Discount Offer from OP in Exchange for Business

[Bellavista44]

I’m in a unique position. I just had a Mexican dealer offer me discounts to advertise him on Pharmacy Reviewers. He is an up and comer but fell through the cracks when DB closed. He is successfully getting orders out pronto.

I told him I would post my experience on the board; he counter offered discounts to bring business. Never happened to me before. Not going to happen on my shift.

Although seducing, I’m not dumb enough to accept. I already see the possible future of such a deal. Maybe one day I’ll be poor or desperate or both and knowing he has been so good to me, when others stop receiving I’ll be defending him thinking maybe he is just going through a rough time. Then new people would order based on pro-arguments and lose their money too if I defended him when others weren’t receiving and he went belly up.

Why would I accept this over building relationships with people who are in the same life raft as me? I know how desperate I feel if I have no OP. I’m sure many of my community members feel the same way. We have to watch out for each other. I’d like to be on this vessel for years. I can’t say the same thing for any OP I have done business with.

I will post my experience with OPs and will not pledge allegiance to one or any. If I have a reliable source and I don't receive, you will be the first to hear about it. If I get an order, you will know. My loyalty remains with the rest of the passengers on board the PR.

Bella

[Brokain]

Hello Bella,
I used to run into this quiet a lot when I was running and modding forums, Thou an odd position to be in actually it can be useful in helping the forum you supports community via discounts shared with all.

Good advice and knowledge of a legit vendor is not being a schill.

-bk

[drboris]

Thanks for sharing this with the board @Bellavista44. I think these attempts to bribe people happen more often than most realize. It shows that PR users have leverage though! @Brokain makes an important point too, it's not necessarily always bad, if the vendor is actually legit and everyone's getting a good price because they're selling in bulk and giving out discounts whilst their feedback is closely monitored. When it gets ugly is when negative feedback is deleted, which seems to happen at some forums.

[Brokain]

I agree 200%
As long as the feedback is truly objective its all good. Very often that is sadly not what happens and that is when the line is crossed.

-bk

[rhfutureghost]

I don't mean to be a smartass, but what was the reason for posting this? To make it clear that we should trust you more because your allegiance can not be bought?

I do appreciate the honesty but I am just wondering what is the real point behind a thread like this?

[Bellavista44]

@rhfutureghost To be honest, I have been reading threads where people are still staunchly supporting vendors even when others are not receiving and then new people read the support statements and take a risk and lose money.

I'm not saying those people are doing this but after the offer was made to me and then I read these situations, I began wondering if I accepted the vendor's offer would I get bent on defending him because he was so good to me? Even innocently I might think if the vendor is so good to me, he is good to others, surely he is just having a tough time. In this case, is my reporting perception warped?

I wrote this because I suspect these offers occur often and I would like people to think twice before they are seduced by one.


Bella

By the way, I screwed myself by posting this. Probably be blacklisted. But I don't want people getting burned all the time. Just need to raise the level of awareness.

[Swizzle]

I’m in a unique position. I just had a Mexican dealer offer me discounts to advertise him on Pharmacy Reviewers. He is an up and comer but fell through the cracks when DB closed. He is successfully getting orders out pronto.

I told him I would post my experience on the board; he counter offered discounts to bring business. Never happened to me before. Not going to happen on my shift.

Although seducing, I’m not dumb enough to accept. I already see the possible future of such a deal. Maybe one day I’ll be poor or desperate or both and knowing he has been so good to me, when others stop receiving I’ll be defending him thinking maybe he is just going through a rough time. Then new people would order based on pro-arguments and lose their money too if I defended him when others weren’t receiving and he went belly up.

Why would I accept this over building relationships with people who are in the same life raft as me? I know how desperate I feel if I have no OP. I’m sure many of my community members feel the same way. We have to watch out for each other. I’d like to be on this vessel for years. I can’t say the same thing for any OP I have done business with.

I will post my experience with OPs and will not pledge allegiance to one or any. If I have a reliable source and I don't receive, you will be the first to hear about it. If I get an order, you will know. My loyalty remains with the rest of the passengers on board the PR.

Bella

You know, us joining together here is for this sole purpose right here. I would like to extend a large thank you for that. It's kinda like a musician that made great music for years and then finally this mainstream producer comes along and shows him how much money he could make and then that musician changes his music style, goes all mainstream, and sells out to his loyal fans. Great Job Bella!! very happy to hear what you did and look forward to your future reviews!!

