The Apple Diet Patch Scam?
Mon, Jul 23, 2007
Is there an apple diet patch scam?
Often, what we think about a potential opportunity is based upon our own perceptions of life.
There is, perhaps, no right or wrong answer so therefore the following is merely my opinion -
The apple diet patch, according to it’s makers, is supposed to be a weight loss aid. Supposedly, the active ingredients within the patch are transfered into the body through applying the patch to anywhere without hair (to avoid any possible irritation).
Sold by the Apple Patch Diet Company, a month’s supply of patches contains ten patches.
And that is about as much information as you get from the official site, http://www.applepatchdiet.net. Even then you have to dig around to find it.
The main thing that stands out when you visit the site is that it is almost totally geared towards promoting the benefits of becoming an apple diet patch affiliate.
The home page makes a big deal of a USA Today report which suggests some may make up to $6000 a month from selling apple diet patches.
They also mention, twice, how you can earn $25 just by signing up as that is the amount they deposit in your account. $25 also happens to represent the amount you could earn for each additional sale of apple diet patches thereafter.
They don’t mention on the home page that signing up as an affiliate will cost you $29.95, though it is quite clear if you look at their FAQ or do actually go to sign up.
When I saw that YOU have to pay THEM to join I immediately became skeptical - after all, just about every instance of advance fees in return for a job or business opportunity is a scam.
To be fair to Apple Diet Patch Company they do offer a no quibble, 100% refund if claimed within 60 days. Additionally, they also offer to repay the $29.95 fee if you fail to earn $250 within your first month. This sounds like they are making it a zero risk proposition, though I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has claimed a refund to see how they faired with it.
For the $29.95 joining fee you receive a website, designed and hosted by the Apple Diet Patch Company. They also submit the site to search engines, something their FAQ suggests you do every month which seems rather curious - multiple submissions are considered spamming and can lead to penalties being imposed by the search engines.
So, is the apple diet patch a scam?
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to that question.
The no quibble guarantee would suggest there is no scam, however, I have been unable to verify if anyone has actually claimed and received a refund. They may charge $29.95 and then credit accounts with $25, thereby reducing the cost of joining to $4.95 but what is the minimum payout? I couldn’t find any information on that on their website so it’s possible that you may never see the $25 they give you.
Why are they looking for affiliates to potentially earn $25 per sale using their own websites, hosted and promoted by them, when they could just do it themselves?
My guess is that they are hoping that their affiliates invest time and/or money into promoting their websites, thereby acquiring sales that the Apple Diet Patch Company may otherwise have missed out on. It should be noted though that spamming submissions to search engines is a bad practice.
Additionally, if all the websites that they give to their affiliates are the same then there could also be issues with duplicate content penalties. This would make it impossible for the sites to appear in the search engines and get any traffic of note without a lot of hard work and/or expense.
Also, any company that asks money from you to work for them is generally a scam. The only thing that seperates apple diet patch from this is the money back guarantee that may or may not be genuine.
Conclusion
I would say that web savvy marketeers may be able to make money from the apple patch diet but if you are not sure how to market online or keep on the good side of search engines then steer well clear of this one.
My overall opinion : NOT a scam but may be hard to make money with this one.
I HAVE BEEN SELLING THE APPLE PATCH DIET FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW, IT ISN’T A SCAM. BUT I HAVE HAD TO PUT A LITTLE EFFORT INTO MAKING SALES. AT FIRST SALES WERE REALLY SLOW, THEN I REALIZED THAT IN ORDER TO SELL THE PRODUCT, MY SITE HAD TO BE KNOWN. SO I HAD FLIERS PRINTED (WITH APPLE PATCH INFO AND MY SITE ADDRESS) AND PUT THEM EVERYWHERE I COULD THINK OF, I ALSO HAD BUSINESS CARDS PRINTED, AND PASS THEM OUT EVERYWHERE I GO. I HAVEN’T QUIT MY DAY JOB YET, BUT I’M HAPPY WITH THE EXTRA MONEY I’M MAKING, WITH ONLY A LITTLE WORK INTO IT.
How do you claim your income taxes then from commission made?
I was told I have to file a 1099 misc at the end of the year.
