Is Wake Up Now Club a scam?

[devonta121]

Is The Money I Get From Wake Up Now A Scam?

I been with this company for 2 months and i'm a f4 making almost 3k a month

[samuelwright]

WUN is a typical pyramid scheme.

[MARYCATE]

Simple

I feel like its simple, in way. The best way to earn money is have a skill in demand.


I read this thread. i have a friend who is avid about this WUN **** and i was curious about it.

I feel that in this world the Skill for value exchange is simple. I see no skill in this company just selling memberships. At least vemma has some sort of energy drink. i guess,, i know too many friends of mine thinking they are going to make millions and have their own business. Plenty of my friends try to get me to join their stuff. Question is, is it what it is?



BTW it has a BBB rating of C now.

[CreativeBusyness]

So I see! Thanks for the link. I remain curious as to the reason for the rabid abuse WUN members seem to apply almost as a rule to others, but I guess that's another cultist trait showing.

[hamchan]

In fact, many MLM schemes are VERY cult-like.

https://archive.org/details/MerchantsOfDeception

[CreativeBusyness]

An Outsider's Opinion On WUN

Hi all. I came looking for info on this scheme as some people in my family have just been approached with offers to join it. After looking around I quickly decided it sounds like one of those barely-legal pyramid schemes that only benefit the tiniest minority; in fact I believe it's illegal in my country (Australia), but we still got the offers from some kid in the USA. His site shows him posing with money in every single photo, even with a wad of notes in his mouth (clearly he doesn't have any idea how incredibly pathogen-laden the average banknote or coin is)... It set my 'scam-meter' off immediately so I started looking and wound up here.

I'm open minded enough about pyramid schemes - as long as I can see how I could stand a good chance of getting to the upper levels, which never seems to be anything more than a remote fluke of chance at best. Looks like if you didn't start it, or aren't one of the very first few "employees", don't bother joining it. I don't see how the majority ever make more than they spend on it. I don't doubt it works as claimed for some (the very few at the top of the pyramid), but for all the rest it can't, by its very nature, as the more experienced folks here have already detailed, and as the WUN members have also confirmed by omission or inference regardless of their intent otherwise.

Since I read that the purpose of this thread is to assist people to make the wisest choice regarding WUN, as contentious and distasteful as the subject is, I will add my two cent's worth.

I'm not affiliated with either this site nor the WUN crowd, so it's an opinion based on my own research, across a handful of sites. I have checked out both pro and anti stances on this matter and find WUN devoid of any semblance of respectability, partly because of their financial statements and statistics, and partly because of how they treat anyone disagreeing with them.

The folks who defend this WUN business all over the internet all use the same "debate" methods when disagreed with, including extremely childish name-calling, emotive terminology, derogatory phrasing, etc and they overuse colloquialisms like 'bro' and 'dude' and 'BOSS job!' etc as well as abbreviations, all things which tend to make most potential customers a little wary if they've got enough commonsense. Certainly it craps all over their business image.

Also, they fail to back up their claims. They keep referring to the perks, the perks, THE PERKS but I fail to see how these so-called perks are not just already available products/services repackaged and sold for a markup. As a person who's researching the necessities to start my own small business I've been doing the "legwork" on discounts etc and I don't see anything WUN offers that you can't find yourself without paying their fees. In fact I've found hundreds of sites where one can get greater value deals, and the ones cited by those who've used WUN were among those sites I mostly discarded as too low value.

I would like to enlighten WUN as to the non-viability of their form of argument, pedantic as it is. But I doubt they're able to come up with a better method of debate even if I point out the flaws in their current one. Not that a legitimately decent business would ever need to actually debate with the general public like WUN do. When I say "legitimately decent business", I mean one where ALL customers get REAL value for their money. WUN's debate methods may wash in some political circles but they would possibly get you thrown off the debate team in any decent High School, which is apt because most WUN employees appear to be very young and also appear to have skipped high school, regardless of their oft-repeated claims of higher education. Most of their defenses appear to involve information one could find after a short Google search, too. (No offense, my WUN bruz! Please get a real job before this unscrupulous business scheme financially destroys you and perhaps your family too, for really-realz).

I will use an earlier quote from one of the defenders of WUN as it's a word-perfect example of how they attempt to convince others and defend their scheme. I think perhaps they follow a formula, the same one most pyramid schemes follow to the letter, or perhaps they're all just the same few people getting around the web defending the scheme under different names. Their style of debate is plain trollish and in my view marks them as a "business" to never engage with in any fashion.

"So a fresh new company starts with the same format of business and you want to bash it. That's fine."

- This is a standard emotional tactic WUN uses, taking the victim stance and then trying to play the Bigger Man by making a statement of acceptance of martyrdom at the hands of small thinkers and bigots. High ground indeed! Some people unfortunately think this is spoken with honesty, because some people assume most business-people are honest, or all underdogs are honest, and they side with the poor-Bigger-Man-victim-of-the-Cynical/Embittered-Loser-(probably-with-vested-interests), as the roles are implied by such a statement. There were better examples of this tactic but that'll do.

"Opportunities like WakeUpNow or ones above are not for closed minded individual with all due respect.

- This is another low grade debate standard, directly implying that anyone who disagrees is some variety of intellectually impaired or lacking, and then attaching the weak qualifier that they are still accorded their rights of respect by the obviously Bigger Man, who thereby again proves their Bigness. "With all due respect, you're small minded"... Where's the respect in that?