[rhfutureghost]

@rhfutureghost To be honest, I have been reading threads where people are still staunchly supporting vendors even when others are not receiving and then new people read the support statements and take a risk and lose money.

I'm not saying those people are doing this but after the offer was made to me and then I read these situations, I began wondering if I accepted the vendor's offer would I get bent on defending him because he was so good to me? Even innocently I might think if the vendor is so good to me, surely he is just having a tough time. In this case, is my reporting perception warped?

I wrote this because I suspect these offers occur often and I would like people to think twice before they are seduced by this type of offer.

Bella

@Bella I appreciate the candidness. It is probably true that these behind close door deals do occur, and people do get ripped off because of them.

I can understand vendor loyalty, and yeah to be honest if I worked with a specific vendor then I would most likely stand up for him/her even if/when they go sour.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by Bellavista44
I will post my experience with OPs and will not pledge allegiance to one or any. If I have a reliable source and I don't receive, you will be the first to hear about it. If I get an order, you will know. My loyalty remains with the rest of the passengers on board the PR.


@Bellavista44, BRAVO!!! Nice to see that your loyalty is with us members, & not with the vendors. I respect your decision 100%, although tempting, you have shown us you can't be bought. Great Post, Great Job!

[Bellavista44]

@Brokain , @drboris, @Swizzle Thanks for the support on this topic.

I can understand vendor loyalty, and yeah to be honest if I worked with a specific vendor then I would most likely stand up for him/her even if/when they go sour.

Yes I understand. Like I said, i would never say someone else is standing up for a vendor based on this offer. Maybe there are good vendors out there. I just keep an eye out for people in my situation and they keep an eye out for me.

Like I said I have a feeling many people get this invite. I only received it because DB went down and this is a new board. Normally i probably wouldn't get a discount invite.

When I PM’d the member that introduced the vendor about his delivery methods, she told me the offer had been made to her but didn’t accept it and then I told her the offer was made to me and we just both felt posting our experiences was the best way to proceed.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have problem with OPs doing this. I just want posters to factor this in when ordering decisions are made. Also serves as reminder to people who took the discount and are now over defending an OP.

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Oh didn't see your post @Peaches. Thanks!

[Otter Bob]

I’m in a unique position. I just had a Mexican dealer offer me discounts to advertise him on Pharmacy Reviewers. He is an up and comer but fell through the cracks when DB closed. He is successfully getting orders out pronto.

I told him I would post my experience on the board; he counter offered discounts to bring business. Never happened to me before. Not going to happen on my shift.

Although seducing, I’m not dumb enough to accept. I already see the possible future of such a deal. Maybe one day I’ll be poor or desperate or both and knowing he has been so good to me, when others stop receiving I’ll be defending him thinking maybe he is just going through a rough time. Then new people would order based on pro-arguments and lose their money too if I defended him when others weren’t receiving and he went belly up.

Why would I accept this over building relationships with people who are in the same life raft as me? I know how desperate I feel if I have no OP. I’m sure many of my community members feel the same way. We have to watch out for each other. I’d like to be on this vessel for years. I can’t say the same thing for any OP I have done business with.

I will post my experience with OPs and will not pledge allegiance to one or any. If I have a reliable source and I don't receive, you will be the first to hear about it. If I get an order, you will know. My loyalty remains with the rest of the passengers on board the PR.

Bella

Unbelievable. That's all I can say. Some people aren't for sale. Excellent response to this kind of garbage. Thanks for letting us know @Bellavista44

[kineticode]

Knowing that this vendor reads this forum,I hope he does not get pissed off, and disappear with a wad of cash. Unfortunately,revenge is a common practice among angered individuals.Even though you did not mention this vendor by name,curiosity will get members to examine your previous posts;thereby revealing his name.I am trying to put myself in his place, because I always give gifts to people for getting me customers, and I hope that is not an unethical business practice.

[Peaches]

Knowing that this vendor reads this forum,I hope he does not get pissed off, and disappear with a wad of cash. Unfortunately,revenge is a common practice among angered individuals.Even though you did not mention this vendor by name,curiosity will get members to examine your previous posts;thereby revealing his name.I am trying to put myself in his place, because I always give gifts to people for getting me customers, and I hope that is not an unethical business practice.