I am glad to hear that
WHAT CITY AND STATE DO YOU LIVE IN? AND HOW MUCH ARE YOU MAKING? HOW DO YOU GET PAID BY CHECK VIA USPS OR WIRE TRANSER? NEED TO KNOW. THANKS
I live in Weirton, West Virginia. I usually make a few hundred a month, and I get a check in the mail….your welcome.
You should always check out a company with The Better Business Bureau. The Apple Patch Diet is at this link and worth reading.
http://search.bbb.org/Results.aspx?n=apple+patch+diet&add=&c=&st=&z=
I recently signed up for the ApplePatch Diet deal myself… Very Recently… like, last week. The $25 refund of your $29.95 purchase price that they give you back, it actually held in your “commissions report”… then they don’t actually cut you a check until the commission report hits $100 minimum. So, if nothing ever sells, that $25 refund stays with them forever… they strongly suggest that you be your own first customer, buying their product for $49.95… with a “BOGO” offer. giving you 2 supplies… So, I guess if I do that, then I’ll make another $25 commission… but it will just be $50 sitting there in my Commissions Report… I have seen no response yet from just submitting my website to search engines… I haven’t gotten serious with it yet… If I see no results, I may not ever get serious with it…
Thanks for the info. I just joined today and submitted to all the free search engines. After reading the postings I will print up the flyers and drop off at my gym, leave at stores ect and see how it works. If I can make a few extra bucks a month I’ll be happy.
Have you much success gaining organic traffic to your website through the search engines, or is it all direct referrals generated by the methods you mention above?
I WOULD SAY THAT 25% OF MY SALES IS FROM SEARCH ENGINES, AND 75% FROM MY OWN WORK. BUT I’M OK WITH THAT BECAUSE I DON’T EXPECT TO MAKE SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. BUT HONESTLY, IF I JUST RELIED ON THE SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC, I STILL WOULDN’T COMPLAIN BECAUSE I WOULD BE MAKING MONEY DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
After you pick your banner that is all you do on step #4 ; correct. When I try to do it again it says it is already active. I would like to see my banner I picked but i guess I can’t. Is there any way I could tlk to you on the phone and you could walk me through Steps 5 and 6 and give me some helful hints on how to make this business work. 317 328 8984 I have a verizon cell phone 317 513 7566 . I can call you on home phone( no long distance)
Step 5 is th search engine subbmitter (correct) I need help in filling this out(step 5).
I also need help in submitting to google(step 6)
Do you think it is worth doing the classified ad submitter on the control panel page
Please emai me ASAP or comment or call
I don’t think I could help you, I consider myself computer challenged! Try emailing their support, I’m sure they’d be more help than me.
If you read all the posts here, I pretty much have already stated everything that I do to get sales. I’ve been looking into the email lists, but haven’t tried it, yet.
I hope you live in the U.S. because I live in Canada and I tried to submit my ad in the classifieds only to get a repeat message saying “please enter your State”.I’m not saying it is unwise to try it but right now I’m getting no help whatsoever from their support center and I’ve contacted ClickBank requesting my refund of $20.it seems to me that if you live outside the U.S. you’re screwed which by the way is very bad business for them,meaning a lot of people will be asking for their money back!does that make any logical sense!?
Have you had to do a lot of promotion to get search engine traffic?
I SUBMITTED MY LINK USING FREE DIRECTORY SUBMITTERS, THAT A FRIEND GAVE ME. THE MORE WEBSITES MY SITE LINK IS ON HELPS ME WITH THE SEARCH ENGINES.
Directory submission is a subject I could talk about for hours, having maintained huge lists of the best ones in the past.
A lot of the free directories are barely worth submitting to. Instead, it is better to search out some of the quality paid ones, such as Aviva, in my opinion.
I totally agree with you, but I’m trying to keep the costs on this little venture to a minimum. So I just stick to the cheap things that I can do to promote my site.
Hey Melissa, I’m happy for you to put the url of your site in so that you get a link back from the comment, but you are not adding it right - I think you are leaving the ‘.com’ off the end perhaps?
Thanks! I proudly call myself, computer retarded!
Melissa, So you did make your 250.00 first month?
You did it again Melissa! Is it ‘.com’? If so, I’ll add it for you next time
THANK YOU SCAM!
Baldwin, no I didn’t make 250.00 the first month, it took me 2 months before I got my first check. I only get paid once a month, and it takes up to 14 days for e-checks to clear through pay pal and commissions don’t clear until then, so I assume that’s why it took so long.
