Shenzhen Evening News reporter Jin Zhu reported on large portals, personal blogs, professional investment consulting websites... No matter where you are, as long as you click to open these websites, you can see a lot of information related to "online earning". It seems that as long as you follow the guidance of these "online earning" information, everyone can make a lot of money and become rich. Small investment, big output, what any entrepreneur dreams of, can be found in all kinds of "online earning" information. But is this really the case? Especially for those who are eager to realize their entrepreneurial dreams through the Internet, is "online earning" worth their hopes?
"Online earning" trap targets entrepreneurs
"Online earning" information is not a new thing. Since the rapid development of the Internet at the beginning of this century, "using the Internet to make money" has become a hot topic at that time. As the number of Internet users surges, a variety of "online earning" models have been "developed" and then spread widely on the Internet. With the active capital market, we can often hear some "online earning" myths in recent years. For example, there is a college student who dropped out of school to start a website but became a billionaire in his early 20s; a 19-year-old girl started an online franchise for one year and then lived in a villa and drove a BMW, etc.
The words are not shocking, but they are endless - this is the biggest common point of "online earning" information. "Earn a lifetime of money in one year!" "1 yuan supermarket, zero franchise fee!" "Blank market, monthly income of 200,000!" "Invest 1,000 yuan, annual return of 2 million!" These exciting slogans are actually online investment promotions. It's just publicity, and it's essentially the same as the "jump sale" at the door of a street store. But it is these clumsy slogans that are so popular on the Internet. Not only are they ostentatious on major portals, some of the “online earning” information has even been featured in TV commercials with celebrity endorsements.
Although the current economic environment is not satisfactory, the "mind-attacking skills" of "online earning" are even better than before. Reality tells us that no matter how hard you work, you will reap something, and there will never be any good things like pie in the sky.
1. Want to join the gold project? Pay money to buy the product first! It’s called “Entrepreneurship,” and it’s suspected of being a pyramid scheme.
"If you don't want to work for others all your life and want to start your own business, but you have no funds or projects; if you have experience in doing traditional business, you know the difficulties, pressures and risks of doing traditional business; if you want to start a business from scratch, Or you are a college student who is about to graduate, and you will also go out into the society to find a job; if you are interested in e-commerce... you can come and communicate, maybe it will bring you some new inspiration and let you start your own business. The road!”
On the "Shenzhen Flea Network", the reporter found such a message. This was a promotional post from an "online earner" to promote his "online entrepreneurship" project to the society. The reporter communicated with him through the contact information he left, saying that he was a college student who graduated last year and was struggling to find a job. Before the reporter could finish introducing his "background," he was already busy selling. It turned out that he had "done a lot of sales jobs" and always wanted to start his own business, but unfortunately he didn't have much capital or connections. Later, "after more than half a year of selection", I finally selected the "e-commerce related business" I am doing now from more than 60 projects. As of today, I have been working for several months and I feel very good. The registration fee has been recovered and my monthly income is steadily increasing. I'm working part-time now, and I plan to quit my job after a while and start running this "business" full-time.
What exactly is a "business"? After further questioning, it turns out that "if you spend 2,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan to purchase our company's products, you can obtain the agency and management rights for thousands of the company's products; if you have the funds, you can Open a store and run it. You can also conduct direct sales online, expand your team, and get commission rewards from the company..." The reporter claimed that he was afraid that this was a pyramid scheme trap, but this person disagreed. "You just need to have a certain amount of time online and support the trend of e-commerce and direct selling industries. You can join a team for a few thousand yuan and it can be done online. What do you have to lose? No one will meet in person. , how could it be a 'pyramid scheme'?"
However, the reporter followed up on the clues in this person's personal webpage and discovered that his "career" turned out to be the promotion of a so-called "online shopping mall." To join this system, you need to be introduced by a member. If you cannot provide the correct "code provided by the person who recommended you to this website", ordinary people will not be able to enter the "square" website to explore. This person said that what he promoted was "multi-level direct selling based on e-commerce." There is no clear regulation on this in my country, but what he described to reporters was "buy products - pull offline - get commission - pull offline and then pull offline again." "The model is clearly the same as MLM in reality.
2. Can you support your family by clicking on ads? Help you earn "traffic" and fall into the trap of "buying cards"
If you don’t have any capital and want to hold on to your job to earn a salary to support your family, there is also an “online earning” model that is suitable for you – surf the Internet at home, constantly click on the online advertisements provided by others, and use all your resources to click on these Advertisements earn "traffic" for advertisers. That's all, it's no problem to earn several thousand yuan a month. Is this really the case? The personal experience of a college student, Xiaoliu, may give you a lot of inspiration.
