ResellerRatings.com is an affiliate network for businesses that sells their products and services to other businesses as if the business was its own. The idea behind it is simple – let's say you're selling electronics or clothing in your spare time. You could simply put them out there yourself but then what happens when someone wants to buy something from you directly instead? Well, by creating a storefront through ResellerRatings.com, you give people another option to purchase your product. And so far, thousands upon thousands of companies have used ResellerRatings' service.
But is ResellerRating legit? Is it a scam? Some would argue yes while others would argue no. So we decided to investigate further. Here at MUO, we believe in transparency and want to see if ResellerRate's claims are true. We've done some digging around and here is what we found.
The site itself offers two different types of membership options - Individual and Company. For individual memberships, each member will get one personal account where he/she can create listings, manage his/her profile and submit reviews. On top of this, users also receive access to all the features available on the website such as sending emails, managing orders, receiving payments etc... For $20 per month (or $10 per year), individuals will be able to use the full suite of tools offered on the site. If you go with the company plan, however, things change drastically. Companies can either sign up as a single entity or a franchisee. In both cases, the goal is the same – to sell your products and services to other businesses using ResellerRatings.com. If you choose the latter, you'll need to pay a monthly fee ranging anywhere between $500-$4,000 depending on size. This fee covers not only the cost of the software license but also extra fees like support, marketing materials and more.
For those who want to start small, the $500 yearly subscription should be enough, although you'd still need to invest in extra marketing material and sales collateral. But if you already operate a huge enterprise, paying $4,000 every year might seem excessive to you. That being said, even the higher-end plans come with many perks including free hosting, 24/7 customer support and unlimited advertising across multiple platforms. What's more, ResellerRatings claims that "We will always work hard to ensure that we maintain the highest level of quality." This means that any complaints about the service will be taken seriously whether they arise from users themselves or third parties.
It should come as no surprise that ResellerRatings is considered trustworthy among merchants. It boasts over 1 million active accounts and has helped countless businesses grow into big corporations. As mentioned above, the site takes customer feedback very seriously and regularly conducts audits to make sure everything is running smoothly. They also offer a 30 day money back guarantee so you know you can try it risk-free. In addition to these benefits, there are plenty more reasons why it makes sense to join ResellerRatings.com right now.
First off, it comes with a 14-day trial period. Second, it allows you to easily integrate with Shopify, Magento, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, PayPal, WooCommerce, WordPress, and more. Thirdly, ResellerRatings provides a great deal of marketing opportunities. The platform gives you control over your entire advertisement budget, allowing you to spend less without sacrificing effectiveness. Finally, since it's built specifically for eCommerce stores, you don't have to worry about compatibility issues because it works perfectly with hundreds of various plugins and integrations.
Now that we covered the main advantages of joining ResellerRatings, let's move onto the disadvantages. First off, it does take some effort to set up an account. There's a lot going on under the hood and it's easy to overlook details along the way. Secondly, after signing up, you'll find that most of the functionality isn't immediately accessible. You'll have to wait until you upgrade your membership before you gain access to advanced features such as email templates, invoices and shipping labels. Lastly, there may be times when you'll wonder if you made a good choice. After all, there are lots of competitors out there offering similar services. However, it's important to remember that ResellerRatings started out as a niche player and grew large thanks to word of mouth. Even though it's competing against giants like ClickBank and Paypal, it remains fairly unknown compared to them. Plus, it's backed by a reputable brand name and has received positive press coverage from major publications like Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Mashable, Business Insider and more.
So while it doesn't appear to be a scam, it is worth noting that ResellerRatings is definitely not perfect. While the service is relatively new, it's likely that future updates will address some of the problems that currently exist. Still, given everything else it does well, it's difficult to imagine anyone choosing otherwise.
Last but certainly not least, we must mention that ResellerRatings has recently launched a new feature called MallNado Reviews. Basically, this lets you rate local brick & mortar shops based on experience. Just click on the button below to add your review!
