators will shrink the population of MLM enthusiasts because as we all know, the average person shies away from anything even remotely involving sales. How do we make this work? By having a product or service that is attractive to potential customers, offered at the right price. Perhaps it can be as simple as having an entertaining website that draws people in. Take QuiBids for example. Albeit they are not an MLM company, using them as a model for a penny auction MLM business, customers who go to their penny auction site can play games to win bids. I think the games are addicting. The chance to win bids makes the site more attractive. Thus a penny auction MLM business should follow suit.

More on this subject to come. Stay tuned.
Hilarious! We all know most MLMs have between a mere 10%-50% of their products sold to an end user (real customer) who is not participating in the pay plan, so them begging the reps to find some customer, any customer is most amusing! And, as wserra already pointed out that it appears they have NO products, procuring customers is going to be incredibly difficult. So finding customers for a product that doesn't exist -- comedic gold!

[NikSam]

Oh, Boy, and their "legal" team or "lawyers" or even Ms. Basinger thinks all is OK ?

I have to question her law degree..

And Ph.D degree of that other guy.

[legoman]

We haven't fully launched yet but Soapboxmama seems to have a lot of experience in starting up successful business like Dr George has. I like you already keep up the encouragement. Every business has hurdles to jump over. I don't understand why we are having this conversation. Certain people here is speculating and full of bias opinions. But thanks for the free publicity. Want to know more then get on our weekly call.

[Soapboxmom]

We haven't fully launched yet but Soapboxmama seems to have a lot of experience in starting up successful business like Dr George has. I like you already keep up the encouragement. Every business has hurdles to jump over. I don't understand why we are having this conversation. Certain people here is speculating and full of bias opinions. But thanks for the free publicity. Want to know more then get on our weekly call.
My crystal ball is in very good working order, but thanks for inquiring!

[NikSam]

Oh, wait, you will get the publicity alright.

Which legal firm represents you ?

[nomaxim]

I found this older post on facebook.com/nomorejob/posts/592198614136679 (https://www.facebook.com/nomorejob/posts/592198614136679);
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z149/Oolam/fe1_zps1cf3a63e.png (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/Oolam/media/fe1_zps1cf3a63e.png.html)
(Scroll down)
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z149/Oolam/fe2_zpsc6fc7c42.png (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/Oolam/media/fe2_zpsc6fc7c42.png.html)

This apparently leads to two other websites (Have these been mentioned before? Apologies if they have);
The Facebook account itself at nomorejob.org (http://nomorejob.org/login.php), their WhoIs info (http://who.godaddy.com/whoisstd.aspx?domain=nomorejob.org&prog_id=GoDaddy);
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z149/Oolam/fe3_zps3ad9168c.png (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/Oolam/media/fe3_zps3ad9168c.png.html)

And fusionentertainmentllc.com (http://www.fusionentertainmentllc.com/home.html) and their WhoIs info (http://who.godaddy.com/whoisstd.aspx?domain=fusionentertainmentllc.com&prog_id=GoDaddy) which shows a private registration with Domains by Proxy on 29JUN2013, eight months ago.

No idea how this all relates and no idea what 'Spyder Bids' is about.

Just providing information as usual. :RpS_smile:




And Ph.D degree of that other guy.
Actually, a quick search at Google Scholar, like "Frank R. George" or "FR George" (http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22frank+r+george%22&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C36) will find numerous academic papers.
Even a quick general Google Search for "Dr Frank R. George" (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22dr+frank+r+george%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb) will turn up a few academic books.
For example, books.google.com (http://books.google.com/books?id=QdoOMFcf7dcC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=%22dr+frank+r+george%22&source=bl&ots=t_dKPYH5Nl&sig=ltIZk7ixYpe-neKAl6lWq77WW7c&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6qMLU9qaA8WukAfq_IAQ&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22dr%20frank%20r%20george%22&f=false);
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z149/Oolam/fe4_zpsb8ca2765.png (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/Oolam/media/fe4_zpsb8ca2765.png.html)
Personally, I did find it of interest that Dr. George's field of study applies to addictions.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. After all, I dig up grandmothers and watch monkey sex. :watching_you:
(Think about it:
Archeology= Study of Ancient Civilizations [digging up grandparents].
Anthropology= Study of Primates [monkey {ape} socialization].)

But, given that he studies addictions. Well one could wonder if this isn't some kinda academic study?
Then again, he could have jumped to the profit side.



PS.
Has anyone bothered with a basic business registration look-up as yet?

[GlimDropper]

One observation. To date Fusion has pretty much been one very small circle of friends. I've had my eye on them for a number of months not specifically because I thought they were going to be a problem but because I was aware of the post-Zeek connection so there is a potential for there to be a problem. At this point I don't think there is any evidence of anything, good or bad really, just a somewhat awkward prelaunch.

At this point they are launched in so far as affiliates can pay to join the company. I'm sure close to 100% of those who have were already in the "small circle of friends" and the company is not yet very actively marketing it's self. The website is incomplete, their products aren't listed and I've been given assurances that the comp plan will be up soon. All told they're still in "not ready for prime time" mode at the moment.

I'm not saying these things to be nice to them I'm saying them because I place value on the quality on information on this website. Which can be taken to mean I'm saying them because I believe them to be true. When the comp plan comes out, if it's hanky I'll be the first to point it out (unless someone beats me to it) but it isn't public yet so all I can say is it probably should have been.

