Is Wake Up Now Club a scam?

[JEJonez]

And the truth is..point blank...Yes...a FEW people have made money, but the MAJORITY don't and won't...and it's not a good investment. Period.

Ok Im sooo jumping in on this convo NOW, I cant take any more stupitidy. I myself am in the research phase of WUN, so I dont know everything but i have read most of this forum and have seen what this guy Ethan Vanderbuilt has to say on it...he doesnt like it, i respect that, find him here... whelp NVM I cant post links but if you type in Wake Up Now in google scroll down about to the 4th website...

On to some points i want to bring up

First of all if i ran a forum help site like this i would want to personally invest at least some of my time into checking out a product that could REALLY help a person...SO I have no idea why the so called MODERATOR i have seen in here wont have already tried the base product for a mere 24 bucks. Cmon dude have an open mind what if its usefule and your negativity is making people miss out on something great...if this website is your job which I AM SURE IT IS...DO YOUR JOB!

Second, I want everyone reading this thread to go read ethans breakdown of WHAT YOU get when you join WUN and make an educated decision on wether you want to be a part of it for yourself...it seems pretty accurate...he says that all of what you can find in the WUN software is either free online OR costs $94 monthly in TOTAL...........................

so whats that mean guys......do the math....cmon i know you can do it....
DING DING, for $99 a month you are paying for $94 a month in services and 5FIVE5FIVE5 more measly dollars for ALL of that free stuff in an easy to use bundle. + you get the member vacation **** bonus blah blah blah....BUT keep in mind that if you AREN'T using all of the paid services, which wont be likely) then it WON'T be worth the $94

NOW...if that 94 bucks worth of STUFF isnt something that YOU are interested in than dont get in on WUN plain and simple...

Now to my quote from "MikeSamps"...bro if people who "WANT" to pay for (fraud protection, financial help, tax help, and 5 dollars for coupons and vacationbonuses) get in on this...WHY IS THAT A BAD INVESTMENT....if you make money on the side by showing it to your friends then wheres the harm in that.....

YES I think that this company and the people in it are going about this the COMPLETE wrong way by telling people "hey come make mad money with us" because in reality most people cant sell and wont make money BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THIS A BAD INVESTMENT......

MY QUESTION.......................................??? ?
On top of all that guys why would people downline in this PYRAMID PLAN(scheme) quit when they are getting all this stuff that they "WANT!?" This sounds to me like the best pyramid invented yet....replies wanted, especially from this MODERATOR guy who isn't doing his job which is to research things that might HELP us. BTW MODERATOR, I appreciate this community you have put together here and i realize that you cant try EVERYTHING but 24 bucks shouldn't be a problem right? personally that is what i'm going to do like "RSinsights" did....

Well there's my rant, so much negativity on here and on Ethan's side got me angry...I hate negativity with a passion.

---James Jones says much love to you all. This is our world let's live in it!

[JEJonez]

Okay, so I have a friend that has been spamming my fb page regarding WUN and, by the looks of it, I could tell it was a scam. He has recently been posting money he has received from WUN and getting more of my friends into this scam. I have been trying to find any evidence that prove that WUN is a type of pyramid scheme but I can't. Instead I have been met with members using shameful tactics to persuade confused people into joining them. Such as posting videos titled "Wake UP Now is a scam, find out now!" but instead of showing relevant information, they go on to tell you the damn "benefits" of joining WUN. I could wait for them to begin losing money, but I would rather shove the actual facts in their faces before that happens.

YOU are exactly the kind of person i dislike with a passion, and only because I cant bring myself to hate anyone.. YOU are the REAL reason I got off my phone and got on my computer to create this account and give my two cents..how about this, instead of you being a dick and waiting for the worst to happen, why don't you actually be a FRIEND and buy the cheap package from this person you "call a friend" because...

1. It will help him out
2. It's only $24
3. You can make YOUR OWN educated decision on whether or not it is a good product
4. He/She is your friend so support them. Not a hard concept and you should be ashamed of yourself....
5. Don't be a dick and keep your Dream-Shatterer attitude to yourself.