Just curious to see if Melissa made her money yet. I just joined today and I am wondering
How’s that for service Rocky.. she just beat you into the moderation queue!
I am considering joining. I have a lot of ideas to promote this product. I am not sure if this is a safe product and if it works
To Missy M:
have you tried the patch? does it work? I have joined and when you order from your own page you get a complimentary vacation.. have you used that or tried it?
zel,
yes, I have tried it. it worked for me, I only wanted to lose around 15 lbs with it, but I lost 21! I haven’t been using it for awhile, so I’ve been watching what I eat so I don’t find it again. I did notice when I was using it that I seemed to have more energy, which I really liked! I’ve never heard of anyone that actually used the patch being dissatisfied.
nancy,
From what I’ve seen of the patch, it is a safe way to try to lose weight. The only negative thing I have found, is some people are allergic to it. I’ve seen pictures on a message board that a girl submitted, they gave her a rash. And my sister used the patches, they helped her lose weight, but they gave her a rash, too. She’s also allergic to band-aides, so it may just be the stuff they use to make it stick. All of the ingredients are natural, so unless you were allergic to one of them, I don’t see how it could hurt you.
> All of the ingredients are natural,
> so unless you were allergic to one
> of them, I donβt see how it could
> hurt you.
Well, cocaine and heroince and crack all consist of natural ingredients, too, so do most steroids. Still they hurt you.
“All natural” does not necessarily mean “safe”.
I am sorry to inform you cocaine is not all natural. The brake down the components and take the active ingredients out to make the cocaine. It then becomes toxic. That is the same thing that they do in the prescriptions. Which is why they can charge you an arm and a leg. And why they can get a patent on them. You can not patent an all natural product.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the reason presciption medication is so high, is the cost of research and development. It costs billions of dollars do develope and then do the research on a new medication. Only about 25% of medications actually make it through the research stage and only 10% of those make it to FDA evaluation and pattent. If it weren’t for the expenses drug companies are willing to spend for the research of medications to keep up healthy, it would be like living in the 1800’s.
Hey, i was wondering, how does it work when a custom er returns the product . Do they take 49.00 (cost of the product) dollars back or just the 25.00 they gave you. It seems to me there is a catch. What are the several pills a day they are talking about. Are they included in the price. I tried to send these questions to apple patch but the contact page kept failing when I would click submit. I dont think it is linked to a email address. Another thing that bothered me, They will not except payments for joining by mail. This sets off a red flag with me. But, worst case you lose 29.95 which you can dispute through your Credit card company if thins arent on the up and up
I just joined and have a lot of the same questions. These messages are helpful. Glad to hear that the product works (at least for some). I’m still concerned about payment and how that is going to happen. It seems that there’s not much you have to do but try to drive traffic to your site. What are some of the things you all have done? I think I could sell more to people initially in person and then have them go to the website to reorder- any one else have a thought on this plan?
roni,
I don’t know what happens when a customer returns a product, as far as I know no one has ever returned any they have purchased from my site. Now you have me wondering. I didn’t know what you were talking about with the pills, so I went to the apple patch site to see. there are no pills with the patch. They were just comparing the patch to diet pills. With the patch, you wear one patch and change it every three days, with diet pills you usually take several a day. They were just trying to show that the patch is more convenient. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t take payments by mail, I would try e-mailing them again and ask them.
trickybeagle,
a lot of my sales are from person to person contact, because the only why to get sales on your site is if they go to your url address. that’s why I do the business cards and flyers with my address on them
Missy M do you get most of your person to person sales from friends and family or is it mainly from the advertising you mentioned above?
After reading through all of Melissa’s/Missy’s messages, my instinct is that she is actually a part of the Apple-patch core… no pun intended, well, slightly intended.
She may be playing the role of a semi-successful seller… an Insider with good news to have on the Internet. Keep searching, and all you find are stems, not even seeds.
scam,
some of my friends are using the patch, but I think that most of my sales come from the fliers and business cards I pass out. also at my main job I bring it up in conversation and direct people to my site, I have no way of knowing how many of my sales are coming from them, but quite a few them have told me they have purchased patches.
russell,
pun intended, your barking up the wrong apple tree. I’m not part of the apple patch core. think about it, I really don’t think they’d appreciate me telling people that I only make a couple hundred a month when they’re site pretty much promises a lot more. all I’m doing is sharing my experience with those that are wondering if this would be good for them, I’m being honest with my experiece so they can decide for themselves.