I don't think FSN was anticipating this level of attention at this time. I had been following them but wasn't going to write about them till there was something to write about. Legoman started the ball rolling here and if he regrets doing so I'd prefer it was for good reason. From where we are now it's impossible to say one way or another but this period of agnosticism is only temporary. If I were to put my finger on what I'd call their first mistake it would be that because as a group most of their membership and two of their leaders were former Zeek Rewards members (and most were victims) they never thought to have a plan in place to address this issue when the company launched. If they had thought about it it actually could work to their favor, sure it's going to get them some initial scrutiny but assuming they can stand up to that then they can claim to be a company founded by people who's trust was abused in the marketplace and because of that are going the extra mile to make sure not to do the same to the people who trust them.

And if there was any doubt it should be clear by now, if Fusion Shopping Network ever does go on to abuse the trust of their members, it will be very publicly documented here.

[fromthehood]

@Eagleone, the above post Cynthia has explained about past mistakes. Rest assure Dr Frank George And Cynthia are not here to launch a scam program. Some members above here have the mentality to shoot first and ask questions later which is immature and unprofessional in opinion and to judge someone by there past poorly choices in programs. I wish there were more intelligent people here like GlimDropper and You. The Comp plan is 10 pages long and even has a glossary section so you can understand what your reading. A power point is soon to follow to share with people, but we're still in soft launch phase. Commissions, bonuses are base on sales, not recruiting. Maybe that's why the ponzi pimps have said no.For more info and if you would like to set up a interview with Dr George or Cynthia, I'm sure they would be more than happy to.

If this company is not a ponzi, why are you promoting it on main ponzi forum?
Fusion Shopping Network - Fusionshoppingnetwork.com (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Fusion-Shopping-Network-t466669.html)

Also, where is that 10 page compensation plan? Not on website.

And on top of it, their shopping portal does not make a lick of sense. Why would you create "Apparel and Accessories" and "Jewelry" departments among many other when all products are supposed to be digital (from what I read in shipping policy section)? Only digital products that make sense are games, software, tickets, movies, music, tv shows. Good luck competing with Apple and Amazon.

[EagleOne]

nomaxim: In regard to your question: Has anyone did a basic business registration look-up as of yet? The answer is yes.

They are registered in the state of Wyoming, Fusion Shopping Network LLC, Filing ID: 2013-000653212. Filing was made on 10/30/2013.

What is rather curious is that no officers or directors were named in the filing, and their Registered Agent: WyomingRegisteredAgent.com, Inc., Agent Address: 1621 Central Ave
Cheyenne, WY 82001 USA is all that is listed, which is nothing more than an entity providing this service. I am not sure what Wyoming's rules are about company filings, but most states require the Corporation or LLC to file the names of officers and/or directors within the first six months of operation. So if this applies in Wyoming, they would have to name them by the end of April.

One more thing. Legoman, you should be aware that wserra is an attorney unlike Cynthia is who is just an office manager for a law firm. Guess which one I would believe first. You also have to understand that many of us have been hearing this same mantra that Fusion Shopping Network is saying for more than 10 years. This is not our first rodeo of these type of programs. We've heard it all before and out of 10+ years I can count on two fingers those who have remotely come close to fulfilling all the hype and not being an illegal pyramid scheme. The question now remains to be seen if this will be #3 or like all the others that were all hype and smoke and mirrors. And no I will not rest assured that Cynthia and the good Dr are not setting up to run a scam. But that will become known in the not too distant future. No doubt about it.

[legoman]

Maybe some of the mmg members are tired of being scammed, so maybe they would be interested in a company that is put together right. Other than that forum I know no other.

[legoman]

Is she an MLM, SEC attorney ? Have her post her credentials here, until she does then your word doesn't mean a thing to me. None of you know what is going on behind the scenes at Fusion. It's all speculation. Your treating Fusion as a scam, while digging for go daddy nonsense registration information like some kind of detective..LOL friggin hilarious. We're not a scam, ponzi company and never will be. Please move on so done here wasting my valuable time.

[NikSam]

....

But, given that he studies addictions. Well one could wonder if this isn't some kinda academic study?
Then again, he could have jumped to the profit side.

...

He claims:
B.S. in Biopsychology, Cell Biology
MA in Experimental Psychology, Biochemistry
Ph.D. in Biopsychology, Behavioral Genetics, Pharmacology

Which looked strange to me at first because for Pharmacology he seems not to be in the DEA database.
But later I realized he is by now retired, and

you are correct, none are medical doctor degrees.

[Fat City, LA]

Is she an MLM, SEC attorney ? Have her post her credentials here, until she does then your word doesn't mean a thing to me. None of you know what is going on behind the scenes at Fusion. It's all speculation. Your treating Fusion as a scam, while digging for go daddy nonsense registration information like some kind of detective..LOL friggin hilarious. We're not a scam, ponzi company and never will be. Please move on so done here wasting my valuable time.

What a pathetic post.This one is already starting to follow same old pattern.
Founders have been in scams before . All thats changed.:pt:
Members over here defending it, worried about trivialities of realscam posters...not the real issue that it looks like a pyramid at the least.

IMO, anything with nothing to hide doesnt bother with realscam and for sure doesnt associate with MMG.

[NikSam]

I think we wasting time on it, it is not even worth attention..., no participants in this. If someone wants to "donate" to a MLM, well, it is their stupid choice.
Will return to it later, when they actually start offering something or it will change for worse.


@legoman
" like some kind of detective" - that is what saves people from scammers if they did it more often.

[littleroundman]

Maybe some of the mmg members are tired of being scammed, so maybe they would be interested in a company that is put together right. Other than that forum I know no other.

