Consumerist
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nader for president
The Best Sales Line Ever
I walked by this DS-Max/Innovage type salesguy who was trying to sell cheap merchandise on the street one and he started to walk by my side. "Who are you voting for?" he asked. Just to mess with him, I said, "Nader." He screwed up his face like he didn't understand the words I was saying and then said, "Well you're definitely going to need one of these." A few feet away I looked over my shoulder and saw that he had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and was smiling and holding out some large bound object. Walking closer I saw that he was holding an oversized plastic kitten calendar. He had just unintentionally performed the wittiest piece of political comedy I saw all year. It was also a great sales line. No matter what I said, he could follow it up with the same call to buy. I guess it's not foolproof, however, as my walls are still devoid of oversized kitten calendars. -
ds-max
4 Typical DS-MAX MLM Scam Job Ads Found On Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder And Jobster
Using the names of companies accused of being DS-Max (now known as Innovage) subsidiaries/affiliates on Ripoffreport and a list on DS-Max The Aftermath, I did a search of Monster, Hot Jobs, and other job sites to pick out real ads that are out there and should be avoided. More » -
ds-max
How To Spot A DS-MAX Style MLM Scam Job Ad
Here are some of the qualities of a "business" operating under DS-MAX (now known as Innovage, though the same company owns both trademarks...) principles, an organization responsible for many complaints alleging scams, fraud, and general employee deprivation in a "sales-cult" atmosphere. More » -
fun with maps
CPSC Recalls DS-MAX-Made Toy Trucks For Choking Hazard
Washington, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), DS-MAX U.S.A. Inc. (formerly Wholesale Warehousing Industries) of Irvine, Calif., had voluntarily recalled about 82,000 "My Alphabetic Truck" toys, style SHYE-AT-002. During CPSC "use and abuse" testing, small parts were generated, presenting a potential choking hazard to young children.
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sock puppets
Nu-Life Owns The Trademarks For Innovage AND DS-MAX
Nu-Life, the company so mad at us about "adversely" affecting its DS-MAX trademark, saying that old DS-MAX became Innovage and Nu-Life has nothing to do with the actions of old DS-MAX or new Innovage... More » -
quantum marketing
Man Escapes Working For DS-MAX-esque Charity Scam, Lives To Blogs His Tale
A reader who used to work for Quantum Marketing, one of the "Aftermax" companies, (the term for companies that old DS-MAX (now known as Innovage) spawned), wrote several posts describing how his company scammed people who thought they were donating money to D.A.R.E. More » -
investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Confession
After only three days with Midtown Promotions, I could already tell that I'd wait weeks, maybe months or a full year before coming upon hard evidence of fraud, if I found any evidence at all. After leaving James and Doreen in the Bronx, I took the afternoon off and went to work on these diaries. More »
3:35 PM on Fri Jun 8 2007
By consumerintern
14,935 views, 49 commentsLatest by MargaretHapjo: ack! Just read this series of articles in its entirety, and to be truthful, It made me feel more pissed more »
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investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meltdown
From the moment I met up with James, and Doreen, who was going our way, things began to fall apart. Eric told me to follow James, not Carl, who was going solo. I was to listen to James' instructions, follow his example, and go to wherever he decided we should spend the day. Today was Mt. Vernon, NY, almost 90 minutes from the offices of Midtown Promotions. More »
5:53 PM on Thu Jun 7 2007
By Ben Popken
16,288 views, 68 commentsLatest by Ben Popken: Mantari, never ever do that again. Thank you. more »
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investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Meeting
Before the morning meeting started, I left my man-purse on a set of boxes right by the blackboard, with the microphone discreetly poking out of the pocket. More »
1:38 PM on Wed Jun 6 2007
By Ben Popken
14,948 views, 34 comments -
multi-level-marketing
13 Confession Of A Former DS-MAX Manager
This is almost everything you need know about DS-MAX (now known as Innovage), the super-shady multi-level-marketing group whose business practices seems to have inspired the Midtown Promotions office we're looking into. It's culled from an excellent post over at DS-MAX: The Aftermath: More » -
investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: Let's Get Juiced
I staggered into Midtown Promotions at 10am on Wednesday. Seeing as how people were only trickling in for the morning meeting, the receptionist and another office assistant gave me some papers to fill out and sign. (Note: all spelling errors/typos are as they appeared...) More »
12:51 PM on Tue Jun 5 2007
By Ben Popken
14,782 views, 40 commentsLatest by SisterHavana: I worked for a DS-Max company in the suburbs of Chicago many years ago. The company I worked for sold more »
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consumer alert
Door To Door Energy Resellers Fail To Deliver Promised Savings
The NY Post ran a good article looking into whether the savings promised by door-to-door energy resale reps like IDT Energy ever really materialize for subscribers:"I've had complaints from residents, as well as small businesses, who have unwittingly switched to a different energy provider and seen their bills go through the roof," said City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens).
One Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, IDT customer - a bartender who gave her name as Carmel - said her electric bill jumped from $40 to $70, and she is anxious to cancel.
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investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Day Of O
I sat in the offices of Midtown Promotions, watching the receptionist field calls from job prospects, still surprised at having been one of those callers not even twenty-four hours prior. More »
2:16 PM on Mon Jun 4 2007
By Ben Popken
14,671 views, 27 comments -
uplinks
Why Most People In Multi-Level-Marketing Schemes Lose Money
This chart shows how a typical Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) operation sustains itself by ripping off the entry-level salespeople. Most of each of sales commission flows upwards, or to the "uplinks." Additionally, there may be entry costs, like Cutco reps who have to buy their $150 demo kit. More » -
ds-max
Reader Lured Into 2 Different DS-MAX Interviews Via Monster.com Job Listings
Morris had an encounter with two different DS-MAX type places last December when he was looking for a job. In both instances, he was lured in through postings on Monster.com advertising entry-level marketing full-time jobs with full benefits. More » -
interviews
DS-MAX Was A "Sales Cult," Says Former Employee
steve-o: OH MAN! IDT is DS/MAX?! I worked for them! Worst 4 days of my life. Thank god I got out before they made me buy my own product.They told me it was B2B marketing, when in reality we were driving around from strip mall to strip mall trying to sell Disney books, umbrellas that looked like a duck, and other assorted crap More » -
investigations
Consumerist Undercover At IDT Energy: The Job Interview
Midtown Promotions has no yellow pages entry, no website, and no apparent internet job postings. Cruising their profile on Rip Off Report, a site where, natch, consumers file complaints against companies they feel ripped them off, I found a number for Midtown Promotions main office. It took several discussions with the editor of The Consumerist before we felt we nailed down the approach to the first phone call... More »
2:18 PM on Thu May 31 2007
By Ben Popken
16,718 views, 43 commentsLatest by glenji2k4: I can't wait to hear the next part of this piece. I too was hustled by a company affiliated with more »
dsmax
New York, 12:28 AM
Sun Nov 22
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