Texas_Tickle
4th Level Orange Feather
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2002
- Messages
- 2,950
- Points
- 38
You may have seen him on TV at 3 AM, when nothing else was on, right between the AB-Buster and "self-help guru" Tony Robbins. He is self-claimed "self-made multi millionaire" and "Mr. Tiny Classified Ads", Don Lapre. Don Lapre has spent years hawking his "fool-proof money making secrets" on those paid-TV info-commercials. On the TV show, Don Lapre is hyper and wired, like he just drank 500 cups of coffee and every other word is either "incredible" or "simply amazing". He seems to have his fake over-perkiness and his fake passion down to an "art form". Don Lapre's newest co-host is supermodel Cindy Margolis who drools over Lapre's every word as they make goo-goo eyes at each other.
Don Lapre tells his "rags-to-riches" story as that of a down-and-out painter, who while hired to paint houses of millionaires, just "stumbled onto a fool-proof money making plan" that he learned from the millionaires, for whom he was working for. Don Lapre said that he used those same techniques for himself and made "millions upon millions" of dollars. Now he is wanting to share his "fool-proof secrets" with the rest of us (for a price of course), because he feels sorry for us "poor people" who are not living the "paradise life" that he claims to be enjoying. Well isn't that nice of him!
Well despite what Mr. Lapre may want you to believe, you do not make "millions and millions" of dollars by accident (unless you win the lottery or are lucky enough to have a rich relative name you as the sole heir to their estate). Nor do you make "millions and milions" of dollars by "stumbling onto a fool-proof secret" as Mr. Lapre claimed that he had done.
Don Lapre's biggest boast is "I am making $80,000 a week, week after week after week, all from a tiny one bedroom apartment". Well common sense makes me ask, if he was really making $80,000 a week, week after week, why in the world is he still in a "tiny one bedroom apartment"? The big cheese of the program was the 1-900 business and Lapre preached about "untold billions and billions" that was being made in that industry. The package was advertised for $39.95 and was previously being sold for $99.95. Being a young lad at the time, I was very naive and gullible and eagerly rushed out my payment, which including shipping and handling, was around $50 or so. A few weeks later, the package arrived and the contents were quite disappointing, to say the very least. I felt that Don Lapre gravely "mis-represented the truth" and engaged in misleading advertising practice. I found out from my best friend's father, who was a lawyer back then, who told me that Don Lapre technically did not lie. He did not tell the whole truth, but technically did not lie. Because it was how **we**, as individuals, interpreted what Lapre said.
Don Lapre hyped on how he could help us get "free ads". But his "free ads" manuel (which was really more of a leaflet) basically told us how to use a printer to print your own ads and post them around town such as a laundromat bullitin board, and on telephones. Once again any brain-dead idiot could have told me the same thing. Lapre's "techniques" were very cheesy, to say the very least.
The "big cheese" of Don Lapre's money-making scam that he hyped on over and over was the 1-900 business and Lapre claimed that "untold billions" were being made in that industry. Well that may have been true, if we were back in the early 80's when the 1-900 business was first becoming "mainstream", and before the public knew any better. But today the 1-900 business is a dying breed and have lost a lot of credibility when the "phone-a-slut" and the "dial-a-psychic" craze took over the 1-900 industry by storm between the late 80's to late 90's. Even today those types of businesses are leaving the 1-900 lines in favor of the 1-800 lines that require credit cards because of the poor reputation that 1-900 businesses have been getting (and rightfully so). They also have to eat losses when people would actually call the 1-900 lines, then turn around and dispute the charges with their phone company and most of the time, the 1-900 business does not even try to collect the money, because it would have cost more than they would have collected (if you take into consideration the litigation costs and collection agency fees) and just was not worth it, in their eyes. Not to mention that the burden of proof would lie with the phone company and they would have to prove that the individual actually did indeed call the 1-900 service. Not a very easy task.
But that's something the Mr. Lapre very conveniently failed to mention! Also what Mr. Lapre conveniently failed to mention, was the cost to lease a 1-900 line. The costs averaged about $750 per year, per line. Also Don Lapre's company would collect 15% of all revenue for "upkeep and service fees" (as well as other hidden charges). And that was just to lease the line! That does not take into consideration the advertising rates, which could run up-wards of $100 a week for a single newspaper ad (they will always charge more to place a 1-900 ad). Also, there is red-tape when running a 1-900 service, especially a 1-900 sex line. There have been lawsuits filed against 1-900 sex lines in the past because of minor children who were calling the numbers. Even though the ads state "You must be 18+ to call", in reality, is anybody checking?