Russell, there are certainly people who do what you say so that’s a valid point to make.
I don’t know about Missy for sure of course, but I believe she is genuine.
I CAN tell you that her ip address does NOT resolve back to the apple patch company though, so she is certainly not an employee typing at company HQ.
This is f**king rediculous. You can’t trace her IP effectively. Preying on the stupid.
Pete is right - people can hide / mask / change their IP if they know how to, but what’s the point just to leave a comment here?
hello missy. i’m a single female looking to supplement my income by approximately a thousand dollars a month. in your opinion, would my becoming an apple patch affiliate make that a realistic possibility (with the effort, of course)?
miss,
I would say if you were going to purchase the site and just do what they tell you to do, the answer would be no. I’ve made no where near 1000 a month, but I don’t put a lot of effort into it. I guess if you did spend a lot of time and effort, it may be possible. But there’s no way of knowing for sure.
Missy, I am also a single mother and a full time student. I am not looking to get rich but it would be helpful to have a couple extra bucks to help out until I graduate. I do not mind making flyers and what not but I spend most of my time with school and my children. In order to have your level of success would you say I would be cutting into my studies? I don’t want to invest the money if I would have to cut into my studies. Make sense? Again, not wanting to make millions, just enough to help out.
Saysay, your questions make a lot of sense. I don’t spend a lot of time marketing my site, usually a few hours a week. A lot of times, I take my kids along with me when doing the fliers. I don’t think that it would cut into your studies, as long as you have a few hours a week to spare. So, it depends on the amount of money you need to make, if it’s more than a couple hundred, I don’t think it would help you out. That’s usually all I make.
I agree with Russell. I believe missy may be a part of the apple patch core. Most “business” opportunities like the apple patch diet try to convince the potential “Buyer” that “This is not a get rich quick scam, you have to put forth the effort to get anywhere.” Her messages sound like text book examples of this. You wont get rich, but you could possibly make some money. I have never had to pay any employer to work for them, especially if they cant guarantee success. I think i will stick to the jobs that pay me instead. Besides if the product was for real they would be able to let people sell it for free, and should want to. The more people selling for them means more money for them. Hmm…so why do they charge? SCAM!! Sorry Missy
These type companies get you to pay to work for them because that is a way for them to produce more revenue. It’s part of their plan. That is how alot of these marketing companies make their money. Think about all the people they are showing on their website as newly joined and multiply that times the joining fee. The guy that owns this company used to own the mystery shopping co. that you payed to join and see what compaines had openings in mystery shopping. You get this info on your own searching on google BUT still people fell for it and paid.
Missy,
Just wondering… who does the order fulfillment? What kind of labor is involved besides just the promotion?
Just curious.
Cynergie
I have made nothing besides the $25 that they give you back, but its only been four days…Sucks.. I will still wait though to see if I get some money, but it looks like a long wait to get to $100, since they dont send out checks ever for anything under that.
What about taxes? Does anyone working for the apple patch diet file taxes?
It looks like I fell for the Apple Patch ploy as well. Jay’s comment made me realize that. They do not ask for your SS# inorder to file your income with the IRS. What’s up with that???
This was taken from their FAQ:
Q) Are taxes taken out of my check?
A) No, you are considered an Independent Contractor and no taxes are taken out of your monthly check. You must file Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, to report payments of $600 or more.
I fell for this Apple Patch thing to become an affiliate. As I tried to set-up my web site, I was unable to access their control panel where I could monitor my sales and get the $25.00 for signing-up. There is no technical support to get additional info or a phone number to call for help. I wonder why?! SCAM… that’s why.
If you don’t mind loosing $29.95, go for it…
cynergie,
Sorry, but I have no idea who fills the orders, all I do is promote my site.
steven,
a lot of work at home or at your leisure companies have an initial charge to set up, avon, home initerior designs, pampered chef, and undercover wear, to name a few.
jay and nyuzman,
I emailed apple patch and asked this question because I’ve made over the 600.00 per year your allowed to make without filing. They said that I’ll get a 1090 misc at the end of the year.
how much have you made so far Missy?
If they dont obtain your SS # how can they report your earnings?
