It's been nearly a year since I posted anything to this blog (though I have been updating the sidebar). People keep writing me asking for updated information. As far as Zaken goes, this blog is as up-to-date as it can be. If you want to read about my experience with Zaken, go back to the first post and work back through the blog. Be sure to read the comments--they can be very enlightening.

If you are really serious about making money, though I cannot say whether the Zaken Corp is a scam or not, I will say that there is at least one program I have tried and made decent money with, and that is Mystery Shopping. With Zaken, you have no way of knowing how much your effort will get; with mystery shopping, you go out to a shop knowing exactly how much you will need to spend and how much you will earn. It helped me pay off my credit card after my daughter was born, and I highly recommend it. The Mystery Shopping Directory here is the very one I bought into and used, and it more than paid for itself in a couple of weeks.

For other ways to earn money, just look at the sidebar to the left. I try to keep this as up-to-date as possible. Also you can see what I'm doing on Twitter over there too! Feel free to contact me through my profile if you have any questions.

I thought I would give this blog one more update, because I know people are still finding and reading it. I just read a few of the comments and they are very enlightening--some of them probably more than the blog itself. If you are considering trying Zaken, it would be well worth your time to read them, especially those on the blog before this one.

But my main reason for wanting to update this blog is that I understand that people looking to work for Zaken (and wanting to make sure it's not a scam) are the ones that visit this site, mostly. Therefore I want to let you know about a work-from-home opportunity that, it my opinion, is much more feasible than Zaken. You can read about it in my other blog, Vibe in the Valley. That blog will be, like this one, an ongoing commentary on my experience in this venture. And as of July 5, I can say that it's working for me--and I failed in many previous attempts at home business, so that's saying something. So if you're looking for a legitimate home business, at least take a look. It might be the answer you are looking for. I would suggest, though, that whether you think the business is right for you, that you go ahead and sign up and order the product to try. You may decide you want to take it whether or not you work the business. I personally don't ever want to be without it again. But go to the Vibe in the Valley blog to read more about it.

Alternately, feel free to check out the recommended links at the left. If you have any questions about any of them, don't hesitate to contact me (through my profile).

Updated 4/21/08.

My sincerest apologies for not updating this blog earlier. I had my baby October 30, 2006 and have been busy ever since.

Here's what happened. With a baby coming, I knew I would not be able to work on the business (and was I ever right!) so I called told them I was going to return it, and then I did. They issued a prompt refund to my husband's credit card--not just for the original price, but also for the shipping. The only part we lost was the $10 for rushing the shipping, but that's okay. We weren't expecting to even get the shipping back!

So my conclusions? I don't really think it's a scam, but it could have been advertised more realistically. I hope those who are really trying out the business will post their results here on this blog under the comments and keep it going.

For those interested in home businesses, other than Zaken, take a look at the links I have to the left of the blog. Now that my baby's a bit older (almost 5 months now), I have a bit of time to look into this kind of thing. I'm experimenting with mystery shopping and also doing a bit of sewing/mending on the side, besides taking care of my baby and my husband. I will be keeping a running list of mystery shopping companies that I believe to be legit (that is, ones that have paid me). As for the sewing, if you live in the Rio Grande Valley area (or are willing to pay shipping), you can contact me at mrs.reynoso@gmail.com if you need sewing done. I have over 10 years of sewing experience. If you have problems getting clothes to fit, I can also make patterns customized to your figure. As of this writing, I am still learning, so my prices are very low. But in a few months I hope to get lots of experience, so in a few years I probably will start charging more, so get me early if you can!

Thank you all for reading and commenting.

9/27/06

Latest Update

I'm sure everyone that is monitoring this blog is dying to know how I'm doing, so I thought I'd give you a quick update.

On Monday and Tuesday, I spent a little over an hour each day making phone calls. The importer section of the local phone book has proved to be the most productive. In those two days, I found 4 companies with excess merchandise. However, all 4 companies are currently in the "let me check my warehouse and see what exactly we have" stage. Two of them know what but not how much, the other two don't know what for sure.

This made me realize that it's not quite as simple as they make it in the manual makes it out to be. It might take a few days from the time you find a lead to the time you get the information about it off to Zaken. But I figure I have at least two weeks yet before the course is due back, so I'm not worried. The more I deal with the company (Zaken), the more I feel it has to be legit. How could they make money if they weren't really in the liquidation business? If they only made money off of stuff people order from them (courses, stationery, directories, etc), how could they maintain such a sophisticated office system (if you call their main office, you get a list of several phone options, and some of those options have more than one person at the end of them). Why would they have such a big facility (you can see pictures at their website). I know there are people that complain that the business isn't what it was advertised to be. Maybe so. I would like to see them un-sensationalize their ads a bit. But honestly, just think what it would take to get into such a business on your own--all the money it would take, for instance. They make it very easy for you. So I'm not complaining.