Don Lapre would agree to get the service set up for you and do the "legwork", but only if you agreed to lease the services directly thru his company and agreed to sign a long-term contract.
Then came the flood of phone calls from Don Lapre's telemarketers who called at all times during the day and evening trying to get me to purchase new services that "Don Lapre did not have time to mention in TV or in the manuals". I was also getting other calls from other telemarkerts that I had not been getting before, so that makes me wonder if Don Lapre sold my information to them.
I have invested $39.95 and did not make one cent off of his "fool-proof secrets". I felt that he was quite dis-honest when advertising his package and wonder how he can sleep at night or look his family in the eye, or even look at himself in the mirror. So I was out $39.95 and had very little to show for it, except for a "money making kit" that seemed to have been written from a 4th grade perspective. Now I am older and wiser than I once was and am not so quick to part with my hard earned money and am not so quick to be scammed by a smiling and charismatic con-man. Also Don Lapre stated that the testimonials never received even 1 cent for sharing their stories, but he never said anything about "non-monetary compensation" in return for their endorsements.
I know I sound cynical and pessimistic, but I would like to see one of those $80,000 checks that Mr. Lapre boasted he was getting "week after week after week". You never hear him say it's pure profit, and that leads me to wonder how much PROFIT he actually generates. I don't think it's that much profit, because if it was, he would have boasted and hyped on that as well. Because if you place the same small ad in every newspaper and magazine in the nation, the costs are going to be astronomical, plus you have to pay the suppliers of the product or service you are selling, as well. Take this into consideration.... Don Lapre stated he was making $80,000 a week, placing the same small ad it every newspaper in the country. USA has roughly 7,000 from the "mainstream papers" such as the LA Times and USA Today to the local paper in Waco, Texas. The average advertising rate for a paper is approx. 12.00 per week for 3 lines. If you multiply that by 7,000 the costs for advertising alone is $84,000. So the way I see it, Lapre is not making any money...he is losing $4,000 a week. Also the "mainstream papers" such as LA Times or Washington Post may even have higher advertising rates, because they have a larger reading public. Not to mention, many papers will charge more to run a "commercial ad".
Last year I heard that Don Lapre's company "New Strategies" has filed for bankruptcy, so I cannot help but wonder what happened to the millions of dollars Don Lapre claimed to be swimming in. Recently I saw Don Lapre back on the air, selling his "money making kit" under a new company called "Making Money 2000" and I see he is now claiming you can make millions of dollars on the internet, without needing to own a computer or even needing to touch a computer. I have not seen this new package up-close so I cannot make an educated opinion on it, but it sounds like the same old crap, in a brand new package. And crap is still crap, no matter how pretty the package is.
Also I have to ask, if Don Lapre is really making the amount of money he claims he is, why is he running around trying to sell his so-called "secrets" for any price? Because he is such a great guy who feels sorry for us because we do not live the "paradise life" that he is enjoying and we are not up to our necks in million-dollar bills, right? If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. And if you'll buy that, not only will I thrown in the Golden Gate, but I will even thrown in the Seattle Space Needle for free.
If you have purchased this kit, I am sure by now you realize that all Mr. Lapre wants to do is sell you more expensive programs. His telemarketers will tell you that the kit you purchase was the "starter kit" and to "reap the full benefits of the package", you would need to purchase more programs (each more expensive than the one before). I did not bite the bait, but many people did. He also gets you to run around, hawking free web sites, as well. Kind of like the affiliate programs that used to flood the Internet a while back. People are paying $300 to $400 for this crap, if not more. That is where Don Lapre makes a lot of his money. Don Lapre also get you to hawk his "reminder service" where his company will send out notices and reminders about birthdays, anniversaries, corporate meetings, or whatever your customer feels they need to be reminded of. Correct me if I am mistaken, but is that not what a memo pad and a calendar are for?
Don Lapre is a great salesman. I am not taking anything away from him there and I have to give credit where it is due. After all, he must be a great salesman because like myself, you may have invested your hard earned money hoping to reach the level of success and the "paradise" life-style he claimed that he was basking in. But he does not teach you how to be successful. He does not tell you what it takes to reach the kind of success he claims to be enjoying. He sells you a program that you could have very easily learned for yourself with a trip to your local book store or public library. His "money-making kit" is not rocket science. It's not really any kind of science. The majority of the money that Mr. Lapre claims to be rolling around in are because of the sales of his money-making kit, and are not produced from the techniques of the money-making kit itself.
Common sense makes me ask "If Don Lapre was making the kind of money he claims his money-making "secrets" was producing, why was he running around trying to sell it, for any price? I can't speak for you, but if I had a money-making secret that was making me $80,000 a week, week after week, after week, I sure as hell would not be trying to sell my "secrets" for any price. I would be using my "money making secrets" to make even more money for myself, but maybe that's just me.