One thing that caught my eye during my research was how much attention Google pays to reviews. According to Google, they value user reviews highly and place a heavy emphasis on getting rid of bad ones. To help facilitate this process, they created a system known as Pigeonhole. Essentially, this tool helps identify negative comments quickly and prevents them from appearing in search results.
To begin with, you just need to log into your Google MyBusiness page and scroll down past the list of categories. Then, locate the section labeled "Reviews" and click on it. From here, you'll be presented with a dropdown menu that lists four submenus – Verified, Negative, Positive and Neutral. Selecting Verified will show you reviews written by verified Google employees and admins. Next, select Negative to view reviews left by reviewers whose profiles indicate that they aren't real humans. Afterwards, pick Positive to filter out spammy reviews and finally, select Neutral to view neutral or average reviews. These are the reviews left by actual shoppers.
As long as you keep your reviews clean and professional looking, Google won't penalize you for leaving them. In fact, they encourage you to write honest feedback whenever possible. All you have to do is head over to Google+ and post your comment publicly. Once posted, the review will automatically display in search engine results within 72 hours.
You may notice that several of the links leading away from this article lead nowhere. That's because we haven't yet finished writing our final thoughts on ResellerRatings.com. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!
A number of years ago our eCommerce company which has been operating since 2002, signed up with ResellersRaters.com (also known as "ResellerRatings"), a merchant review platform where customers can rate your business and help other shoppers who are looking for the best deals.
If you have ever shopped in an Amazon or eBay storefront you may be familiar with this concept -- retailers use third-party merchant platforms to gather feedback from their customers, so that when someone else searches for a specific item they get more information about what's available. This helps them find the best prices and products.
But did you know that there are several similar services out there, each claiming to provide a better way to do it than anyone else? And one of these companies, called Resellers Rater, claims to actually verify all customer reviews before letting people give you feedback. That sounds great right? Well we decided to take a look at whether or not this was true. We'll let you know if it checks out!
TrustPilot started back in 2012, but didn't really gain traction until 2018, after Facebook removed its ability to post public reviews. Since then, it's become one of the most popular ways for users to share opinions about businesses, especially those in tech and travel. The site lets you create profiles and add reviews, and also provides tools for managing your accounts like blocking problematic reviewers and giving negative comments time limits. But did you know that while TrustPilot says it verifies every single user account, it doesn't say exactly how?
According to the website, TrustPilot uses a combination of manual verification and automated methods. It says that it only accepts verified accounts based upon the following criteria:
- Verified by a recognized authority - For example, banks, government agencies, universities, etc.
- Authentic email address
- Valid phone numbers
- Account must be active within 90 days
- Accounts must contain 10+ positive reviews
The thing is though, many of the top brands on TrustPilot don't meet any of those requirements. So even though TrustPilot claims to verify all accounts manually, it still relies heavily on automation to ensure that bad actors aren't able to game the system.
So how does TrustPilot go about verifying accounts? To answer that question I spoke with a spokesperson for TrustPilot. She told me that each user profile goes through a series of steps including identity verification using CAPTCHA codes and IP addresses, in addition to sending emails requesting additional details like proof of ID, current mailing address, and payment method used. After that, TrustPilot sends another request asking for contact info, such as name, date of birth, and social security number. Finally, if everything looks good, they send a code via SMS/phone call to confirm. If anything looks fishy, they won't approve the profile. In fact, TrustPilot said that they've rejected some 2 million accounts over the last few years. They're pretty strict about keeping things honest.
And because the company is owned by Google, TrustPilot also includes a unique tool called ReviewSignal. Once you sign into your account, you can see which of your friends have reviewed you positively and negatively. You can also see which friends haven't reviewed you yet. When they finally do, you will receive notifications and alerts.
That brings us to the next part of the story. Like most of the big players online today, Trustpilot has had its fair share of controversy surrounding fraudulent activity.
