Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

November 5th 2006,

Hello StartupNation Community,

One year has past and now I am a member of the B.B.B.. Happy One Year Anniversary. Question: Being a member of B.B.B.  is it really good for an e-commerce business?        &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &nb sp;         &am p;nb sp;         &am p;am p;nb sp;    Achievements, ladies get ready for this. "Cambridge Who`s Who." Sent me this letter. "It is my pleasure to inform you are being considered for inclusion into the 2006/2007 "Cambridge Who`s Who Among Executive and Professional Women " Honors Edition" of the Registry.. The 2006/2007 edition of the Registry will include biographies of our country`s most accomplished women. Inclusion is considered by many as the highest mark of achievement". Pretty cool     This happen with me not knowing how. Surprise! Persistent does have it`s rewards. This happen without me making a sale.     My question: Achievement? or Money? Which do you prefer if   both does not happen at the same time? Or with Achievements sales will follow? Things to pondor;          ; ;           ; ;    

 

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Yours Truly, Rose M. Palinkas, secondhandroseboutique.com

There`s an interesting, albeit odd discussion taking place in the Pay-it-Forward thread, as to if it`s a scam or not. There`s a Web site out there claiming the originator of the business is a fraud, and the overall thing is a scam.

In rebuttal, various SuN community members who are part of the PIF business propose the business is valid, and an excellent way to generate an income at low startup investment.

The hinge in the argument is a) is the site that says there`s a scam only a disgruntled employee, and b) is the BBB status being presented a fake.

To my way of thinking, although I almost never have used the BBB in my life, I know it`s there. In almost all cases, I`ve been able to find out about a business, either through referrals, taking a chance, or whatever other trust concepts people use. But I know the BBB is there.

Now here comes an e-commerce site that suddenly falls into question. I have a hard time believing that someone---a disgruntled member---could put together an exact replica of the Better Business Bureau site, simply for the purpose of inserting a bad review. As such, it`s a pretty persuasive argument against the program.

Most people know the BBB exists. Not all that many may ever use it, but they know it`s there. I`d argue that it`s a form of either insurance, or a testimonial.

As to your other question, there`s a great story I recently heard. A fella walking on the beach steps on a bottle and out comes a genie. It offers the guy 1 wish: money, wisdom, or love---his choice. The guy makes a decision.

That night, talking with his buddies in the bar, he tells them the story. They ask what`d he choose? He tells them, "Wisdom."

His friends then, ask him, "Now that you`re wise, what do you know?"

He replies, "I should`ve taken the money!"

:-) I`ll go with the money, and the achievement can come later.

We had a BBB discussion a while back.  In a nutshell, my theory was that only my Grandma thinks it`s important.  Younger people know the power of the internet.  If you mess with someone, you`ll see your name being dragged through the mud all over the internet and that will do plenty of damage. 

Also, the BBB has no teeth.  The employer I worked for in college got weekly letters from the BBB and he tossed them in the trash. 

IMO, they are irrelevant in today`s world.  But, when they call, they make you feel like crap from not jumping at the chance to join them. 

~Kim

 

CraigL and ScrapBizKim... You couldn`t be more right.

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

On this I disagree with the previous posts, the BBB is not a guarantee of quality, but it is a guarantee that nobody has complained about that company. If you are a BBB member you should display your membership, if a customer has an issue with you or your company he/she will complain to the BBB, that will create a record of issues and whether they were satisfactorily resolved for the customer or not.

As a consumer I am far more likely to trust a site if it has a BBB logo on it, and the BBB has a record of the company, issues, no issues, resolved disputes etc. it gives me an idea of what to expect from that company. Three years in business 4 issues all satisfactorily resolved, I’ll deal with that company, 4 years 100+ issues no resolution to most of them I’ll hightail out of there.

The BBB logo is  a condensed and simplified version of what companies get about each other from Dun and Bradstreet for several hundreds of dollars. The BBB logo is a public record of the company that potential customers can see for free, the fact that a company is willing to pay the BBB to keep such a record and make it available for free alone, makes them more trustworthy in my opinion. It wont tell you that it is a good company, it will tell you that they don’t know of anybody that has complained about them, and usually people are not shy about complaining. 

So you all got me thinking... "How does the BBB actually influence your shopping habits?"

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words