The following was quoted by a home business "expert" at one time (not Don Lapre): "I made an extra $1,000 a month part time, working 2 hours a week from home, and then made $100,000 telling people how to make an extra $1,000 working part time, from home .
Don Lapre tells his "rags-to-riches" story as that of a down-and-out painter, who while hired to paint houses of millionaires, just "stumbled onto a fool-proof money making plan" that he learned from the millionaires, for whom he was working for. Don Lapre said that he used those same techniques for himself and made "millions upon millions" of dollars. Now he is wanting to share his "fool-proof secrets" with the rest of us (for a price of course), because he feels sorry for us "poor people" who are not living the "paradise life" that he claims to be enjoying. Well isn't that nice of him!
Well despite what Mr. Lapre may want you to believe, you do not make "millions and millions" of dollars by accident (unless you win the lottery or are lucky enough to have a rich relative name you as the sole heir to their estate). Nor do you make "millions and milions" of dollars by "stumbling onto a fool-proof secret" as Mr. Lapre claimed that he had done.
Don Lapre's biggest boast is "I am making $80,000 a week, week after week after week, all from a tiny one bedroom apartment". Well common sense makes me ask, if he was really making $80,000 a week, week after week, why in the world is he still in a "tiny one bedroom apartment"? The big cheese of the program was the 1-900 business and Lapre preached about "untold billions and billions" that was being made in that industry. The package was advertised for $39.95 and was previously being sold for $99.95. Being a young lad at the time, I was very naive and gullible and eagerly rushed out my payment, which including shipping and handling, was around $50 or so. A few weeks later, the package arrived and the contents were quite disappointing, to say the very least. I felt that Don Lapre gravely "mis-represented the truth" and engaged in misleading advertising practice. I found out from my best friend's father, who was a lawyer back then, who told me that Don Lapre technically did not lie. He did not tell the whole truth, but technically did not lie. Because it was how **we**, as individuals, interpreted what Lapre said.
Don Lapre hyped on how he could help us get "free ads". But his "free ads" manuel (which was really more of a leaflet) basically told us how to use a printer to print your own ads and post them around town such as a laundromat bullitin board, and on telephones. Once again any brain-dead idiot could have told me the same thing. Lapre's "techniques" were very cheesy, to say the very least.
The "big cheese" of Don Lapre's money-making scam that he hyped on over and over was the 1-900 business and Lapre claimed that "untold billions" were being made in that industry. Well that may have been true, if we were back in the early 80's when the 1-900 business was first becoming "mainstream", and before the public knew any better. But today the 1-900 business is a dying breed and have lost a lot of credibility when the "phone-a-slut" and the "dial-a-psychic" craze took over the 1-900 industry by storm between the late 80's to late 90's. Even today those types of businesses are leaving the 1-900 lines in favor of the 1-800 lines that require credit cards because of the poor reputation that 1-900 businesses have been getting (and rightfully so). They also have to eat losses when people would actually call the 1-900 lines, then turn around and dispute the charges with their phone company and most of the time, the 1-900 business does not even try to collect the money, because it would have cost more than they would have collected (if you take into consideration the litigation costs and collection agency fees) and just was not worth it, in their eyes. Not to mention that the burden of proof would lie with the phone company and they would have to prove that the individual actually did indeed call the 1-900 service. Not a very easy task.
But that's something the Mr. Lapre very conveniently failed to mention! Also what Mr. Lapre conveniently failed to mention, was the cost to lease a 1-900 line. The costs averaged about $750 per year, per line. Also Don Lapre's company would collect 15% of all revenue for "upkeep and service fees" (as well as other hidden charges). And that was just to lease the line! That does not take into consideration the advertising rates, which could run up-wards of $100 a week for a single newspaper ad (they will always charge more to place a 1-900 ad). Also, there is red-tape when running a 1-900 service, especially a 1-900 sex line. There have been lawsuits filed against 1-900 sex lines in the past because of minor children who were calling the numbers. Even though the ads state "You must be 18+ to call", in reality, is anybody checking?
Don Lapre would agree to get the service set up for you and do the "legwork", but only if you agreed to lease the services directly thru his company and agreed to sign a long-term contract.
Then came the flood of phone calls from Don Lapre's telemarketers who called at all times during the day and evening trying to get me to purchase new services that "Don Lapre did not have time to mention in TV or in the manuals". I was also getting other calls from other telemarkerts that I had not been getting before, so that makes me wonder if Don Lapre sold my information to them.