[Nikki123]

Depends on your goals.

Hello!

I an a first time poster so I suppose I fall into that "has no credibility" hole the long time posters on this bulletin hold in such high regard? But I found this thread while seeking out some advice myself (aka. research). I thought I would share my two cents because unlike everyone here opposed to Wake Up now, I have actual experience to speak from.

My family has a history with MLM type businesses. I say businesses because many of them are legitimate money making platforms that require work for pay. Mary Kay and Avon are great examples of the kinds of companies that really require you to work at it to earn a living. A great sales lady has customers (just like a convenience store) who purchase products from her that she acquires at wholesale. Chances are she pays a fee to gain access to those products and hopefully she sells enough of them to make that fee worth her while. I know my mother has been involved in Herbal Life, Amay, Qxister (or what ever that was called) and my cousin did Medeluca.

Now most of the people screaming "scam" about these companies were sold by the idea that they could make money, but didn't put the effort in. Though you could recruit people? It was more about the product then adding more sales folks.

I say this to lead into these vacation clubs.

I am a part of World Ventures.. have been for a year. I quickly made my money back recruiting six others into the system and it started out on a positive swing. BUT here's where my problem with this company arose... they really push you hard to "trick" people into joining (This is World Ventures not Wake Up Now), they ask you to use sneaky tactics to get people to meetings that result in angering your friends and family. The buy in price is astronomical and they make you feel horrible for not wanting to drop that much money on something you aren't sure about. Then they make you feel stupid for wanting to research it. As I got deeper into the club? It got worse. Leaders asking me to follow people home to get credit card info or pressuring people into it on site.

I'm not that kind of person.

Here's the kicker... I found out I never had to recruit a single person? I could just excite someone about the package? And that counted for commissions. So here I was making people mad when the presentation turned to.."Here's how you can make money" and I didn't even have to do that.

So first off.. everyone hung up on the "you have to recruit to make money" well, you don't. I don't think either company requires that. Like Avon and Mary Kay, if you sell the product you make the money. It's no different then owning your own business with services.

HOWEVER.

Should you do it? After experiencing it myself? Unless you are a sales person... don't. You'd be better off starting your own business or doing a 9-5. I spent $365 to get in to WV, and now around $455 in monthly fees (half of my people dropped out), and around $700 in meetings and training all for the one $550 check I earned at the beginning. I know how to sell people, but I felt like a sleaze doing it until I found out I didn't have to "recruit" them and by then I was so disenchanted with the company? I stopped caring.

How does this apply to Wake Up Now? Well one of the members of WV quit to join WUN, he's trying to get me to do the same. I decided to wait it out until I can redeem my travel points from WV but in the mean time I did some research into WUN and what I've discovered is that for the membership fee you pay? You can get most of the same deals for free... And if you really think about it? For how long it takes you to make money, you could just put that membership fee in a savings account and have an extra $1,200 a year anyway.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with MLM's, some of them are lucrative and work really well for the right kind of people. But DO NOT join because you think it will replace your income. Chances are you'll spend FAR more then you'll ever make. All I can say for it? I took an amazing Vacation for the first time in years and it was worth the investment to encourage me to use the product, but I don't need WV or WUN to travel... I realized fast that I can find those deals everywhere.

[MikeSamps]

Ok Im sooo jumping in on this convo NOW, I cant take any more stupitidy. I myself am in the research phase of WUN, so I dont know everything but i have read most of this forum and have seen what this guy Ethan Vanderbuilt has to say on it...he doesnt like it, i respect that, find him here... whelp NVM I cant post links but if you type in Wake Up Now in google scroll down about to the 4th website...

On to some points i want to bring up

First of all if i ran a forum help site like this i would want to personally invest at least some of my time into checking out a product that could REALLY help a person...SO I have no idea why the so called MODERATOR i have seen in here wont have already tried the base product for a mere 24 bucks. Cmon dude have an open mind what if its usefule and your negativity is making people miss out on something great...if this website is your job which I AM SURE IT IS...DO YOUR JOB!

