The most satisfying purchase I ever made was a $4.95 plug-in that made me a little less than $25 in the same week. (Yes, Commissions Automator. And I don’t have to do the whole FTC required disclaimer because if you click on the link, you’ll know that it’s the type of product where the amount of subsequent buyers revert to you.)

The least satisfying purchase I ever made was a $37 course that  never came with a course, it just dumped a whole load of book on me  and said “Read these.”  The books were not only next to  useless, they were also available elsewhere for free.

Somewhere in the middle is a $27 blogging ebook that came with an upsell which was more or less useless, unless you bought a second upsell. The ebook itself was also unsatisfying in that all of the information in it was also available elsewhere for free. The difference, however,  is that the unsatisfying blogging ebook pissed me off enough to try to do everything in it, step-by-step, so I could, in good conscience, go back to Clickbank and ask for my money back.

Following the steps didn’t earn me millions, but I did end up with a workable, earning site, which was more than I had before  I started. I still wouldn’t sell or promote  it if it were the last Clickbank product on earth, because I’m sure there re other similar products that would offer my clients a better and more satisfying buying experience, but I’m not going to ask for my money back. But I’m not going to slam it too much either, because it did its job, more or less.

So here are  the two lessons for newbies like me.

1. Everything works. Nothing works. Seriously, if you buy something on the internet (even if all you’ve purchased it with was your name, email and time) please give it a try before you write it off. And if it really doesn’t, heck, ask for your money back. Everything works if you pay attention to it and work on it. Nothing works if you don’t. Some work better than others, but “better” is still relative. And an unused $4.95 product can NOT WORK just as well as a $1997 product if you’re not planning on using it.

2. You can sell a bad product to a person once. If you’re lucky and frustrate that person enough, he’ll give up and just concentrate on something else, and maybe just ask for his money back. If that person grows up to be a whiz-kid superaffiliate  no thanks to you, however, your ass is grass.

When you’re someone who believes in the maxim “If you can’t say anything good, etc.” why put up a review site at all?

I’ve always thought it was my inner Holden Caulfield– this outraged need to save unsuspecting newbies from crashing and burning off the side of a cliff. There’s still that, but after several months, my perspective’s changed a bit.

Here’s why.

The most satisfying purchase I ever made was a $4.95 plug-in that made me a little less than $25 in the same week. (Yes, Commissions Automator. And I don’t have to do the whole FTC required disclaimer because if you click on the link, you’ll know that it’s the type of product where the amount of subsequent buyers revert to you.)

The least satisfying purchase I ever made was a $37 course that  never came with a course, it just dumped a whole load of book on me  and said “Read these.”  The books were not only next to  useless, they were also available elsewhere for free.

Somewhere in the middle is a $27 blogging ebook that came with an upsell which was more or less useless, unless you bought a second upsell. The ebook itself was also unsatisfying in that all of the information in it was also available elsewhere for free. The difference, however,  is that the unsatisfying blogging ebook pissed me off enough to try to do everything in it, step-by-step, so I could, in good conscience, go back to Clickbank and ask for my money back.

Following the steps didn’t earn me millions, but I did a little more than break even, so I didn’t ask for my money back. The purchase still annoys me, but now that I have my website up and blogging more or less, I’m a little kinder in my thoughts toward it now. I’m not going to turn around and try to sell it to my list, there’s no way I can do that in good conscience, knowing that I can point them to better blogging guides and resources elsewhere.

So here’s what I’ve decided. I’ll review what I can, given what information I have. I’ll recommend  promising ones, and promote (as an affiliate) the ones I think will be the most helpful.

I’ll shut up about the stuff I don’t know but will try my best to point whoever needs information on that, to someone who does.

Because while Holden Caulfield was cool and reflected the sentiments of generations of disillusioned  adolescents everywhere, you will have to remember that he was a kid. And delusional. I still like him, but let’s face it, the kid had problems. The only way I can stand at that cliff and save everyone from a bad purchase is if I try everything myself, and I honestly doubt that’s possible.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t do what I can.