Some more classic TVI Express "Weasel Reviews"

Welcome to another episode of "TVI Express Weasel Reviews", where we review the reviews of TVI Express, and expose the weasel who post bogus reviews in order to promote TVI Express, an international scam. 

Today's highlight is on http://phyllis.boseviews.com/2010/06/11/the-ultimate-3rd-party-tvi-express-review/ . It claims to be the "ultimate 3rd party" review. Does it live up to its name? Sadly, it did not even come close, as it did not address any of the negative issues. It's clear that the author did no research for this at all.

Introduction: sets a bad example

Just the overall look of the article is already raising red flags. Random ad words promoting shoes are inserted into the article at random places, even in the middle of a sentence. 
Furthermore, it is a copy of an existing article, posted at http://www.articlesbase.com/affiliate-programs-articles/3rd-party-tvi-express-review-1432429.html  At least this article doesn't claim to be "ultimate" review. Yet the author of the original was a guy, and the person posting it here is called "Phyllis". So can't be the same person. This blog post was PIRATED!
But was the review any good? Unfortunately, no.

Copying Out of Date Info = STUPID

The original article was written in September 2009. Thus, reposting it in June 2010 makes it OLD and months out of date. Yet the article itself has no date reference, making the entire article unreliable.

Who are TVI Express?

Travel Ventures International are better know as TVI Express. They are a relatively new company based in London, UK. TVI Express is a home based business opportunity based on the internet and has sales representatives in over 50 counties and growing.

As the TVI Express website itself proclaims "over 150 countries" (as of June 2010), this information is severely out of date.

Incentive? What Incentive?

The second section is not much better, as it managed to be misleading even without being out of date.

What are the benefits?

At the end of the day, TVI Express is a travel company. They have a fantastic start up incentive, and continued incentives afterwards too. Representatives also get great discounts. TVI Express have partnered with some of the most reliable companies in the travel industry ranging from car rentals, to airlines, to resorts.

One of the greatest advantages is that TVI Express is internet based. This is a great home business opportunity.

Well, the "start up incentive" are... what?. What are "continued incentives"? Great discounts... on what?
Then the guy swallowed the company line whole, claiming "partnered with some of the most reliable companies in the travel industry" when the TVI Express website said no such thing. In other words, the original author either invented this partnership, or he got the information from a member without even checking it. Either way, it is wrong.

Teamwork... for what?

The next paragraph shows that the author has absolutely no idea what TVI Express sells, yet he does know that you need an aggressive team.

My next point could be both positive and negative, depending on your circumstances. Your commissions come as a result of a team effort. The reason I like home buisnesses is because my success is a direct result of how hard I work. I tend to find myself extremely ambitious and in these circumstances prefer not to be reliant on a team. I am in charge of my own future. When it comes to a team commission structure, you have to be sure that you are in a team where everyone is as ambitious as you. If they are not as ambitious as you, you could find seven people riding on your hard work. Hopefully, this will not be the case as the commission structure does look good. There are ways to move ahead if you team is holding you back. But the best route is by far an ambitious team.

So no matter what TVI Express sells, even if it sells nothing, you need an ambitious team, according to this guy. And what is a "team commission structure"? It's clear that this guy did not even read the TVI Express compensation package. There is no "team commission"! He can't even get the number of people in the matrix/board right... It's 15, not 8! And notice, he still have not figured out what TVI Express sells!
Next paragraph is not any better:

The compensation structure for TVI Express is cycled. Once you make it to the top and you build your team to it’s full extent, you rotate down to the bottom again and repeat the process. You can repeat this cycle endless times each month, week, and even day.

First, it is "its full extent". Second, did not mention the two separate boards. Third, what does the cycling do? No idea.

It's clear that this guy understands nothing about TVI Express, or even read the FAQ or watched the presentations at all.

Who did you speak to again?

The author then tries to explain away some confusing stuff, and I do applaud him for that.

I was able to speak to several people during my research about TVI Express. Warren Buffet and Richard Branson as well as some very well known companies are mentioned on their website. Their website does not claim to be backed by these people and companies, but rather that Warren Buffet and Richard Branson back the Direct Sales/MLM industry as a whole. This has created some confusion with sales reps which is merely a misunderstanding rather than dishonesty. TVI Express is backed by a UK business group.

It is interesting what he failed to mention who those people are, or how are they related to this article. As for Warren Buffet and Sir Richard Branson... Clearly this guy did no research, because if he did, he'd have found that Sir Richard Branson does NOT own any MLM company at the time TVI Express launched. He had divested himself from "Virgin At Home" several months before this article was written. And Warren Buffet does not support MLM industry as a whole. He simply said "dollar for dollar, [MLM companies are] some of the best investments I've ever made". If there was a misunderstanding, TVI Express shared the blame by misquoting Warren Buffet. And finally, the author simply cites the company line "TVI Express is backed by a UK business group" with no verification and no details.

I can help you, he proclaims

At the end, it's finally clear what this alleged "third party review" is about... He is a "marketing coach" and he wants to help you succeed in TVI Express, even though he does not understand TVI Express at all.

If you are with TVI Express, just because you have found a great opportunity does not mean you are guaranteed to make money. Only 5% of people in the MLM and direct sales industry make money! What can you do? Well, for starters, do your due diligence. If you have already started, create a marketing strategy as soon as possible. If you have not yet started, get your strategy going first! It’s easier than you think! People starting want to make money. They are looking for a leader to teach them how to do so. Brand yourself as soon as possible!

Note that the author never once identified the product of TVI Express, did not notice the contradiction in the TVI Express FAQ that there is no sales, yet there is required recruiting. He just brushes that under the rug with four words: do your due diligence, without explaining what to look for. Instead, he wants to teach you marketing strategy, self-branding, and leadership.

Conclusion = WEASEL REVIEW

TVI Express distributors and shills certainly are NOT shy stealing content from each other... esp. old outdated content. What's worse, they also steal these weasel reviews that look neutral, but are not. These allegedly neutral reviews are essentially un-researched echoes of company PR material, written by "marketing coaches" who just want to sell you their special "system". They are trying to make money off TVI Express without getting involved... By cheering on other people to join. 

To me, this is dubious ethics, and borderline fraud. It is fine if the opportunity is legitimate, but TVI Express is NOT legitimate. It is like yelling "water is great!" and tell others to jump into the pool, except the yeller did not even check the pool's quality! Why? So the yeller can sell some pool toys! When confronted, such yellers will shirk any responsibility, claiming that "due diligence" is on the part of the participant, not the toy seller. That's why I call it a WEASEL REVIEW. 

Stay tuned for more weasel reviews.