Second, I want everyone reading this thread to go read ethans breakdown of WHAT YOU get when you join WUN and make an educated decision on wether you want to be a part of it for yourself...it seems pretty accurate...he says that all of what you can find in the WUN software is either free online OR costs $94 monthly in TOTAL...........................

so whats that mean guys......do the math....cmon i know you can do it....
DING DING, for $99 a month you are paying for $94 a month in services and 5FIVE5FIVE5 more measly dollars for ALL of that free stuff in an easy to use bundle. + you get the member vacation **** bonus blah blah blah....BUT keep in mind that if you AREN'T using all of the paid services, which wont be likely) then it WON'T be worth the $94

NOW...if that 94 bucks worth of STUFF isnt something that YOU are interested in than dont get in on WUN plain and simple...

Now to my quote from "MikeSamps"...bro if people who "WANT" to pay for (fraud protection, financial help, tax help, and 5 dollars for coupons and vacationbonuses) get in on this...WHY IS THAT A BAD INVESTMENT....if you make money on the side by showing it to your friends then wheres the harm in that.....

YES I think that this company and the people in it are going about this the COMPLETE wrong way by telling people "hey come make mad money with us" because in reality most people cant sell and wont make money BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THIS A BAD INVESTMENT......

MY QUESTION.......................................??? ?
On top of all that guys why would people downline in this PYRAMID PLAN(scheme) quit when they are getting all this stuff that they "WANT!?" This sounds to me like the best pyramid invented yet....replies wanted, especially from this MODERATOR guy who isn't doing his job which is to research things that might HELP us. BTW MODERATOR, I appreciate this community you have put together here and i realize that you cant try EVERYTHING but 24 bucks shouldn't be a problem right? personally that is what i'm going to do like "RSinsights" did....

Well there's my rant, so much negativity on here and on Ethan's side got me angry...I hate negativity with a passion.

---James Jones says much love to you all. This is our world let's live in it!

It's a bad investment because like you said and everyone else with an ounce of a brain...YOU CAN GET THE SAME STUFF FOR FREE! Yes it costs $99 at value....but YOU CAN GET IT FOR FREE. For example, I get coupons in the mail EVERY week for free for savings on tons of stuff, so it would be a horrible investment for me to go and pay $25 a month for these SAME EXACT coupons. Same thing with WUN. There is nothing that you pay the $24 or $99 for, that you CAN'T GET FOR FREE (tax software, vacation savings, language software, etc.) That's why the people downline now DO QUIT after a month...because they see they can get what they're paying for for free. If you want to spend your money on this, fine. People do it all the time. We aren't just sitting here ranting and talking down on the company. If you go look at the first post in this, someone ASKED if/what people thought of it....so we're telling them, that's it. It will all show in the wash in a few months though.

[church ave]

It's a bad investment because like you said and everyone else with an ounce of a brain...YOU CAN GET THE SAME STUFF FOR FREE! Yes it costs $99 at value....but YOU CAN GET IT FOR FREE. For example, I get coupons in the mail EVERY week for free for savings on tons of stuff, so it would be a horrible investment for me to go and pay $25 a month for these SAME EXACT coupons. Same thing with WUN. There is nothing that you pay the $24 or $99 for, that you CAN'T GET FOR FREE (tax software, vacation savings, language software, etc.) That's why the people downline now DO QUIT after a month...because they see they can get what they're paying for for free. If you want to spend your money on this, fine. People do it all the time. We aren't just sitting here ranting and talking down on the company. If you go look at the first post in this, someone ASKED if/what people thought of it....so we're telling them, that's it. It will all show in the wash in a few months though.

Its not about getting the stuff for free, its about making money in different ways. Its about using the internet and leveaging yourself. Your worried about saving money, and these people that are in these businesses are worried about making it. Thats the real difference. Most people dont even know that you can place people in the organization before they even join. Most people dont know that if you have someone that is successful in the business, that they can place you in such a way that you are already making money from the first day you start. I just wish people thought outside the box sometimes and stop bashing other people for going out and trying something different!