I believe what @Bellavista44 is trying to say here is not making the vendor out to be bad by asking his name to be known since as she has stated, he is a good vendor who has fallen between the cracks due to the unexpected shutdown of DB.
She is just trying to point out that there are in some cases that people do take up these offers, then when a vendor starts scamming, either selective or outright, the ones getting the discounts will continue to defend that vendor, & not consider the people who are getting scammed.
She just doesn't want to fall into that same situation if she becomes broke or desperate, as that would be very easy to do. Bella is an honest person, & you can read that in her posts, who believes that it is better to stay away from this type of offer,so that she can be totally honest with the members here when & if a vendor starts to have problems.
There is no problem with a vendor wanting to get known, & to offer discounts to those who will help him, but her choice was a good one, & she won't be swayed by the discounts to give good reports when & if that vendor becomes bad.
As for others who do take these offers, I have no problem with that either, but when I see them sticking up for the vendor rather than the people getting scammed, that I have a problem with, & I believe that is what Bella is stating in her post here.
I'm proud of what Bella did, good going girl!

[kineticode]

The vendor was not asking for bella to post false positive reviews,but that is how he is being portrayed.It would be up to bella to report the truth no matter how the vendor performs,even if she did accept the gifts from him.He must be reading these posts,because he asked her to promote his site on PR.Making a secret offer public, may have embarassed the vendor,which could also damage his reputation.Honesty is a great thing,but sparing a so called friend from public humiliation would also be a great thing.

[Bellavista44]

He must be reading these posts,because he asked her to promote his site on PR.Making a secret offer public, may have embarassed the vendor,which could also damage his reputation.Honesty is a great thing,but sparing a so called friend from public humiliation would also be a great thing.

You have a point about damaging his reputation, I think. By all means, the transaction was excellent and I posted this too soon. My apologies to the PR board members.

All the vendors do this, no need for embarrassment or humiliation! We are not talking about joe schmo here. We are talking about OPs and i won't elaborate on all that that embraces. These guys aren't the wholesome girl next door.

...OPs are not my friends. They are business associates that I watch my back with. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

As DrBoris and Brokain pointed out, this practice is not bad in itself .

Once again, the only point is that if there are mixed reviews on delivering, be discerning.

Glad I am not in a popularity contest.

[Peaches]

[QUOTE=Bellavista44;67550]
He is an up and comer but fell through the cracks when DB closed. He is successfully getting orders out pronto.

If I get an order, you will know.

I told him I would post my experience on the board



I have not noticed anywhere where @Bellavista44 has given this vendor a bad reputation, & he has no reason to feel embarrassed for asking someone to post on his behalf.

All she was sharing in her post is that he had offered her discounts to post positive feed back on him, & she is doing this by posting in his thread about her experiences, but she is doing so on her own, & not because she is getting discounts.
If anything, she may have given him more exposure by this post, & getting any exposure is better than none at all.

Bella's whole point in her post was not to bash this vendor, but to point out to members that sometimes, when people take these offers, they will defend their vendor when others are getting scammed, & unfortunately by them defending that vendor, they may possibly cause another member to order, who may end up as one of the unlucky ones.

I believe by reading Bella's posts throughout this forum, you will see in at least one thread that a vendor is starting to slip, but they have people raving about how great the vendor is, & could care less for those that have not received their orders, & continue to use the vendor. Why? Because the vendor is treating them well for whatever the reason may be, & they have a hard time believing that their vendor would possibly scam another person who may not have the same standing with them.

I personally will not order from a vendor who has selectively scammed a few people, I don't believe in giving them my money if they can't make up for the losses of other members, I think that scamming one person, is one too many, but that JMHO.

I think that Bella is trying to get it across to members that it is better sometimes to keep ourselves from becoming too trusting of the vendors, & not take into consideration that they may sometimes go bad.

If this vendor is an honest one, he will have no problems getting customers if there are good reviews on his behalf in his thread, & Bella will only post her honest experiences on him, & if he should turn bad, she will honestly post that. An honest vendor will go far as long as he doesn't turn bad.