Xiaoliu has always been skeptical about the idea of "making money by clicking on ads", but after hearing that some classmates actually made money by posting ads on their blogs, she decided to give it a try herself. But she didn’t have any “popular blog”, so she turned her attention to a “professional online advertising provider”. After comparison, she chose "××digital" which had an excellent reputation in an entrepreneurial forum. According to netizens, the company is very large and runs several professional websites.
Netizens can log in to these websites as long as they purchase "point cards" specially launched by the company. After entering the website, you can earn 0.3 yuan for each click on the website's advertisement, but each card is limited to 30 clicks on the advertisement per day. The validity period of a card ranges from 3 months to half a year, and a click fee is redeemed every month. According to a rough estimate, netizens can earn 270 yuan in click fees per card for one month. The cost of a "point card" ranges from more than 100 yuan to more than 300 yuan depending on the validity period. Calculating, you can indeed make money by clicking on ads. And the longer it takes, the more money you make. According to the company's introduction, advertisers invest money in their online advertising based on traffic; and netizens profit from the company's advertising fees paid by clicked companies.
However, just over a month after she bought several "point cards" and spent all day and night in front of her computer, frantically clicking on ads, the "click fees" promised by the company have yet to be paid. I tried to contact this "XX Digital" company, but found that the number I could originally dial was empty. Then I called the industrial and commercial department where the company was registered, and the answer was that no such company existed at all. When Xiaoliu consulted the advertisers she had clicked on, they had never advertised on "XX Digital" at all.
"Everything is fake, from the company to the website to the advertisements on the website, the purpose is to fool us into spending money to buy their 'point cards'!"
3. A company with a bright appearance turns out to be an empty shell? Carefully planned and set up a big "franchise" bait
If you hate pyramid schemes and don’t believe that you can make money by just advertising, but want to do some business - no problem, the most abundant information about “online earning” is the information about “sincere invitation to join”. Without exception, they all involve small investments, huge markets, and bright “money prospects.” But is this really the case? At the beginning of this month, a reporter read a thousand-word "self-reflection book" in the entrepreneurship forum of a certain portal website. The author was an "investment manager" who once worked for a "clothing franchise brand". After getting in touch, he mapped out to reporters the most deceptive "franchise" routine among the "online earning" information.
"The company's brand is European, with its headquarters in Hong Kong and its production base in Dongguan. This is the investment center." This insider told reporters, "The franchise information is published on major websites and also promoted through the company's own website. As soon as someone and We contact the company, and the company will record it, and then start a series of tasks.” First, the salesperson will constantly communicate with the entrepreneur on the phone, bragging about the company’s size and the profits of the product. Then entrepreneurs are encouraged to "seeing is believing" and go to investment centers and "model stores" for "on-the-spot inspections." Then, "free entrepreneurial inspection and training" is organized to make entrepreneurs convinced of the company's brand and market prospects. The last and most important step is to sign the contract and pay the franchise fee. The franchise fee for a single store of this company is 30,000 yuan.
"In fact, the company is just a shell. It is easy to register a company in Hong Kong and then make up a brand. There is no factory at all. The good clothes in the 'model store' are all high-end goods bought, with the company's trademark torn off and sewn on. The investment center is very grand, but it is a rented office building, and the rent is paid monthly..." An insider revealed, "It mainly relies on the deception of 'salesmen' and 'trainers'. The company has a whole set of words to talk about it. Deal with all kinds of problems. "In short, their goal is to make entrepreneurs think that they have found a shortcut to success, and believe in the strength of the company, and then everything will be fine.
"The company is legally registered and the contract signed is legal. In addition to the franchise fee, they will also be asked to pay a payment of 30,000 yuan for the first batch of goods; but they cannot choose the first batch of goods, but the company's 'designated delivery'" the insider continued Explained, “When they decorate the store and request goods from the company, they will be shipped. However, the goods shipped are all fake and inferior clothing wholesaled by the company from the wholesale market, which is not valuable at all. The contract states that returns can be made , the franchise fee will not be refunded. Their store will eventually collapse." But the franchise fee has already fallen into the company's pocket, and the entrepreneurs who were deceived have no chance to appeal.
Although the insider did not want to disclose more specific information, he believed that more than 80% of the "franchise" information on many "online earning" information platforms is inaccurate. The scary part is the "legality" - even if there are serious entrepreneurs who want to tell the truth, this is just a "contract dispute" involving "exaggerated publicity". He reminded entrepreneurs based on his personal experience that before "joining", they must conduct an on-site inspection of the company's production, logistics, sales and other aspects, otherwise it is very easy to be fooled.