So far today I haven't done much calling (thanks to a head cold), but was able to eliminate a few numbers (one dealt in fresh produce, and the others were wrong numbers) and send one company my business card (by fax--don't you love technology). I have a goal of finding at least one lead every day. Considering that my last two days netted me two each, I figure if I don't find one today, it's ok. I got a list of local manufacturing companies and spent an hour or so trying to sort out the ones that make consumer products and copying the information to my list of places to call. Whatever happens, I don't ever want to run out of leads.

I think I'm going to go eat lunch and then take a nap. If there's any time left, I might make a few more calls. I probably won't make another post on this blog until I have some definite progress to report (such as finishing my end of a deal with a company), but feel free to write if you want to know how things are at the moment.

Forgive the week's delay in updating this blog, but thanks to some stressful days, last week of work (outside the home), and possible bout of tendonitis in my hip (making it impossible to walk without pain), I haven't been online for a few days and honestly did nothing with the Zaken business last week. However, now that I am home full time, with nothing better to do (except clean, which it still hurts too much to do much of), I figured I would get started.

Current Progress

I have decided to spend a minimum of an hour and a half every day--45 minutes in the morning and 45 in the afternoon making phone calls. Today I am spending more, because I found someone who is interested, but he said to call his wife at the office and she's not going to be in for at least another half hour. I'm eager to see how this works out.

This was actually the last person I reached after calling a whole list of companies. All the entries under "Manufacturing" in the local phone book turned out to be useless. A lot of them were companies that represent manufacturers, and therefore have no warehouse. One of them gave me a number where I could call and get a list of local US side manufacturers (US side because we live so close to the border of Mexico that they have to specify which side of the Rio Grande River!). I called and gave them my email. If I don't get that list in a couple of days, I will call back and see what happened.

What looks like it will be my best bet from the phone book is the list of importers. For some reason, the first entry turned out to be a day care center, and the second one no one answered. The third one is the guy I mentioned above that told me to call his wife. He sounded very interested. He also spoke very little English, so it's a good thing I speak Spanish! I loosely translated my spiel to him, and he sounded very interested.

It's about a week and a half since we got the Quiksell course. That leaves us with about two and a half weeks to test it. If I can get at least one contact a day that has merchandise to liquidate, it shouldn't be long before I get a commission. At least, I hope so.

If there are any associates out there that are reading this blog, if you would like to share your experiences, you may do so by posting a comment. I would like to see how this is working for others. Everyone has unique perspectives and opportunities to contribute. For example, being so close to Mexico, I have a potential advantage with local importers, since I am locally based. I expect this will be one of my best sources of products (though I could be counting my chickens before they hatch). We'll see what happens.

They Answered My Email!

That's right. I got an answer, just a little later than I expected. I am going to post one of the answers verbatim, because I think it better than my paraphrase of the answer I got on the phone the day before. It's the answer to that question about why they reopen and close the offer from time to time. I think it is self-explanatory, so I present it here without further comment.

Stated as simply as possible, the total number of participating business associates tends to be in constant flux. Occaisionally we manage to reach the "quota" (goal) of 150 actively working, steadily-producing-merchandise business associates. At this point, no additional applicants are accepted ("closed"). For various reasons (usually poor or failing health, family/personal circumstance related reasons, etc.) some associates will drop-out over a period of time. Some will even cash-in their eligible refunds and "retire" from working their business. Then, our offer to accept new business associates will go out (re-open) again, as we try once again to build up our quota to the desired level. So, at that point, our offer becomes "open" again.

A Few Other Things

Another new associate (who, incidentally, received his course the same day we did) found a website that seems to be the answer to at least one complaint about the corporation. Before we purchased the course, we were told that they would show us how to get leads to call without it putting a dime on our phone bill. Maybe Zaken Corp won't like me to tell you this, but I'm going to anyway. The "secret" is ordering a directory of toll free numbers. However, this is now available for free on the Internet (I notified them of it, so they can include the link when they update the course). For any current associates (and anyone else that may have need of it), here's the link: http://inter800.com/

There are also lots of sources on the Internet. Just searching for certain catagories in Yellowpages.com has provided me with enough leads to keep me busy for several weeks, if not months. Even the local telephone book has some leads I can work with. I will probably start with them first.

It's looking better and better all the time. Now I just need to write a starter phone script and practise making it not sound like I am reading it, and I can start calling.