[church ave]

I'd feel happy for them, but no one joining this club at this point will ever bring in that type of income. Most will lose money. In order to make that kind of money, you'd have to think up your own scam, and start scamming people. LOL.

what are you talking about? my friend just joined wake up now in nov and in 32 days in business, he has 33 people in his organization. I am telling the gods honest truth. Thats past the $600 mark. The person who got him in, has 188 people in 2 months, and hes about to hit the $2500 position. Its real, and i am not sure why people dont understand or believe this.

[church ave]

Again...why do we all "want you to miss out on getting rich"?? Why do all WUN people attack with this....or say people are jealous...or 'hating'. We just don't agree it's a good or smart business opportunity. Just like a financial advisor gives you advice on...stocks, let's say. You can either take it....or leave it....but you don't chastise or belittle him or call him jealous just because he's telling you a certain move isn't smart. You take his advice. People come to forums looking for opinions...so that's what they get.

If someone you know is asking you about a product that your family & friends have used and you've seen the negative results...and someone else asks you what you think, you aren't going to throw what you've seen out the window. That's all we do...we take what we see...and give our opinion...and we use a little common sense.

WUN will speak for itself in a few years like all the other MLM opportunities. It's just life. Again, no one downline of you will CONTINUE to pay a monthly fee for WUN products...maybe once or twice...but not continually...so unless you're ready to continually recruit others....always...from now on (& find 12 people who will continue to pay the WUN fees monthly)...you will lose money.

People that own stock early and benefit is a completely different thing from getting in on an MLM opportunity with a horrible reputation. Stocks are completely different. Very seldom do stocks with horrible reputations all of a sudden boom. There may be some with little or no reputation that suddenly blow up...but not ones that are seen already by financial advisors as bad opportunities.

Again, WUNs own income disclosure states it's a HORRIBLE opportunity...not just that it's little return in the beginning but it states that MOST LOSE money...period!

Most people lose money MLM's thats a fact. In the whole industry. Thats true. Its also true that most people in america are living pay check to pay check and have less than 500 dollars in their savings. Thats not everyone, just most. It doesnt mean that everyone has these problems. What i dont understand is, why do you think people still have to pay for these services. Do you not know that once you get three people in, that they will not have to pay for these things again?

[MikeSamps]

Broken Record

Most people lose money MLM's thats a fact. In the whole industry. Thats true. Its also true that most people in america are living pay check to pay check and have less than 500 dollars in their savings. Thats not everyone, just most. It doesnt mean that everyone has these problems. What i dont understand is, why do you think people still have to pay for these services. Do you not know that once you get three people in, that they will not have to pay for these things again?

People still have to pay because SOMEONE dowline of you HAS TO PAY. The WUN income disclosure statement states that you have to REMAIN ACTIVE to be paid. Active doesn't mean you pay once or find 3 people who pay once. You can do that, but again for the millionth time...SOMEONE dowline has to be paying the $24.95 or $100 EACH MONTH. The income has to continue to come in...or YOU have to continue to recruit for when someone dowline of you falls off.

Nothing I'm saying is wrong. And what many of the WUN people state isn't wrong. But the ones who ARE falsely flashing pics of cash...and the one's that state "ALL you have to do is help 3 get 3", are lying..because you don't just have to help 3 get 3...you have to ensure that those 12 people you helped are continuing to pay (because if NOT, you won't get a residual). You only get residual if those 12 are either continuing to pay monthly or have found 12 under them who are doing so, it's simple. But most of the "advertisers" don't state this…& they don’t tell the truth that you have to CONTINUE to bring people in…or find someone else who will continue to bring people in. It's not a onetime thing. Just read the income disclosure statement, you don’t have to believe me.

[MikeSamps]

Goodness

Its not about getting the stuff for free, its about making money in different ways. Its about using the internet and leveaging yourself. Your worried about saving money, and these people that are in these businesses are worried about making it. Thats the real difference. Most people dont even know that you can place people in the organization before they even join. Most people dont know that if you have someone that is successful in the business, that they can place you in such a way that you are already making money from the first day you start. I just wish people thought outside the box sometimes and stop bashing other people for going out and trying something different!