I have invested $39.95 and did not make one cent off of his "fool-proof secrets". I felt that he was quite dis-honest when advertising his package and wonder how he can sleep at night or look his family in the eye, or even look at himself in the mirror. So I was out $39.95 and had very little to show for it, except for a "money making kit" that seemed to have been written from a 4th grade perspective. Now I am older and wiser than I once was and am not so quick to part with my hard earned money and am not so quick to be scammed by a smiling and charismatic con-man. Also Don Lapre stated that the testimonials never received even 1 cent for sharing their stories, but he never said anything about "non-monetary compensation" in return for their endorsements.
I know I sound cynical and pessimistic, but I would like to see one of those $80,000 checks that Mr. Lapre boasted he was getting "week after week after week". You never hear him say it's pure profit, and that leads me to wonder how much PROFIT he actually generates. I don't think it's that much profit, because if it was, he would have boasted and hyped on that as well. Because if you place the same small ad in every newspaper and magazine in the nation, the costs are going to be astronomical, plus you have to pay the suppliers of the product or service you are selling, as well. Take this into consideration.... Don Lapre stated he was making $80,000 a week, placing the same small ad it every newspaper in the country. USA has roughly 7,000 from the "mainstream papers" such as the LA Times and USA Today to the local paper in Waco, Texas. The average advertising rate for a paper is approx. 12.00 per week for 3 lines. If you multiply that by 7,000 the costs for advertising alone is $84,000. So the way I see it, Lapre is not making any money...he is losing $4,000 a week. Also the "mainstream papers" such as LA Times or Washington Post may even have higher advertising rates, because they have a larger reading public. Not to mention, many papers will charge more to run a "commercial ad".
Last year I heard that Don Lapre's company "New Strategies" has filed for bankruptcy, so I cannot help but wonder what happened to the millions of dollars Don Lapre claimed to be swimming in. Recently I saw Don Lapre back on the air, selling his "money making kit" under a new company called "Making Money 2000" and I see he is now claiming you can make millions of dollars on the internet, without needing to own a computer or even needing to touch a computer. I have not seen this new package up-close so I cannot make an educated opinion on it, but it sounds like the same old crap, in a brand new package. And crap is still crap, no matter how pretty the package is.
Also I have to ask, if Don Lapre is really making the amount of money he claims he is, why is he running around trying to sell his so-called "secrets" for any price? Because he is such a great guy who feels sorry for us because we do not live the "paradise life" that he is enjoying and we are not up to our necks in million-dollar bills, right? If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. And if you'll buy that, not only will I thrown in the Golden Gate, but I will even thrown in the Seattle Space Needle for free.
If you have purchased this kit, I am sure by now you realize that all Mr. Lapre wants to do is sell you more expensive programs. His telemarketers will tell you that the kit you purchase was the "starter kit" and to "reap the full benefits of the package", you would need to purchase more programs (each more expensive than the one before). I did not bite the bait, but many people did. He also gets you to run around, hawking free web sites, as well. Kind of like the affiliate programs that used to flood the Internet a while back. People are paying $300 to $400 for this crap, if not more. That is where Don Lapre makes a lot of his money. Don Lapre also get you to hawk his "reminder service" where his company will send out notices and reminders about birthdays, anniversaries, corporate meetings, or whatever your customer feels they need to be reminded of. Correct me if I am mistaken, but is that not what a memo pad and a calendar are for?
Don Lapre is a great salesman. I am not taking anything away from him there and I have to give credit where it is due. After all, he must be a great salesman because like myself, you may have invested your hard earned money hoping to reach the level of success and the "paradise" life-style he claimed that he was basking in. But he does not teach you how to be successful. He does not tell you what it takes to reach the kind of success he claims to be enjoying. He sells you a program that you could have very easily learned for yourself with a trip to your local book store or public library. His "money-making kit" is not rocket science. It's not really any kind of science. The majority of the money that Mr. Lapre claims to be rolling around in are because of the sales of his money-making kit, and are not produced from the techniques of the money-making kit itself.
Common sense makes me ask "If Don Lapre was making the kind of money he claims his money-making "secrets" was producing, why was he running around trying to sell it, for any price? I can't speak for you, but if I had a money-making secret that was making me $80,000 a week, week after week, after week, I sure as hell would not be trying to sell my "secrets" for any price. I would be using my "money making secrets" to make even more money for myself, but maybe that's just me.
The following was quoted by a home business "expert" at one time (not Don Lapre): "I made an extra $1,000 a month part time, working 2 hours a week from home, and then made $100,000 telling people how to make an extra $1,000 working part time, from home .