As they point out in the FAQ, you are responsible as an independent contractor to file your own income as a 1099. Check on the IRS website for a copy of the form. This also means that you will need to consider registering this business at the state level and obtaining a business license.
w/r
Thankyou ** Lisa ** for the
**** 1,000th ****
comment on Scam Types dot Com
marcel,
I’ve had my site for about 7 months now, and I’ve made over 2,000.
Missy, you are lying and you know it. You are part of Apple Patch and are taking us all for fools. Obviously, some of these people are falling for it - not because they are stupid, but because they are probably in financial distress or need to supplement their incomes somehow (like me). But others, like me, ARE NOT falling for it. Listen EVERYONE - this, like many other similiar opportunities, is a SCAM. Sure, there’s a product to sell here, but who really knows if it works or if it’s safe. I am a former marketing guy who defected from the corporate world to become an investor. I’ve read about this multi-layer marketing crap in text books for God’s sake - it’s a SCAM. The only way to get ahead and make money or additional income is through legitamate work or legitamate websites selling real products or services that offer tangible value to potential customers. That’s it. It’s that simple! Forget about the ‘easy money’ crap because it’s just going to cost you ‘good money’. Remember, if looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is…
Lee
lee just thought you should know i think you have a good ponit when it comes to missy. and yes its anouther scam to take money out of the poor mans pocket. tammie
junley,
I’m guessing that they ask for it when needed at the end of the year.
They consider you an independant contractor and you have to pay the taxes on your earnings yourself. It is not uncommon…I am a real estate agent and I am considered an independant contractor.
I fell for this also and definitely have concluded it is a scam. As Missy very clearly states, if you want this to work you have to get the word out yourself. They offer to credit you back $25 when you become an affiliate AND if you become your own first customer (another $59.90 for a 2 months supply + S&H), they will credit you another $25. So, you figure you’re out $89.95 but they’ll give you back $50, so what the heck, right? Unfortunately, they will not cut you an actual check until your balance gets to $100. My site has been up for a month, I’ve done everything they ask regarding getting it on the search engines and, to date, not a single hit or order. Unless I do like Missy and start plastering the city with flyers, I’ll never see a dime from these scammers.
On to the actual product — I’m not overweight, eat very healthy, etc but could wouldn’t mind losing 10ish pounds. I’ve been wearing the patch for about 2 weeks now, haven’t lost a single pound, don’t feel “energized” either. Might as well be wearing a bandage, which is probably exactly all it is.
My advise — STAY AWAY!!!!
I agree that this is a scam. I too joined over a month ago and have not seen any results for my hard work. I also tried the patch too and still nothing happened there either. BIG SCAM!!!BEWARE!!
Can I ask what you’ve done to market your site?
Regarding asking for your SS #. To correct Missy. it is a 1099. By law if they were going to send you a 1099 they would require you to complete a W-9 form regardless if you had the potential of making over $599 per year or not.
My guess is that that their corporate office operates out of the United States and there fore are exempt for sales and site. However you are responsible for reporting your own earning provided a W-9 form or receiving a 1099-misc income statement or not.
I am an accountant and have looked into these affiliate marketing opportunities. You have to work at them all. But you can earn additional income off of them.
Each state has its’ own laws regarding taxes for internet business. You can review these at your states Department of revenue and http://www.irs.gov sites.
I have also tried the Apple Patch Diet and let me tell you it is a lot of work. As far as the taxes go you file them yourself just like you would if you owned your own taco stand. Here is what I don’t like about the whole ordeal, I contacted Apple patch because I wanted to change a few things on the ol’ website of mine and they wouldn’t allow me to do it. No counters personal greeting, nothing I might as well be a sheep going bah bah just like the rest of the websites. Next is I put my submissions into the search engines and for months nothing it didn’t even new I existed, makes it kinda hard to hit the sales for people just surfing. These guys are not a scam nor are they a get rich quick or get rich ever company. Here is how I see it i work in Life insurance sales,and all my money comes from commissions, it takes a lot of work and and alot of effort lunches and butt kissing to get someone to buy life insurance and let me tell you it takes alot more than sitting behind a computer in your pj’s to earn sales for Apple patch. I just don’t have the time. But here is what I will do I have been with APD for about 7months and I will see if I can get any money back from them EX 29.95 start up fee. I probably won̵