I'm not worried about saving money. I'm not worried about anything. Saving is just a fact of my life...something I do automatically. I don't worry about it. Don't even worry about making it. I simply do. I work ... make $60K a year...and save 10%.

But that's the thing. Some people may bash, but I'm not. I'm just responding to a post on a forum that requested information. Some of the information is favorable to the company and some isn't....it's just that simple. No hard feelings.

[btctony]

Most people lose money MLM's thats a fact. In the whole industry. Thats true. Its also true that most people in america are living pay check to pay check and have less than 500 dollars in their savings. Thats not everyone, just most. It doesnt mean that everyone has these problems. What i dont understand is, why do you think people still have to pay for these services. Do you not know that once you get three people in, that they will not have to pay for these things again?

Well why would you pay for them to begin with, when you can get them for free elesewhere? I'll just get them for free now rather than have to recruit and retain people in order to get them for free via WUN. It's much much less work.

I make a good salary in a respectable field that I enjoy. I make money, I save money. I even do side work that guarantees less work and more income that I could be guaranteed by a MLM gig.

And to whoever said ... It's only 25 dollars, so why not just try it? Those of us who have plenty of income and savings have these things, because we have stayed away from questionable MLM operations like this one. I have thousands and thousands in savings. I don't live pay check to pay check. But I will ever never throw money away on something like this, just because it only costs 25 dollars. LOL. I invest my money in things that have a better rate of return. As it has been said over and over again, 90 some percent who get involved in this do LOSE money. You have to be mentally ill to understand that and still put your money in it.

[friends]

I don't understand all the hate for WUN. It's a great way to make money, but you have to stop listening to the haters and free yourself from their negative ways. It really is a shame that people who have never even tried Wake Up Now are trying to keep others from making a lot of money just because they are jealous they don't have the courage to do it. Seize the day and make a lot of money !!!

[btctony]

I don't understand all the hate for WUN. It's a great way to make money, but you have to stop listening to the haters and free yourself from their negative ways. It really is a shame that people who have never even tried Wake Up Now are trying to keep others from making a lot of money just because they are jealous they don't have the courage to do it. Seize the day and make a lot of money !!!

LOL. I love keeping this thread alive for some odd reason Personally, I don't hate WUN. I just don't see it as a good opportunity to earn any money. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that by their own admission, most people lose money after getting involved with WUN. I don't need to try it out to realize that becoming involved with it is a waste of my time and my money.

It isn't that I don't have the courage to invest 25 dollars or 100 dollars or 500 dollars in something that I believe in. When a company straight up tells you that 9X% of people will lose money, that certainly isn't a bet that I would be willing to make. You might as well take your $500 to Vegas and bet it on black (or red, if that is your color). At least the roulette wheel will give you better odds and much less headache than WUN will give you.

[Adrian85]

newbie putting in his two cents

Hello, I'm new here but couldn't help jumping in on this conversation about WUN. This may get lengthy.

Okay, I've been asked before to join WUN and I did, but that was before I did any research. I feel as if people who are a part of WUN can never tell you straight how they are getting paid and where the money comes from.

Is it a pyramid scheme? Sure. A MLM? Sure.

Before joining WUN, you have to ask yourself, are the products and services worth the $100/month. Not taking into consideration the possibility of making your $600/month, because down the line, for you to continue making your $600/month, someone has to continue paying their $100/month.

So the way wakeupnow is set up, its $100/month to be a member. Sure, you get access to discounts (which you can get through Sunday coupons), Tax bot (only legit product), track your spending (which my bank already does for me), etc. After you recruit 3 members, you no longer have to pay the $100/month and your membership is free. After your 3 recruits each recruit their own 3, then you start making $600/month. So now you have 9 people under you.

So now this is how your "business" or "pyramid" looks.

A (you)
B. B. B. (your recruits)
C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C

And the Cs are your 3 referrals's referrals.

Now if you look at it, each level is a multiple of 3.