Also, for any associates out there, you may find this interesting, as well. Yesterday I printed 10 business cards on our printer, and I took one to work with me to show my co-worker. She looked it over and said it was very nice. Then she said, "Did you only bring one?" I said, "Yes, why?" "Because I know someone who I could give it to." "Then take it, of course!" So she took it.

On the way home, I did a brainstorm and thought that since she has lived here for a while, and since she used to be in business here, she just might have some connections that could help me. When I see her Monday, I'm going to ask if she would like to help me by distributing business cards. She would write her name on the back, and if anyone with one of the cards she referred contacts me and we land a deal, I'll give her a percentage of my commission as a thank you. Then I thought of someone else that might be able to do something like that, too. He actually lives in Mexico, but he's a retailer there, so I thought he might be able to make me a list of local exporters (from Mexico to the US), and I could offer him a similar deal. I might find others who could get me leads as well, and then I could write off (for taxs purposes) what I pay them as advertising.

Until next time........

Not sure what's with Zaken Corp and answering emails, but I haven't received a reply. Which is fine, because I just called them and got all my questions answered (for the moment, of course).

Closing and Reopening

Remember from a previous blog how I was told that they reopen and close a lot? Here's what it's all about. They like to have a certain amount of business coming in from the associates that they have. If they get low on work, they open it up for more associates. Of course, not all of the ones that order the course stick with the program; also, some work only a few hours a week while others work it like a full-time job. So they reopen the opportunity when they need more workers, and close it when they have enough.

Name Discrepancy

Some may have noticed that in some places that Mr. Zaken's first name is written as T. Ron, while in other places it is Tiran. This puzzled me, but apparently they thought in the past that Tiran looked foreign (as if "Zaken" doesn't!), and thought T. Ron would be easier to use. But now they just use his real name (and Tiran is his real name).

Refund?

Apparently, we were rushed the package. It would normally have taken 2 weeks to get to us, and it only took 6 days, so I'm not going to contest the $10. Especially if Rafael starts his job Monday, $10 won't be a big deal. And anyhow, maybe we can make the program work and then $10 will be superfluous.

Company Name

We have officially chosen the name "Valley Liquidations" as our company name. The name is just to give us credibility (most people we talk to won't know we're working out of a home office, using Word to fax documents to them). For tax purposes, we will be getting a 1099 at the end of the year, which is what I figured.

This is something that anyone who needs to send the occasional fax should keep in mind. Microsoft Word allows you to send one-page faxes. You just set up your document and go to the print dialog box (under File--the icon will send it to the default printer). You have to be connected to a phone line (through the modem, even if you have high speed internet), and if you use dial-up like us, you have to not be connected to the Internet before it can send.

For those who want to include their signature in the fax, you can scan it with a scanner (make sure the file size is cropped so that it doesn't scan a whole page!). It will give you a jpeg, probably. Then insert the picture into Word and position it where you want it. You will want to edit the text wrapping to put the picture behind the text, so that if you are one of those with a fancy, sweeping signature, it won't move the text around when you place it. Thought you might like that bit of free advice.

How Do I Know They'll Pay Me?

This question is very legitimate, and I was told they get it a lot. How do I know they will pay me--and not just keep 100% of the money? What kind of assurance do I have, other than their word?

Simple logic makes it clear, I think. They have been in business for 11 years. Even the BBB report on them, bad though it is, never reports complaints of unpaid commissions. If they circumvented the finder, they would go out of business really fast, because you can't survive with the refund offers they have (which are very extensive, taking in just about every situation). They have admitted to less-than-perfect business practices in the past and are working hard to change their reputation--and withholding commissions wouldn't make them look very good, I'm sure! But I figure we can deal with that on a case-by-case basis.

Another somewhat related issue is deals that don't go through. Suppose I find some merchandise, but they can't find a buyer. That means it doesn't sell, and that I don't get a commission. Oh well, that's life. I need to keep trying. If a potential seller says, "Let's give it a try with this one item, and then if it works, I'll offer you the rest of my inventory," I should try to encourage him to try several things at once. Chances are, if he has 10 items, at least some will sell; and it would be very sad if the one item he selected to test were the one that didn't sell. It's a matter of being professional, I guess. I'm glad I have sales experience. My husband does too. I'll have to dig up some of the persistence I learned knocking doors to get started. But I have a feeling that if we can make it work, once we get our first commission, it'll get easier! I know it was that way with selling books door to door!

Also, for anyone who has the course, there is a line on page 55 about reimbursing the seller. Just ignore that. It's something old that they don't do anymore, but they haven't updated the manual.

Check back soon for more updates