You may well draw in some HYIP ponzi players from your thread over on the MMG HYIP ponzi forum (http://www.moneymakergroup.com/Fusion-Shopping-Network-t466669.html) but, you can be guaranteed it will cost you any chance of being recognized as a legitimate business, MLM or otherwise.

The equation is simple: legitimate businesses will do anything possible to distance themselves from even being mentioned on the "usual suspect" HYIP ponzi forums such as MMG or Talkgold.

Critics don't even have to bother examining the details. All they need do is point out:

* It's on MMG

* The history of some of the main players

* The lack of transparency WRT the comp plan

* the ineptitude of those behind the "prelaunch"

* The fact there is a "prelaunch" is in itself a red flag. Virtually every shady pseudo MLM in the last decade has used the same tired "prelaunch" story.

[laidback]

nomaxim: In regard to your question: Has anyone did a basic business registration look-up as of yet? The answer is yes.

They are registered in the state of Wyoming, Fusion Shopping Network LLC, Filing ID: 2013-000653212. Filing was made on 10/30/2013.

What is rather curious is that no officers or directors were named in the filing, and their Registered Agent: WyomingRegisteredAgent.com, Inc., Agent Address: 1621 Central Ave
Cheyenne, WY 82001 USA is all that is listed, which is nothing more than an entity providing this service. I am not sure what Wyoming's rules are about company filings, but most states require the Corporation or LLC to file the names of officers and/or directors within the first six months of operation. So if this applies in Wyoming, they would have to name them by the end of April.

One more thing. Legoman, you should be aware that wserra is an attorney unlike Cynthia is who is just an office manager for a law firm. Guess which one I would believe first. You also have to understand that many of us have been hearing this same mantra that Fusion Shopping Network is saying for more than 10 years. This is not our first rodeo of these type of programs. We've heard it all before and out of 10+ years I can count on two fingers those who have remotely come close to fulfilling all the hype and not being an illegal pyramid scheme. The question now remains to be seen if this will be #3 or like all the others that were all hype and smoke and mirrors. And no I will not rest assured that Cynthia and the good Dr are not setting up to run a scam. But that will become known in the not too distant future. No doubt about it.
Let me help a bit , here. Wyoming, like many states offers nominee service where the actual board member or members are not listed.

[laidback]

What a pathetic post.This one is already starting to follow same old pattern.
Founders have been in scams before . All thats changed.:pt:
Members over here defending it, worried about trivialities of realscam posters...not the real issue that it looks like a pyramid at the least.

IMO, anything with nothing to hide doesnt bother with realscam and for sure doesnt associate with MMG.
LOL, perhaps he(she?) should have chosen "leggo, man!", or "letitgo,man" as a username.

[fromthehood]

LOL friggin hilarious. We're not a scam, ponzi company and never will be. Please move on so done here wasting my valuable time.

Your company have 90% red flags of scam. Only thing I did not see is their compensation plan which is probably under lock and key.

[EagleOne]

Is she an MLM, SEC attorney ? Have her post her credentials here, until she does then your word doesn't mean a thing to me. None of you know what is going on behind the scenes at Fusion. It's all speculation. Your treating Fusion as a scam, while digging for go daddy nonsense registration information like some kind of detective..LOL friggin hilarious. We're not a scam, ponzi company and never will be. Please move on so done here wasting my valuable time.

Oh good grief. Up until this post of yours I was willing to wait and see, but you just proved this is an illegal pyramid scheme. If you have to be a SEC attorney to comment, then what in the heck are you doing vouching for the integrity of FSN? You are not qualified, according to you. Besides, wserra is a he, and a very knowledgeable man as well as an attorney, but I'll let him provide you his credentials if he is so inclined to do so. But why bother as you have already determined he is not qualified to comment on FSN. :RpS_lol:

You might want to remember that you are known by the company you keep, and Cynthia has two of the most notorious Ponzi and illegal cash gifting pimps as her friends. I am sure they are the ones who got her into Zeek and Profitable Sunrise vouching for how great and legitimate they were. They wouldn't know a real program if it was sitting in their lap with flashing lights. If you get Ken Russo and Faith Sloan on board, you can be sure this is an illegal pyramid scheme. Remember what I said about you are known by the company you keep? Living proof.

Now you really didn't think any of us were just going to take your word for it, and assurances by Dr. George and Cynthia that they were not going to be running a scam now did you? Seriously? But keep talking as you are doing more to prove our initial suspicions were right on the money.

[Whip]

Oh good grief. Up until this post of yours I was willing to wait and see, but you just proved this is an illegal pyramid scheme. If you have to be a SEC attorney to comment, then what in the heck are you doing vouching for the integrity of FSN?

I'm waiting to see the name 'gerald nehra' posted so I can fall off my chair laughing.

[legoman]

The Comp Plan in up in PDF Glim. See Fusion site.

[Soapboxmom]

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5yJwCPJqZPNcVNMXzctWTBCTnM/edit

Hilarious! Usual pyramid scheme pure crap.

[EagleOne]

Just another 3x6 matrix program in a long list of failed matrix programs before it.

[EagleOne]

I'm waiting to see the name 'gerald nehra' posted so I can fall off my chair laughing.

I think I read somewhere they are using Kevin Grimes and his firm as their attorney. Not sure why since this is a matrix program disguised as a MLM program.[/I]

[legoman]

I must say K CHANGE and Oz over at behind mlm give more of an intellectual analysis on Comp plans than you two. Your conclusions are quite ridiculous for this not being your first rodeo. Stick to programs who register off shore and hide there identity. Your wasting your time with Fusion Lynn.

