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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RTev who wrote (5036)	2/13/1999 7:00:00 PM
From: tang	Respond to of 41369

Any comment on this? (personally, I think it is a wise decision by AOL) AOL ends marketing scheme, jilting users By Jim Hu Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 12, 1999, 1:00 p.m. PT update When Ron Cordas paid $495 to become a recruiter for AOL Select, a "multilevel marketing" program similar to sales schemes made famous by Amway, he felt the fee was paltry compared to the potentially high returns of sitting at the top of a sales structure for a respectable brand. But just a month after applying for the program and paying the fee to become a "senior training manager," Cordas and others who signed on to AOL Select were abruptly notified that the service has been put on hold. Leaving them--as well as their recruited sales representatives—scratching their heads and fearing the end of a potentially lucrative sales scheme. "I would like an answer right now," said Cordas. "The company is not accepting phone calls, and no one is commenting. All we know is that AOL is ceasing involvement in this joint venture." AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose would not comment on why the program was apparently canceled because it is against AOL policy to "get into the specific details of its marketing programs." But Primrose said that Monument Communications, a multilevel marketing company that is AOL's partner in the venture, would refund these members. "Monument has told us that anyone who applied to be a part of this program has been refunded," she said. Monument executives could not be reached for comment.

To: RTev who wrote (5036)	2/14/1999 12:59:00 AM
From: Lee Martin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

Hi RTev, Just took a peek at the PRGY site. Glad to see that the $9.95 teaser rate is only good for 3 months and then they want you to pay $19.95/mo afterward. That's only $2 less than I'm paying now. Actually I can't remember the last time we had to pay for AOL. My wife has a credit card that earns points toward the monthly bill and believe me she's does her part to do enough shopping so that we may never have to pay. PRGY does offer a $15.95/mo rate if you pay for a year up front. I don't think many people will want to get billed up front and commit to a year long contract when so much is changing with the net. Heck, I read on PRGY site that they are almost finished upgrading their network to 56k. Whoopi! By the time they are finished AOL will be rolling out ADSL, and if our bill goes to $40/mo I'm confident that my wife will be able spend enough of "OUR" $ so that we will still get it free most of the time. Maybe one day her shopping will pay for our long distance and television service as well. She does nearly all of her shopping in the mall but I bet if AOL offered some kind of incentive, say doubling the points earned if the card was used at an AOL merchant website, she would seriously consider doing more shopping online. For all I know they may already do this. I don't do much shopping myself as my wife does enough for 2 or 3 families. Actually I do need to shop for a digital camera so I can put some of the junk (actually stuff that she HAD to have two years ago but now no longer has room for, so it's sitting in my garage) on EBAY and get rid of it. God help me when she finds out about EBAY! I guess the bottom line is IMHO $2 is not enough of a difference to get people that are paying for AOL to switch, much less those that are using cards or some other plan? to reduce or eliminate their monthly subscription cost. Sorry for rambling on... time for bed. Regards,Lee