Ask yourself one question, if a vendor starts to go bad, who do you want on your side? Someone who posts great reviews because they are receiving discounts, or someone who will stand by you when a vendor goes bad, & sticks up for you rather than the vendor, because they have nothing to lose.
I would want someone like Bella on my side, who is posting honestly about her experiences because she wants to help out the members, & not someone who is posting great experiences because they have something to gain, & again, JMHO!

Just want to add one other thing. I would never fault anyone who takes discounts & promotes an honest vendor, as long as they keep in mind that at any given moment, their vendor can go bad, & I do believe that there are many people who will NOT continue to defend their vendor if they see this happening, even though it may cost them their discounts.

[SoTired]

@rhfutureghost To be honest, I have been reading threads where people are still staunchly supporting vendors even when others are not receiving and then new people read the support statements and take a risk and lose money. (...)
Bella
By the way, I screwed myself by posting this. Probably be blacklisted. But I don't want people getting burned all the time. Just need to raise the level of awareness.

I have to thank you personally, @Bellavista, for posting about your experience. I have been a victim of this kind of attitude.

People receiving bonuses and relentlessly attacking me on a thread for posting about a negative experience. It went as far as accusation of MY being dishonest and having special interests. I was really taken aback, as I am relatively new to the forum experience. I'll admit, I was hurt too. This is not the kind of exchange we usually find on PR.

My only option was to withdraw completely from the discussion, as the tone was escalating and my answers were obviously just nourishing the fire. Even so, new attacks on my probity kept on being posted for days after I had become totally silent.

If find that it is great that you had the courage and integrity to let all of us know that these practices of offering 'payback' for positive posting are more common than we might think. It certainly put things in perspective for me.

You have won MY popular vote

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And, @Peaches,

You have my vote too !

[kmontayne]

Isn't it here where a selective scammer starts? For example offers discounts for public reviews, to generate traffic, once his amount of traffic is reached he turns the switch and sends either garbage or fake products, and then switches name or alias and proceeds with his scam once more.

Getting offers like this is something you have to be careful with because you really don't know what these vendors are up to. And getting involved too much can cause a big problem and a big loss to the rest of the community members.

What @Bellavista44 I feel is trying to do here is to bring awareness to people about this, the actions and consequences that may occur by just taking this offer. Although saving an extra buck is essential, a big loss can be made to your other peers and friends.

[Peaches]

@SoTired Thanks, & just wanted to let you know that you have a helpful post rating coming on your very good post,(as soon as I am able to give you the thumbs up, I'm all out for now), & I know where you are coming from, I have been there myself with a particular vendor in the restricted area here, but back on the DB thread.
Trying to get people to understand that their wonderful vendor wasn't so wonderful to me, I got attacked just for posting my honest experience, some people will never believe that their wonderful vendor can go bad, really sad.
Just a side note, if people are being very hurtful towards you & you don't want it to continue because of the pain it causes you, you can always go back & edit out what you said. But personally, I wouldn't, you have to stand up for your freedom of speech, & trust me, I have noticed as the thread goes on, the people who are defending their vendors so hard, eventually get scammed themselves, & still, I feel bad for them because they didn't read the warning signs.

[Bellavista44]

@So Tired. Seems so weird you were attacked for posting negative feedback. I'm really sorry to hear this. Confuses me. Thanks for your vote!

Isn't it here where a selective scammer starts? For example offers discounts for public reviews, to generate traffic, once his amount of traffic is reached he turns the switch and sends either garbage or fake products, and then switches name or alias and proceeds with his scam once more.

Getting offers like this is something you have to be careful with because you really don't know what these vendors are up to. And getting involved too much can cause a big problem and a big loss to the rest of the community members.

What @Bellavista44 I feel is trying to do here is to bring awareness to people about this, the actions and consequences that may occur by just taking this offer. Although saving an extra buck is essential, a big loss can be made to your other peers and friends.

Yes, thank you, this is the case. I do believe the OP I ordered from is in full delivery mode maybe just not to me anymore. I wouldn't use me as a referral although I have no idea if he reads the board. I am starting to feel bad because I doubt he is any different then any other Mexican OP and he is prompt and polite and needs business. They probably all offer discounts. Who knows, he may be willing to offer it to the whole community.

I just wouldn't take them up on it on a personal level. I don't want to be in a compromising position. It just isn't where my loyalties lie.