[Soapboxmom]

I must say K CHANGE and Oz over at behind mlm give more of an intellectual analysis on Comp plans than you two. Your conclusions are quite ridiculous for this not being your first rodeo. Stick to programs who register off shore and hide there identity. Your wasting your time with Fusion Lynn.
The comp plans are incredibly complex and set up in such a way no lay person can really make head or tails out of it. That is done deliberately. If folks understood the plans they wouldn't waste their time and money on these scams. It is all a math game and 97% or more are going to lose their money. The odds are better in Vegas, man!

[GlimDropper]

On first read it isn't anywhere near the worst comp plan I've seen. I'll need more time to digest it I don't see huge red flags. It is clear there's been an effort made here to abide by the law and I give credit for that.

My big question isn't the commission structure, it's what are commissions based off of. At this time, less than a week into a "soft launch" they don't have a product inventory online. The products are gift card codes (gift cards without the physical card) which are redeemable for discounts for online shopping. Obviously the number and variety of merchants and websites Fusion can supply discounts to will greatly affect the attractiveness of the offering. That will be seen in time. The literature isn't clear on this and perhaps warrants clarification in future renditions of the documents but are commissions factored on the face value of cards sold or just the company's profit from the sale? The answer has to be the latter.

Last I looked most major merchants offer some level of discount when you buy enough of their gift cards in bulk. Without any negotiations or agreements you can get $100K in WalMart cards for $95K. I am not suggesting that this is remotely close to how FSN conducts business but mention it for a sense of scale. I hope what ever relationships FSN has give them more than a 5% margin on sales and for sake of argument let's assume it's 10%. They need to give customers a reason to use there service so let's say they give the customer 5% savings. If an item being sold on a participating website costs $100, $95 worth of "FuseBucks" gets it for you. That's enough of a motive for people to add an additional step to the purchase process. But if true that still leaves 5% of the FuseBuck purchase to be divided up among the affiliate force which pretty much makes this a game of inches.

The number and quality of the merchants they partner with will make or break this deal. Whatever percentages they'll net are going to be thin so they pretty much need to tap the daily consumables market for an affiliate to make any real income. If you're scoring X% of my online electronics purchases I hope you bag your lunch but if you get X% of my monthly grocery and gas purchases you might be able to order in.

So yea, there are still questions about the product offering but let's skim the comp plan. It's propper to point out we only have the "Pre-launch draft" copy of the plan so some details may change.



$199 ($149 for a limited time) Start up fee which includes the compliance course, marketing materials and sales training. The only "groan factor" here is "access to numerous sales and motivational aids." If they are all included in the original price I retract my objection but some companies use these same terms to describe what others have called a "tools scam."
I hope the $9.95/month back office fee is temporary. At a start up level it's understandable that the company outsources it's IT needs but once established it's more economic to keep it in house. The "back office" shouldn't be an option, or rather, it's either an indispensable part of the business or it's an additional "sales aid." Affiliates need to be able to track their sales group and commission structure, that's essential to the business but to label it as an attractive "option" seems problematic.
$39/year compliance re-certification. I support compliance but add the $40/year to the "optional" $120/year back office fee and the first $160/year an affiliate earns is gone. This is not onerous given the standards of the industry but again, this is a low margin opportunity. The casual affiliate needs to be on guard of the bottom line.
I am greatly cheered that there don't appear to be any commissions paid on the above fees.
I'm less concerned with how the pie gets sliced up than I am with what's in the pie. I wont address issues of fairness and equity, people with more affiliates under them always make more money, if the payout to lower level affiliates is too lean the company will fail. I don't feel qualified to assess the dynamic aspects of the plan and have forwarded a copy to some better equipped individuals. What I do like is that all commissions are based on product sales.
Very nice distinction, commissions are paid on customer sales but affiliate purchases are only commissioned on redemptions. A very practical anti-inventory loading tactic. There's less an incentive for affiliates to purchase just to qualify because they're only being paid as the product is "consumed."
Matrixes, I hate them. But they aren't, in an of themselves illegal.We need to keep an eye out for pending details of the "customer acquisition bonuses" and how (if) they are tied to the "optional leadership development" packages. Details are of yet not available.



Those are my first impressions. Time is needed for a more thoughtful review but I do believe this is being laid out to be a legally compliant MLM company. There are issues with the revenue stream but if they were intending to set up a pyramid they didn't do it right.

[Whip]

So what exactly is the difference between this and ebates other than ebates doesn't need 'affiliates' to do basically the same thing?

[EagleOne]

I must say K CHANGE and Oz over at behind mlm give more of an intellectual analysis on Comp plans than you two. Your conclusions are quite ridiculous for this not being your first rodeo. Stick to programs who register off shore and hide there identity. Your wasting your time with Fusion Lynn.

First, K Chang and Oz have credibility, you don't. Second, I was just at behindMLM and went all the back to August and could not find the review you mentioned about FSN. Why is that? Please provide a link to the review at behindMLM as I really would love to read it.

[legoman]

I was speaking in comp plans in general. Saying it's a failure is a opinion lynn. Provide the failures in this comp plan and management can address the issues.

[GlimDropper]

So what exactly is the difference between this and ebates other than ebates doesn't need 'affiliates' to do basically the same thing?

But if you like, you can be an ebates affiliate (http://www.ebates.com/bloggers.htm).