"It takes an inner passion of freedom from the "normal life" to understand what's really happening here.

- Because, as this implies, you're clearly unimaginative, unoriginal, and have no fire in your belly if you don't agree; failure to agree also constitutes failure to understand/comprehend, so we're back to casting aspersions on people's intellectual capacities as a method to gain "votes". Also, that line WUN uses obviously implies that the truth is only found by those visionaries with courage, and those visionaries with courage are all with WUN, which proves they have vision and courage. Loopy.

How does it make you feel that Uncle Sam is really deep in your pockets after your hard earned work? Check out any of your pay stubs.

- This angle is easily deflected by the cold hard facts rendered in the process of checking out WUN's "pay stubs". There is NO defense against that.

Also, what respected/respectable business is staffed by and represented by people who talk to potential customers/colleagues like WUN's employees do? I know some have their personal pet trolls and attack dogs, and many try to cultivate an air of "the chosen ones" among their employees, but WUN takes it so far beyond that it's obviously not a decent business. One WUN employee's favorite riposte involved detailing sexual acts committed via imagination against the mothers of those who disagreed with them, and they couldn't even spell properly. That's exhibiting an ideal pyramid-scheme customer mentality, and makes me wonder if they're able to do the math on their scheme.

I find it mighty curious that they all argue just the same, use the same circular logic, and the same put-downs and derogatory names and slang terms... I found them on Youtube and on other sites, and everywhere I found them, they all sound just the same. Almost botlike.

This furthers my belief that pyramid schemes are rather cultist, requiring the servitude of all in support of the Few, always repeating supposedly enlightened mantras and catechisms and rhetoric, cultivating an aura of exclusivity, and feeling absurdly entitled to attack and denigrate any patently lower class beings that dare speak heresy. If one states interest in joining the WUN club or any other pyramid schemes, they will spam you with their catchphrases and try to convince you their way is the golden shining path, and all others are lies that lead to slavery. A legit business doesn't need to do that. I have inquired about an exceptionally well presented pyramid scheme before and found what they do is a concerted attempt at brainwashing, in my opinion. They prey on a certain type and are mostly populated by a certain type, especially in the lower levels. They are NOT respectable. There are forms of pyramid schemes that are far more helpful to their employees than WUN is; nothing they're doing gives an impression of actual value.

Apologies to the long standing forum members, I know my comment's not worth much if anything to any of you, but I just thought I would add my opinion on this topic for the general consumer public's sake since it's hit close to home with my less suspicious family members. WUN gets nothing from us and will die out soon enough by the looks of it.

@Nikki123:

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.

I KNEW it! lol. The guy spamming my family wouldn't be upfront with the business information, he wanted to be added on a social networking site and inboxed. I thought, why would he do that unless expressions of interest counted as commissions? Looks like I was right.

[jdom07]

Benefits for members? Fine. Let people pay for "benefits".

But there's absolutely NO question: the money-making aspect is a pyramid scheme. Will it make money if you get in "early"? Possibly. Is it ethical? Probably not.

[Cherissa]

Review

If your anywhere near Utah, visit our Corporate Office @ 5252 Edgewood Dr. Suite #300 Provo, UT 84604. WakeUpNow Inc. is a financial wellness Company founded in 2009 with one goal in mind, to help people save money, manage money and even make money if they'd be interested in the opportunity part. The Business opportunity with them is 100% optional and to correct some of you, It is FREE to become a Preferred Customer and you may upgrade to have much more additional perks if you choose to and it is also FREE for the opportunity part(Which will make you an Independent Business Owner through them) but when if you are interested in the income part, you must be qualified, and to become qualified you need 90PV (Personal Volume/Sales Volume)each month, after 90PV is where your income starts to grow. PV is earned through any purchases made, whether it be YOUR purchases or people that you have invited to become FREE or paid members. Okay, so instead of our I.B.O's worrying about not being qualified for each months commissions, most of them find it quite easier and rewarding to get started with the Platinum membership, not just because they get a huge value and save LOTS of money on things they need or want but because it's worth 90PV each month and they'll ALWAYS be qualified for the next commission-able month. If you actually USE the Hub and vacation club, you'll save MORE money than you ever put forth each month. And when and IF you refer JUST 3 members who also earn their 90PV each month (whether as a FREE member using the HUB to make purchases and save money OR if their a Platinum member)
(You + 3 people = 360GV cause your 90PV each which equals 360 Group Volume)
You would earn $100/mo. residual income (Platinum membership is FREE every month as long as you hold 360PV each month)then when they refer 3 or YOU put 3 people below them you'd earn $600/mo. residual income (EVERY MONTH)with just 12 People earning 90PV each + You = 1170GV (90PV X 13) which is $600/mo. every month residual. The residual income goes UP from their assuming your members still have their 90PV each month. Becoming a Platinum member eases the process but is 100% optional. And if you become an I.B.O FREE, you get to test everything for 30 days. WakeUpNow is NOT a scam, pyramid yes, scheme NO. A pyramid scheme is when someone buys into an opportunity that has no actual value, that has no actual product which BOTH WakeUpNow has.

[davidbatchelor]

WakeUpNow is really designed for the USA market only pretty much or so it appears.

[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.

[jdom07]

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

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.