In late 2017, Trustpilot announced that they would suspend new account registrations due to concerns related to spamming and fraud. While they later reversed course and resumed allowing new memberships, they made sure to warn consumers that they might encounter issues trying to log in. A year later, they admitted that they weren't doing enough to stop spammy behavior from infiltrating the service. And now, in 2021, the company is being sued by two separate individuals alleging that they defrauded the site of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
While the lawsuit isn't going anywhere, Trustpilot seems to be taking measures to improve both the quality and quantity of real reviews on the site. According to the Trustpilot blog post announcing the changes, the company plans to roll out new features soon that should make reviewing easier and more trustworthy. These include improved search results that show more relevant content, plus more advanced filtering options.
They also plan to expand the types of interactions allowed between users, adding more opportunities for commenting on posts and liking pages. Additionally, they plan to introduce a "verified" badge for users who consistently contribute valuable content, as opposed to just posting once or twice. And finally, they want to bring the entire experience together under one unified interface.
This is a common concern among merchants, but according to Trustpilot, it's not something they worry too much about. Instead, they focus on creating a welcoming environment for everyone. Here's why:
- Trustpilot only allows registered users to write reviews.
- There are no anonymous reviews. All reviews require registration, either through a username and password or a mobile device fingerprint.
- Reviews are moderated by humans and bots, so nothing gets approved automatically.
- They offer various mechanisms for flagging suspicious behavior, like duplicate reviews, paid reviews, and suspicious comments.
As far as fake reviews go, Trustpilot's policies seem fairly solid. However, there's always room for improvement, so expect updates to come down the road.
We already mentioned that TrustPilot is owned by Google, so it makes sense that they'd want to keep the site clean. Plus, they probably aren't hurting for money. According to their earnings report, revenue increased 17% year over year ($1.6 billion) during Q4 2019. Their total assets grew 35%, reaching $7.9 billion. Not bad, considering the pandemic forced stores to close temporarily earlier this year.
Google also owns Yelp, which is arguably the biggest player in the space. As a result, they have quite a bit of influence over the market. Which is good news for consumers, since it means a lot fewer shady practices happening. But it could mean less competition for TrustPilot, too.
Still, a lot of people love TrustPilot, and for good reason. Its straightforward approach to reviewing and moderation is refreshingly simple compared to the complex algorithms that dominate the industry. So if you're interested in learning more about TrustPilot, we recommend checking out their FAQ page. Or head straight to the homepage to learn more.
In the last couple of months we have seen some negative press about the legitimacy of ResellerRating's [No Longer Available] website as it seems to be nothing more than a place for disgruntled ex-customers to post bad reviews. This is not surprising because many people are getting their first taste of dealing with online retailers and then decide that things aren't what they expected. We've written several articles about this subject over the past few weeks but let me give you my personal experience here. A little background - in 2012 I started working at a small ecommerce business called MugsAndCupSmart (M&CS). It was one of those businesses that didn't really go anywhere until I showed them the ropes. They had no idea what SEO or SEM meant so when someone came into the store asking questions about internet marketing I was able to help out. After about six months I got bored and decided to start looking around for other jobs. The only thing holding me back from leaving was the fact that I knew there were still good customers who hadn't gotten what they wanted yet. So I stayed put for another three months before deciding to leave. Unfortunately by that time most of the best clients had already left and even if they did come back I wouldn't know much about selling anything online anymore.
As a result of all of these factors I found myself sitting at home wondering why none of the great companies I used to work for would hire me again. At least two of them contacted me after reading something I wrote on the web and asked "why don't you join us?" But because I was burned once I wasn't going to risk it again without checking everything out thoroughly. That brings us to the topic of today's article - Is Reseller Rating legit? And the answer is yes. In short, ResellerRating does provide value to both merchants and consumers. While the site itself is free to use and easy to navigate, it doesn't hurt to read through the terms & conditions just to make sure you're happy using it.
The owners of ResellerRating are DCJKs Com LLC based out of New York City. DCJKS is owned by Daniel J Kramer who also owns MallNado.com, a popular retailer review site. As far as I can tell neither of these guys are affiliated with any big name brands like Apple or Amazon. I'm guessing they bought the domain names cheap and now want to cash in on the traffic generated while trying to sell advertising space. If you look closely though, you'll notice that DCJKS' logo looks similar to the logos for Apple and Amazon. Not exactly a coincidence right?