* A "qualified referral" is a new member of Ebates referred by you that signs up at Ebates.com during the referral period starting January 1, 2014 and ending March 31, 2014 and that complies with the rules set forth below. If a qualified referral makes purchases totaling $25 or more that earn cash back within one year following signing up, Ebates will pay you $5 for each such qualified referral. Ebates will pay you an additional one-time bonus for the referral period if two (2) or more of your qualified referrals each make purchases totaling $25 or more that earn cash back before the end of the referral period. You will receive the highest one-time bonus for which you qualify in the table above. Your one-time bonus will be added to your Ebates account at the conclusion of this promotion. A qualified referral must be made using (i) your custom referral link, (ii) the invitation forms on this page or (iii) other methods supplied by Ebates that allow for proper tracking of referrals. The following activities are not permitted and will disqualify you from earning a referral bonus: (i) self-referral, (ii) posting your referral link on any Ebates merchant's Facebook or forum page, (iii) keyword bidding for the purpose of generating traffic to pages containing your referral link, and (iv) any similar activity determined by Ebates in its sole discretion to be inconsistent with the purpose of the Ebates Tell-A-Friend Program. Ebates decisions are final. You are responsible for any applicable taxes. This referral bonus promotion is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico and are at least eighteen (18) years of age.


I was speaking in comp plans in general. Saying it's a failure is a opinion lynn. Provide the failures in this comp plan and management can address the issues.

As presented I don't think the comp plan is a problem. I don't know how well it will work but it doesn't seem to be illegal. I think the more significant question is the revenue stream. That can't be answered today but it is an issue.

[EagleOne]

I was speaking in comp plans in general. Saying it's a failure is a opinion lynn. Provide the failures in this comp plan and management can address the issues.

I will wait for the review by Oz before discussing this further. I don't really care about "others" comp plans, only FSN and what Oz has to say about it. From what I have seen so far, I am not overly impressed and GD has stated it very adequately it remains to be seen since many things are still not disclosed.

Actually I will contact Rod Cook and have him give an analysis of the comp plan as you have presented it. Only one thing you should know is he hates matrix MLM programs, and he is one of the biggest supporters of the MLM industry there is; and he has written scores of comp plans for MLM companies.

[NikSam]

I will wait for the review by Oz before discussing this further. I don't really care about "others" comp plans, only FSN and what Oz has to say about it. From what I have seen so far, I am not overly impressed and GD has stated it very adequately it remains to be seen since many things are still not disclosed.

Actually I will contact Rod Cook and have him give an analysis of the comp plan as you have presented it. Only one thing you should know is he hates matrix MLM programs, and he is one of the biggest supporters of the MLM industry there is; and he has written scores of comp plans for MLM companies.

Lynn, i think this "MLM" is not worth of so much effort, and anything we are doing at this point is only contributing to their promotion,
specifically if you start pushing it for reviews to so called "MLM specialists" or to Oz

[legoman]

Fair enough Lynn. Believe me, I'm not into scams/ponzi, money games, whatever you call it. I'm on your guys side when it comes to helping expose programs who steal from people. The Company that help with the Comp plan is from a credible source ( the name escapes my memory )and has been in the industry for many years. Dr George only deals with top of the line companies with great integrity and honesty.

@Glim, revenue, bonuses, come from the sales of fusebucks. I believe this is in the complan. Thanks for your review.

[laidback]

I must say K CHANGE and Oz over at behind mlm give more of an intellectual analysis on Comp plans than you two. Your conclusions are quite ridiculous for this not being your first rodeo. Stick to programs who register off shore and hide there identity. Your wasting your time with Fusion Lynn.Hate to break it to ya, but almost everybody here is doing a much more intellectual analysis of your scheme than you are defending it! Oh, well, continue, the entertainment is priceless at least.

[EagleOne]

Lynn, i think this "MLM" is not worth of so much effort, and anything we are doing at this point is only contributing to their promotion,
specifically if you start pushing it for reviews to so called "MLM specialists" or to Oz

I appreciate your comments, but to be fair they need to have a fair review and who better than Oz and Rod Cook.

Something that legoman continues to overlook is: it does not make any difference if the comp plan is legal or not, it is the number of people they get to join. For those who do join the issue then becomes can they get enough "retail customers" to make the MLM legal? If they don't have 51% of their revenue from "retail sales," they are not a legal MLM, no matter how legal their comp plan.

[GlimDropper]

Actually I will contact Rod Cook and have him give an analysis of the comp plan as you have presented it. Only one thing you should know is he hates matrix MLM programs, and he is one of the biggest supporters of the MLM industry there is; and he has written scores of comp plans for MLM companies.

A short blurb by Mr. Cook on the subject:



The Matrix is really a bad pay to try to make money with It limits BOTH Width and Depth! In the long run the money that comes out of a Matrix is ½ of other MLM Pay Plans and it takes twice as much work.

The Binary and the Unilevel have become the major pay plans of growth MLM’s. Why? The Binary pays unlimited depth. The Uni-level pays unlimited width. They don’t fence in leaders and restrict income so they have won the titles of top growth and income pay plans.

Today there is only one major MLM company left that is a Matrix and that is Melaluca started in the late 1980’s all the rest died! There is Extreme Research that is an unlimited width matrix that is working. Those are the only two solid running matrixes out of 1000's come and gone (see list below) New Matrix companies live about 8 to 14 months and fade out. The Matrix is sold on “Spillover” and when the lazy people join looking for free handouts you have a “rotten wood” at the center core of the pay plan. In Europe there is one MLM Matrix telephone company surviving Tuscali, however if we look behind the scenes it just borrowed 150 million Euro for debt financing so we can’t say that it is too hot.

