Premium Rate Numbers-make Money?

[siamsam]

I'm kind of brain-storming for ideas of how to make a living online. A uk company offer to build you two internet sites with your own domain names and personal premium rate numbers - a mobile phone ringtone/logo site and a horse racing tipping site. EG- with the ringtone and logo business, you're given the site and you would also be allocated a ringtone and logo order line. Anyone who calls that number to order a ringtone/logo through the automated number is charged by the company, and you receive the revenue. The company receive a percentage of the revenue of each telephone call. They also update and manage the sites. Their start up fee is £99. To include 1. Your unique premium rate numbers. 2. Your unique domain names for the sites. 3. Your log in details so you can check your stats/earnings on - line

Now guys, I'm a computer dummy ( what is a domain name?). This offer sounds suspicously to good to be true. Any of you Computer/internet wiz kids can shine some light, or have heard of the above kind of offer. Questions I should ask b4 signing up? Any other on - line ideas to make money?If I could make a living on-line I could realise my dream of living in los fulltime, gee wouldn't that be nice Thanx in advance - siamsam

[medicinebox]

I think any company or author who starts his pitch with "How to make xxxx amount of money etc" should be approached carefully.

Because if I knew how to make xxxx amount of money, I wouldn't sell my 'secret'.

So logically, I dont even read past the title when I see these offers. Jeez, maybe im missing out big time...???

[Bizz]

I'm kind of brain-storming for ideas of how to make a living online. A uk company offer to build you two internet sites with your own domain names and personal premium rate numbers - a mobile phone ringtone/logo site and a horse racing tipping site. EG- with the ringtone and logo business, you're given the site and you would also be allocated a ringtone and logo order line. Anyone who calls that number to order a ringtone/logo through the automated number is charged by the company, and you receive the revenue. The company receive a percentage of the revenue of each telephone call. They also update and manage the sites. Their start up fee is £99. To include 1. Your unique premium rate numbers. 2. Your unique domain names for the sites. 3. Your log in details so you can check your stats/earnings on - line

Now guys, I'm a computer dummy ( what is a domain name?). This offer sounds suspicously to good to be true. Any of you Computer/internet wiz kids can shine some light, or have heard of the above kind of offer. Questions I should ask b4 signing up? Any other on - line ideas to make money?If I could make a living on-line I could realise my dream of living in los fulltime, gee wouldn't that be nice Thanx in advance - siamsam

There is a member of this forum that can give you advise on this i will pm him and ask first.

[simon43]

Hi Siamsiam, as Bizz mentioned, this is essentially the businesss that I'm involved in, so I'm happy to give you some honest truths about it

It is certainly true that you can make very good money from operating this type of business, and it's an ideal 'remote' business to manage from Thailand. But as mentioned, it's not always that easy.

OK, you pay your £99 and get a ringtone/logo website and a premium-rate telephone order line. Sounds great?? But why should any punter come and order from your website, when there are tens of 1000s of similar websites? The answer is that they will only visit your website if you advertise your service. That means paying out money on web-based or magaine/newspaper adverts. Those ads are not cheap!! So it's a sort of balancing act between paying out money on adverts, in the hope that you will generate order revenues greater than the ad cost!

Getting the ad bit right (in terms of ad design and magazine etc), takes some experience of the mobile phone sector, and you will lose money before you make it! So beware...

Additionally, I tend to be successful because I'm a techie guy and actually write the premium telephone/sms software and operate these numbers myself. So I get all the revenue payout from the telephone companies. You would be one step (if not more), down the line, and so your payout is smaller.

If you do want to have a go at this business, be prepared to do some research about suitable magazines to publish your ads in. You also need to understand the UK regulations about premium rate numbers. You must also be prepared to lose money when you start

But PM me if I havn't put you off

[Thaicoon]

A mate of mine in the UK is on the premium rate scam, i do not agree with it as he is just ripping of the public, he has 6 premium rate numbers at £1.50 per min, he does loans, he has an advert in all the phone books in the uk, he is the only loan company in those directorys with a £1.50 a min, number, he started working from home about 4 years ago, he now has 8 full time girls on the phone 12 hours a day, he is raking it in, and do these poor people who are ringing for money get loans, i think only a min percentage do as they have tried most places before and been refused, they are desparate, he makes sure he keeps each one on the phone for 30 min's, i think this sort of operation should be stopped, the worst people doing this are computer retailers and loanshark companys and scratchcards that fall out of magazines, scratch the silver panel, YOU HAVE WON AN AUDI TT, to claim this prize ring 09.............. answer some questions, a load of Bullshit.

this man has gone up from a 1 bedroom flat and a rusty old banger to a 300k house and a brand new s-type jag.

