I got a call today, not sure where they got my information but I am guessing it was DOBA. It was from the “Auction Training and Profit Center” in Utah. Couldn’t find much information on them when I looked on Google, but here is how the call went down.
The phone rings, I pickup. There is a guy on the phone who asks “This is Paul Ruben, Am I speaking with the future eBay power seller?”. Huh? Was this someone who was reading my blog?
Well, right after he introduces himself and I introduce myself he starts into a heavy telemarketing script. He asks how much eBay experience I have and how much time and money I have put into eBay so far. I give him some short answers and the next thing he says really catches my attention.
“You’ve been doing it all wrong. You should be making thousands per week by now, what do you think has been holding you back?”
I continue to tell him that I am new and that I am just experimenting until I get some solid cashflow so I can grow larger. He then inquires how much cash I have available for my eBay business and if I have any credit cards to use. I explain my cash on hand and my credit card senario to him and he continues.
He jumps into a speach about how we all need guidance and personal attention when getting started in a new business. I told him that I couldn’t agree more and that I have been looking for a mentor for a little while and am a little frustrated because I want to start moving a little faster.
We then discuss how much a good mentor is worth and he agrees with me when I explain that it depends on what the mentor can provide. He asks why I have not used a mentor yet, again with a “what is holding you back?”.
I explained that the mentor I wanted to work with (Chris Bernard) had suggested I keep going at my current pace until I had enough savings to afford to buy more products and really launch a complete business. The mentor (Chris) explained that before I pay for mentoring, I needed to have the money to afford what he would recommend I buy.
“I am about to blow your mind! What you be able to accomplish, how much money would you be able to make if I told you that you could have a personal mentor AND easily afford all the products you want. You can sell thousands of products a day no matter what your budget! How does that sound?” said Paul who was almost giddy at this point.
I must admit, being a bit of a novice still I suppose, my first thought was WOW! That sounds great! But the next words out of Paul’s mouth would make me realize once again the truth that I already knew. There is no magic potion, no golden egg. What did Paul say?
“Your mentor is going to teach you about a little known method of buying products to sell on eBay. A secret that all of eBay’s top power sellers use to make huge amounts of money each month. And, you’re not going to believe this, you don’t have to buy a single product until after it has already sold on eBay! What do you think about that? How much money could you make if you had access to unlimited products, had absolutely no risk, and didn’t need a single penny to invest?”
I may be a bit slow, but at this point I knew exactly where Paul was going with this. “Do you mean drop shipping?”
Paul quickly jumps on and replies “You’ve heard of it? Great! Then you probably already know that it is the hottest way to make money on eBay. There are so many people making an absolute fortune on eBay with drop shipping, everyone wants to get involved! So if you knew about drop shipping, why haven’t you gotten started yet? What is holding you back?”
Now I was really laughing to myself. He JUST SAID that I am going to learn a big secret (drop shipping). Now he is saying that SO MANY PEOPLE are doing it! Is it a secret or are so many people doing it? But I was really curious so I indulged him. I do feel a little badly about it, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know what he was selling exactly. So I told him that I had tried drop shipping a little bit but that I gave up because it seemed like it would be too hard for me.
“You know what Drew, it sounds like you are really ready to get to the next level on eBay. Most people I talk to have no experience and have no idea what to do to get started. You sound like you have a very good start and are really just looking for someone to help answer your questions and maybe help you find some good products. If you have a few minutes I am going to see if Mike is available to talk to you. He’s been coaching eBay sellers for years. I will explain to him that you have some eBay experience and just need some advice. He can answer any questions you have and help you out.”
My first though was, how much is this going to cost me? “We’re all about helping people out here. Let me see if I can get Mike on the line and he will answer any questions you have for free. He’s a great guy, he will be excited to talk to someone who is already so close to becoming a full time eBay seller.”
There is a little more talk then I am put on hold with some music while Paul gets Mike on the phone.