The “LAW” (Regulators) around the world hate the Matrix because it is used for about 80% of the scams on the Internet. It not only has a bad reputation, but any company using it makes themselves a target to be investigated by local and national governments. The UK Office of Fair trade just listed the “Matrix” itself as a Scam. Meaning that if it is a Matrix don’t join!




Link to Rod Cook's MLM Watchdog Website. (http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/mlm_matrixes_suck.html)

[NikSam]

I appreciate your comments, but to be fair they need to have a fair review and who better than Oz and Rod Cook.

Something that legoman continues to overlook is it does not make any difference if the comp plan is legal or not, it is the number of people they get to join. For those who do join the issue then becomes can they get enough "retail customers" to make the MLM legal? If they don't have 51% of their revenue from "retail sales," they are not a legal MLM, no matter how legal their comp plan.


They have no participants, no offers, no victims, not even started.
Therefore not gonna have much criticism exposed.

There is a specific category of MLM pimps who look specifically for this type - which got an exposure by a review and looks as a low risk (for the lack of real activity).
They constantly follow critics, and when there is not much really to talk about is great signal for them to jump on.

It will be a free promo for this MLM

[ribshaw]

Last I looked most major merchants offer some level of discount when you buy enough of their gift cards in bulk. Without any negotiations or agreements you can get $100K in WalMart cards for $95K. I am not suggesting that this is remotely close to how FSN conducts business but mention it for a sense of scale. I hope what ever relationships FSN has give them more than a 5% margin on sales and for sake of argument let's assume it's 10%.

Legoman, I sincerely hope you or the management team can address the economics of what Glimdropper presented above.

I am too much of a simpleton to do comp plans, and never enough of a people person to want any more of a team than necessary. Do likey numbers, and this is where I am sincerely not seeing how this gets pulled off.

Using Walmart as a model, according to the link they have a profit margin of 3.36%. At the most base level for every $100 in sales, $3.36 ends up on the bottom line. All accounting gimmickry aside this leaves very little wiggle beyond the discounts they are giving. WMT Key Statistics | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Common St Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=WMT+Key+Statistics)

As a business person, if I could buy $100,000 of gift cards for $95,000 and immediately sell them for $98,000 I would do that all day every day. Reality being what it is, anyone that can pay me $98,000 would soon cut me out of the mix entirely and pay $95,000 direct to Walmart. On the same front, I see no incentive to Walmart to give me 10% as they have their own infrastructure in place to drive sales. Somewhere the real number lies, 5% on the surface seems a reasonable working assumption for a discount on a bulk purchase.

This leaves me the option of breaking down the lot and selling retail. Let's call it 100 cards at $1000 a pop. Even operating in my little home office over the web, 2% transaction fees which seems generous leaves 3% to work with. 3 cards out of a 100 lost due to fraud and I am suddenly break even, before shipping, packing, bare bones office expense, and my time. That is just for me, never mind a team of affiliates, Fusion Bucks, and gas cards. If the economics don't work for a party of 1, adding volume to the mix does not suddenly move things to the black.

http://www.lpinnovations.com/page/86-gift_card_fraud/

This is simple back of the envelope math, would love to see in hard numbers how Fusion plans to accomplish what they claim will be available. Other than that it is all hope and promises that this will all work out.

Some of these profit margins are shockingly low, so I am wondering where the wiggle room is?

SBUX Key Statistics | Starbucks Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SBUX+Key+Statistics)
WFM Key Statistics | Whole Foods Market, Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=wfm&ql=1)
COST Key Statistics | Costco Wholesale Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=COST+Key+Statistics)
AMZN Key Statistics | Amazon.com, Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=amzn&ql=1)
TGT Key Statistics | Target Corporation Common Stock Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=tgt&ql=1)
ZLC Key Statistics | Zale Corporation Common Stock Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=ZLC%2C+&ql=1)
JOSB Key Statistics | Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=josb&ql=1)

[EagleOne]

When SBM posted the snip from the letter of Frank and Cynthia, it began by saying, and I quote:

"We can take contributions. We can raise revenue through affordable donations from those who believe in our business model and our quest to create and nurture a long term MLM business that we can all be proud of for many years to come. This can quickly provide much if not all the money needed to keep gaining momentum towards launch."

Then later in the body of the letter it stated, and again I quote:

"But, in our case, Dr. George personally invested the funds needed to get our Company started and put all the pieces in place. He has “put the money where the mouth is.” It is now time to open the gates and get launched."

So which is it? Either he put in the money needed to get the company started, which by the way includes launched, or he didn't. These statements are contradictory to each other.

Another contradiction is this statement and I quote:

"If you take a chance and contribute to our company, your contribution will be used 100% to help get the company to launch as soon as possible. These funds will initially be held, and if we do not raise sufficient capital, your donation will be returned."

Now what is interesting in this statement is that it never says what the amount of the sufficient capital it will take. Somewhere this has to be disclosed to anyone who makes their contribution/donation. They must also provide an accounting to all who contribute/donate so they know the required capital has been received or not. One has to ask if anyone who has contributed/donated has ever received such information.

Also troubling is that throughout this entire letter, Frank George is referred to in the third person, yet this letter is supposed to be from him and Cynthia. I have no problem if Cynthia is the one who wrote the letter, but why have Frank's name on it if she did? Did she feel her own name was not credible enough to justify people accepting what was being said. If I put my name on a letter, I would certainly not talk about myself in the third person, even if it was co-written.

No doubt about it this is going to be fun to watch unfold and launch, if it launches.