Level 1 (assuming you are the first member and joined WUN directly and not through a friends referral because if that's the case then you may already be level 2, 3 or 4).

Level 1 - 1
Level 2 - 1 x 3 = 3
Level 3 - 3 x 3 = 9
Level 4 - 9 x 3 = 27
Level 5 - 27 x 3 = 81
Level 6 - 81 x 3 = 243
Level 7 - 243 x 3 = 729
Level 8 - 729 x 3 = 2,187
Level 9 - 2,187 x 3 = 6,561
Level 10 - 6,561 x 3 = 19,683
Level 11 - 19,683 x 3 = 59,049
Level 12 - 59,049 x 3 = 177,147
Level 13 - 177,147 x 3 = 531,441
Level 14 - 531,441 x 3 = 1,594,323
Level 15 - 1,594,323 x 3 = 4,782,969
Level 16 - 4,7,82,969 x 3 = 14,348,907
Level 17 - 14,348,907 x 3 = 43,046,721
Level 18 - 43,046,721 x 3 = 129,140,163
Level 19 - 129,140,163 x 3 = 387,420,489 (exceeds US population, including children under 18)
Level 20 - 387,420,289 x 3 = 1,162,261,467
Level 21 - 1,162,261,467 x 3 = 3,486,784,401
Level 22 - 3,486,784,401 x 3 = 10,460,353,203 (and this exceeds the world's population. Including children under 18)

Another thing to consider is sustainability. As you can see, if everyone is in it to make money, this model of business is NOT sustainable. Especially since wakeupnow does not have an actual product or service to sell. The main selling point of wakeupnow isn't the products or services but the idea that you can make money. That's why its important to ask yourself "would I be willing to pay $100 a month for their services?". Because down the line, someone WILL NOT be making money. That's just how this model works.

You are not making money from the services being sold, you are making money from the monthly payments the members your refer are paying. All it takes is for one member to stop making payments and the pyramid will fall apart.

I see a lot of WUN members make the argument that the company others work for is a pyramid in itself, sure, that is partially true. There's the CEO > regional managers > district managers > managers > employee, etc.... but here's the difference between a pyramid like wakeupnow and a "pyramid" like a traditional corporation like best buy. Best Buy has products and services that are being purchased by outside customers. The money comes from the outside and goes to the top of the pyramid and are paid to the employees according to their roles. A pyramid like wakeupnow, the money is coming from within the pyramid, from the monthly payments its members are paying monthly. Its goes up the pyramid to the guy who started the whole thing, and then dispersed to the members below. So you are basically paying yourself and being paid by your friends who you referred to the business.

I'm not saying don't join wakeupnow, do if you like, just don't bank your life on it because it WILL NOT last. That's just how it works. Once the business oversaturates with members, a business scheme like wakeupnow will fall apart.

Unlike a true MLM business like Avon where there's a product to move and the main profits come from outside customers purchasing its products, a company like wakeupnow, its main profits comes from its own members making monthly payments.

[jdom07]

Does anyone else find the name of the company to be hilariously ironic?

[matthewwm954]

WakeIpNow is not a scam.

people are going to believe what they want to believe. But I've been part of wake up now since November. And it is definitely not a scam.if you decide to sign up for the membership, which is $100 a month if you want to make some money from signing people up. But you only make money if you have 3 people which makes your membership free. Then you help those people get 3 people which makes you 600 minimum. My favorite thing about company is now they offer a free preferred membership. Where you can get the online shopping portion for free. This gives you the ability to search products through affiliate websites get good deals and get cash back. Here's an example,I bought a pair of glasses from AC Lens I got 80 percent off the frames and I got a discount on the lenses. What would have cost me over $250 at Walmart, cost me dollar sign$69.00via wake up now. Two weeks later I got $3.50 cash back even after all the savings.unfortunately the society that we live in today, has been so brainwashed into thinking that you have to work 40 years of your life to live. So when an opportunity presents itself that quote on quote sounds too good to be true people automatically think its a sex cam. Stupid voice to text put sex cam when I said scam lol. You guys have a great day.