“Mike, I have Drew on the phone and we’ve been talking for a while. Drew has already been making pretty good money on eBay but would like to make more of course. I told him you would be happy to answer some questions for him and get him on his way.”
Mike then takes over the call and Paul disappears into telemarketer-land. I am very skeptical but also kind of excited thinking maybe I was going to get some good FREE mentoring. Mike starts talking about his eBay experience and how many people he has made into eBay power sellers and then asks that magic question “So, what has been holding you back?”
It seems like we relive the same conversation I just had with Paul. Now, time for me to ask my questions.
“Will having an eBay Store increase my sales, or should I wait until I have more products?”
Mike’s answer, “Let me tell you about our program.”
Mike goes on and on about the value of a mentor and he keeps asking ME questions about what I could do if I instantly had the knowledge of all of eBay’s top sellers and all of their sources, including thousands of products I could sell without ever even have them in my hands.
This call has taken over 40 minutes now and my curiosity has started to fade. I just want off the dang phone now. Mike continues and finally he asks “How much would that be worth to you?”
Having missed the last 5 minutes of what he had said because my mind had wandered far elsewhere and also being a little annoyed at this point I said with a small bit of scarcasm “ten million dollars”.
Mike replies “great, would you like to put that on your Visa or Discover card? Just kidding Drew. But you are right, having your own personal mentor has almost unlimited value.”
Mike then drones on for another 5 or so minutes. “We offer three levels of mentoring. Our basic level is $12,600. It is for people who have little to no experience and need coaching on everything from setting up their eBay account to learning what feedback is and how it affects you. As Paul told me, you are way beyond that already. Our second level is our intermediate level. This is the level that would be perfect for you. We assume you already have your eBay account, PayPal account, and know your way around eBay pretty well. We’re going to focus on helping you find products that you don’t need any money to sell, creating listings on eBay that get higher bids, and turning your little eBay success into your huge eBay fortune. Our intermediate package does include unlimited phone coaching and it is just $9,400. The great thing about it is I can split your payments between two or three credit cards.”
Shocked by the amount of money they want for someone to tell me to try drop shipping, which I would pay NOTHING for, I quickly and firmly say that I cannot afford that.
“Well Drew, if we put that on your credit card the monthly payment will be under $300. You can afford $300, can’t you?”
Since when is $300 a month, just $300. Maybe I can afford $300. But that doesn’t mean I can afford $300/month. That is more than my car payment! I let him know that I simply cannot afford it and that this doesn’t sound like something I can do.
“Let me check on something Drew. Can you hold on for a minute?”
I tell him that I really have to be going. “I’ll just be 30 seconds.” Mike insists, so I say ok.
“What I am going to do for you is this. I am going to cut out the give you the advanced level price but on this form I submit for the coaching I am going to fill it out as intermediate. This way you will get the full intermediate level of coaching and all the tools but will only pay the advanced level price. If I can do this for you would you want to put it on your Visa or do you want me to split the payment between a couple of cards?”
Ummm, he didn’t even tell me the price of the “advanced level”. So, I bit and asked “How much does it cost?”.
“$6,700. For this price, of course the unlimited phone coaching is normally not included. Our advanced level clients usually only need 10 – 15 hours of phone coaching. But, I am going to charge you for the advanced level but when I fill out the form I will put it as intermediate. You will still get unlimited telephone coaching and all of the tools and sources.”
I of course respectfully decline. Mike then asks when he can do to get me on the right track to becoming an eBay power seller.
I HANG UP THE PHONE.
I was so tempted to send them to the dropshippingsucks.com website and say “can you tell me how drop shipping will work for me when there are all these problems” but I thought it would be better just to stop wasting their and my time.
Although I do think that if Chris never mentors me I will eventually choose another one, these guys will never work! They talked in circles, offered no new insights, and were planning on recommending drop shipping. I am guessing they were going to recommend DOBA. That is a guess.
That is my telemarketing story. Now, back to real business. Wish me luck!
It makes me want to post more!