[Whip]

But if you like, you can be an ebates affiliate (http://www.ebates.com/bloggers.htm).


Point is......you don't have to be to get deals. My neighbor does it all the time.

[GlimDropper]

Point is......you don't have to be to get deals. My neighbor does it all the time.

Very fair point, we don't know exactly what Fusion Shopping Network's business model will be it isn't like they are alone in offering shopping discounts / cash back offers or coupon codes. I had heard of Ebates but never checked them out before Whip mentioned them up thread. I'm not attempting to make any form of "apples to apples" comparison between them and FSN but a few things to jump out.

First, Ebates is a well established website. Alexa has them ranked (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/ebates.com) in the top 2,000 websites globally and top 1,000 in the US. Suffice it to say that a very significant number of consumers use their service and that gives them some degree of leverage with their partner companies. Just a random and not representative sample of their offers (http://www.ebates.com/stores/all/index.htm?navigation_id=10103):





Adam & Eve Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/adam-eve/index.htm)
15.0% (http://www.ebates.com/adam-eve_11364-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Addition Elle Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/addition-elle/index.htm)
2.0% (http://www.ebates.com/addition-elle_10860-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




adidas Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/adidas/index.htm)
3.5% (http://www.ebates.com/adidas_5487-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Adorama Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/adorama/index.htm)
1.0% (http://www.ebates.com/adorama_10600-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Adorama Pix Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/adorama-pix/index.htm)
5.0% (http://www.ebates.com/adorama-pix_11262-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Advance Auto Parts Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/advance-auto-parts/index.htm)
5.5% (http://www.ebates.com/advance-auto-parts_10439-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Advance Auto Parts In-Store Coupons Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/advance-auto-parts-in-store-coupons/index.htm)
2.0% (http://www.ebates.com/advance-auto-parts-in-store-coupons_12201-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Aerie for American Eagle Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/aerie-for-american-eagle/index.htm)
2.0% (http://www.ebates.com/aerie-for-american-eagle_9428-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Aeropostale Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/aeropostale/index.htm)
2.5% (http://www.ebates.com/aeropostale_9354-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Affliction Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/affliction/index.htm)
2.5% (http://www.ebates.com/affliction_10702-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




AfterSchool.com Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/afterschool-com/index.htm)
2.0% (http://www.ebates.com/afterschool-com_11621-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Agoda Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/agoda/index.htm)
3.0% (http://www.ebates.com/agoda_11955-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




AHAlife Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/ahalife/index.htm)
5.5% (http://www.ebates.com/ahalife_11536-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




AHAVA Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/ahava/index.htm)
6.0% (http://www.ebates.com/ahava_11797-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Ahnu Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/ahnu/index.htm)
4.0% (http://www.ebates.com/ahnu_10806-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Air and Water Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/air-and-water/index.htm)
2.5% (http://www.ebates.com/air-and-water_10096-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Air France Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/air-france/index.htm)
1.0% (http://www.ebates.com/air-france_8382-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




AirportRentalCars Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/airportrentalcars/index.htm)
4.0% (http://www.ebates.com/airportrentalcars_11489-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




Airsoft Megastore Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/airsoft-megastore/index.htm)
4.0% (http://www.ebates.com/airsoft-megastore_12120-xfas?navigation_id=22099)




AJ Madison Coupons & Cash Back (http://www.ebates.com/coupons/aj-madison/index.htm)
2.0% (http://www.ebates.com/aj-madison_9308-xfas?navigation_id=22099)








Now that's just their first 20 offers, listed alphabetically from a very long list. Including the 15% cash back offer from Adam & Eve (which seems like a loss leader) the average cash back for this list is 3.75%. I skimmed the entire list, there's a lot of specialty retail and services (hotels, restaurants) but what I don't see is much in the way of consumer staples (gas and groceries). I may have missed some, it's a very long list.

So a well established "discount sharing" service with a large user and partner base is offering, after their own profit margin, less than 5% in cash back offers to their users. I'm not saying that isn't a good deal but I am wondering if that might be about as good a deal as they can offer. Also, most of their partner companies are very much in the discretionary spending segment of the market, I love Omaha Steaks but without a discount I still buy most of my meat locally. I don't think it's necessarily follows that just because major grocery chains (Krogers, Safeway, Publix) or gas stations aren't making offers through Ebates, that they don't offer these kinds of deals but it does make me wonder.

I harp on things like groceries and gas because the savings margins are always going to be small so "save money on what you are going to buy anyway" really is the only way a company like FSN can work. There are gas and grocery entries in the shopping drop down list on the FSN website but so far none of those entries (or any of the others) have been populated. Time will tell.

I am not in any way an advocate for network marketing. I acknowledge that they can operate legally and some honest and ethical people can and do earn a respectable living in MLM. But it is an industry with a near pathological aversion to accountability and the ratio of people who've tried it and "wish they never had" to "glad they did" is shockingly high. In my humble opinion the key to legitimacy, and not just in the "well it isn't exactly illegal" meaning of the term is how likely is it for an entry level affiliate to make money entirely off of product sales and without recruiting any downline. If you need the income of more than one person (yourself) to better than break even in the opportunity that means the person (or persons) you needed income from will need to find their own people to help them better than break even and so on (in geometrically increasing numbers).

Freely admitting here that not all facts about FSN are yet in evidence and any or all of the following is subject to change but how many "Fusebucks" need to be sold to break even without a downline?