I have never received any kind of spam email from DCJKS nor have I ever heard anyone else complain about spammers sending junk emails to their addresses. However, if you visit ResellerRatings.com you will see that Google currently lists the site as being unsafe due to possible malware and phishing attacks. According to the search engine results page the main issue appears to stem from a single user posting comments under his real identity. Since the original complaint was made against a person named Chris Smith he created a new account using his own photo instead of his actual name. He hasn't posted any additional content since December 21st 2013 and according to reports by users on Reddit he deleted his profile sometime between February 26th 2014 and March 2nd 2014. Although the site isn't technically malicious per se, I think it's fair to say that it might be slightly suspicious and could potentially get your credit card information stolen. Personally speaking I would advise avoiding signing up unless you feel comfortable enough to create a dummy account yourself.
If you click on the "Review" link next to each store listed you can view the customer feedback along with links to the seller's social media profiles. There are a handful of complaints regarding DCJKS including a few instances where buyers claimed items weren't shipped on time or arrived damaged. I haven't personally experienced any issues with either of these situations although I am a bit skeptical of buying anything off eBay. For example, I purchased a pair of Beats headphones yesterday and noticed that they were sold by a different individual than the ones displayed in the listing photos. When I reached out via Twitter DM and requested pictures of the product I was told that the item had already been sent out. Now whether or not that's true I couldn't verify because I never received the package. You can be sure though that I won't be doing business with him again.
There are plenty of ways to locate online stores that carry products you'd like to purchase. One way is to simply type in the URL of the shop you wish to buy from and hit enter. Another option is to visit Yelp, TrustPilot and/or Facebook to browse through local reviews. The problem with relying on third party websites such as these is that if you don't write a positive review yourself chances are others will choose not to buy from you. Instead, try writing your own review directly on the merchant's storefront. Here you should include specific details about any problems you encountered during your transaction and offer suggestions for improvement.
One word of caution however - sometimes sellers ask to delete reviews that contain unflattering comments. Just keep in mind that if you receive a request like this you must comply otherwise you may end up violating the merchant's Terms Of Service agreement.
Another solution is to utilize online services that allow you to rate shops anonymously. These types of tools usually take the form of surveys and polls and are designed to gather opinions rather than actual data. Some examples of these kinds of services include:
Trustpilot (Free)
Shopzilla (free 7 day trial available)
RetailMeNot (paid subscription required)
eBay Feedback (paid subscription required)
Shinnoyume (paid subscription required)
You can find a list of reputable online survey sites here.
Once you've chosen a merchant whose store you would like to review you need to figure out what to write about. Your goal is to write a detailed description of what went wrong or right within the context of your overall opinion. Be careful not to be too critical though because nobody likes a whiner. Try to avoid making comparisons between competing products. Also remember that every online buyer has gone through a process similar to yours when they walked down the aisle at Walmart or Target. Instead focus on describing what specifically happened during your particular order. For instance:
My order #123456789 arrived 3 days late!
When I opened the box the packaging appeared torn and broken.
I tried calling the toll free phone number provided on the packing slip but it rang unanswered.
After waiting 30 minutes I finally spoke to a live human being and she said she would send out a replacement immediately.
This method works very effectively especially if you follow it up with a brief summary about how long it took to resolve the situation. Once you finish reviewing the item(s), you should add a comment section near the bottom of the page where you can mention any concerns you have about shipping or service in general. The last step is to submit your review. To save time, you can copy and paste your entire review onto the Merchant Review Form located on the ResellerRatings website.
Once you complete the review process you will be given the opportunity to share your thoughts publicly. Depending upon your status you may opt to publish your review on the ResellerRatings website or you can choose to remain anonymous. Either way, your contribution will serve as a valuable resource for future shoppers considering purchasing from the same vendor.
In conclusion...
While ResellerRatings definitely provides benefits to both vendors and consumers alike, I hope you will agree that it's important to always exercise common sense whenever interacting with strangers online. Even though ResellerRatings operates completely legally, I strongly recommend following the guidelines outlined above. By taking extra precautions you stand to benefit greatly.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.