Base costs: $199 start up fee (which includes the first years compliance requirement) and $9.95/month (rounded down to $119/year) for the back office which is implied to be optional but wouldn't seem to be. So year one there's $318 in more or less mandatory fees. We'll call this $26.50/month and with compliance re-certification being only $39/year for the second and subsequent years those years run $158 or $13/month. Now that's a darned reasonable entry point from industry standards but FSN would seem to have extremely thin margins by industry standards as well.

Here is where some perhaps unwarranted assumptions start. Chief among these we're just going to guess at what percentage of face value FuseBuck purchases can potentially be paid to the field. I think it's generous to assume that for every $100 purchase $5 can be paid out in commissions but for sake of argument I want any errors on the high side of the mark so we're sticking with a potential 5% payout but will acknowledge the real number could potentially be significantly lower.

Now if 5% is the potential payout to the field that doesn't mean the person making the sale receives all of that. FSN has a somewhat needlessly complicated comp plan but there's no law against that. And again we're only looking at commissions from direct customer sales (and personal redemptions) to see what an affiliate may need to do to break even without income from a downline. There is an issue with this. FSN uses a computer autoplacement in the matrix portion of their pay plan and while I give them credit for not using the term or even advertising the concept of "spillover" in their materials it's possible for affiliates to be placed under you if you recruited them or not. So while this analysis excludes any downline income it's fair to say an affiliate may receive some even without recruiting.

OK, so without enrolling any affiliates it looks like the highest rank you can attain is Silver (the lowest). At this point you recieve 20% of your direct sales and 20% of your redeemed personal purchases. Again, I salute them for placing a practical anti-inventory loading provision on affiliate purchases. In addition to the basic 20% there are "milestone" bonuses worth an additional 5% at $500 Personal Retail Volume (PRV) and another 5% at 1,000 PRV. Which is good, you're going to need those extra percentages.

Again, the matrix autopopulates so in reality there is potential income there even without recruiting and I am by my own admission ignoring that income because it isn't exclusively tied to personal sales. Likewise the subsequent bonuses are also either tied to or predicated on recruiting affiliates so is outside the scope of this post.

So where does that leave us. Assuming 1,000 or above PRV per month the affiliate receives 20+5+5 or 30% of their direct sales (or personal redemptions). The comp plan does not make this clear and I'd recommend it be revised to do so but that 30% can't be on the face value of FuseBucks sold but rather on the portion of the company profit that is paid to the field. As stated above we're making the generous assumption that that number is as high as 5% of the face value of fusebucks sold so our Silver Affiliate is netting closer to (30% of 5%) 1.5% of the face value of fusebucks sold.

With an annualized cost per membership of $318 or $26.50/month (first year) and $158 or $13/month the second and subsequent years our Silver Affiliate needs about $1,766/month in direct fusebuck sales or personal redemptions the first year and $866/month* year two and beyond. And that is just to pay their membership costs before actually earning any money.



* The variable on the $866/month number is that it drops below the 1,000/month PRV threshold so lowers the total projected payout percentage to 1.25%. At that rate you'd need to sell $1,040 in Fusebucks to break even, which would return you to the 1,000+/month PRV threshold.



Is $1,766 worth of Fusebucks sold each month an impossible number? By no means. How likely is it for an average affiliate to generate that amount? That is the real question here isn't it? If FSN can honestly and legitimately save you money on the things that you were going to buy anyway it's very doable. If they can include discounts on daily necessities like food and gas this company can have a significant future. If they can only save you money on some range of discretionary online spending however, there will be significant problems.

If the average affiliate can at least break even in this or any other MLM company based only on their own personal product sales then it's a winner of a program. If you need people under you in the comp plan paying a portion up to you just for you to brake even then they will need people under them to do the same and so on. When this is true you have a situation where the only way to make money isn't by product sales but by membership sales and most members will be losing money. I sincerely hope this will not be true in FSN but sadly, it is very true in the industry as a whole.

[EagleOne]

Someone is paying attention to what is said here, as the link at MMG is now gone. Don't know if there was a thread at TG and all the other Ponzi boards, but if there were, they need to be removed too.

[ribshaw]

I'm not attempting to make any form of "apples to apples" comparison between them and FSN but a few things to jump out.

I harp on things like groceries and gas because the savings margins are always going to be small so "save money on what you are going to buy anyway" really is the only way a company like FSN can work. There are gas and grocery entries in the shopping drop down list on the FSN website but so far none of those entries (or any of the others) have been populated. Time will tell.

Apples to Apples or not your methodology is spot on IMO. I do hope someone from Fusion can shed some light.

On what you said about consumer stuff, I use a rewards card at a warehouse club as I do most of the family shopping there. At 2%, with gas, alcohol and tobacco excluded I usually end up with about $100 or enough to pay for the yearly membership. Through the years I have used some of the "cash back" credit cards to pay my bill. To a card, they have all started out generous and very quickly capped or cut benefits. The last started out at 2% on all purchases and then got gobbled up by BOA, it is a nice bump at the holidays, but certainly not what I would call a second income stream.

This was kind of a cool idea, and a very simple rewards model. PerkStreet, Rewards-Based Online Bank, Is Shutting Down - DailyFinance (http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/perkstreet-rewards-based-online-bank-is-shutting-down/)

As a consumer I would love to see something like this work, why not? Just seems there are still some very hard questions to be answered.

[littleroundman]

Oz over on his excellent BehindMLM blog (http://behindmlm.com/) has done an extensive review on the MLM aspects of the Fusion Shopping Network: Fusion Shopping Network Review: FuseBucks deals (http://behindmlm.com/companies/fusion-shopping-network-review-fusebucks-deals/)