I think the ringtones etc are not so bad as you do get something for your money, they normally download them onto there phones.

All my phones at my Business and home are reported to the phone company not to receive or to send premium rate numbers.

If people who are in this game are losing money, lose some more, good enough for you

[Mr Helper]

Im glad this thread was started, coz I have a Q. Can one operate a premium rate phone number from Thailand, I mean do any of the Thai Telecoms companys allow you to operate a premium rate No. in Thailand???

[LivinLOS]

One stage worse IMHO (cause at least those fools rang up) are the comp virus's that execute a dialer with the sound turned down (often in the middle of the night)..

The latest smartphone virus I read about once in the phone constantly sends premuim rate SMS's out and they dont show up in the log / history / outbox... You have no idea that the phone is just raping your contract...

[simon43]

Mr Helper, yes you can operate a premium rate number from Thailand, and if you check the Thai mobile phone mags then you will see plenty of these numbers on the ringtone adverts. But why would you wish to do this? Ringtones sell for about 15 baht over here, and your revenue share on that is maybe about 5 baht (not as generous as the UK).

You don't have to live in the UK to operate UK premium rate numbers.

Simon

[Bizz]

Hi Siamsiam, as Bizz mentioned, this is essentially the businesss that I'm involved in, so I'm happy to give you some honest truths about it

It is certainly true that you can make very good money from operating this type of business, and it's an ideal 'remote' business to manage from Thailand. But as mentioned, it's not always that easy.

OK, you pay your £99 and get a ringtone/logo website and a premium-rate telephone order line. Sounds great?? But why should any punter come and order from your website, when there are tens of 1000s of similar websites? The answer is that they will only visit your website if you advertise your service. That means paying out money on web-based or magaine/newspaper adverts. Those ads are not cheap!! So it's a sort of balancing act between paying out money on adverts, in the hope that you will generate order revenues greater than the ad cost!

Getting the ad bit right (in terms of ad design and magazine etc), takes some experience of the mobile phone sector, and you will lose money before you make it! So beware...

Additionally, I tend to be successful because I'm a techie guy and actually write the premium telephone/sms software and operate these numbers myself. So I get all the revenue payout from the telephone companies. You would be one step (if not more), down the line, and so your payout is smaller.

If you do want to have a go at this business, be prepared to do some research about suitable magazines to publish your ads in. You also need to understand the UK regulations about premium rate numbers. You must also be prepared to lose money when you start

But PM me if I havn't put you off

Simon43 you are quick off the mark saved me pm you first as you privacy was my first concern.

[wolf5370]

Additionally, I tend to be successful because I'm a techie guy and actually write the premium telephone/sms software and operate these numbers myself. So I get all the revenue payout from the telephone companies. You would be one step (if not more), down the line, and so your payout is smaller.

It does sound somewhat reminisant of pyramid selling to me. Clint pays and you get a cut after the telco and your site operator. You pay the advertising etc and probably will want to add extra content to your site to attract suckers, er clients.

Software to create wallpaper, logos and tunes are available. I'm sure you can get the download software like Simon writes from a vendor (or Kazaa!) and cut out the middle man (as Simon has).

Java/Flash games are the latest mobile earner - £5 per game plus download up-time (Wap/GPRS etc). Most are crap too!

Rip Off Britain.

[simon43]

One reason why its sometimes difficult to cut out the middleman is because the telcos will only have direct contracts with those companies who have substantial 'traffic'. So if you are a new player in the market, you have to contract your conection to the telcos via an existing 'gateway' operator (who will take their slice of the pie!)

Writing your own service software does help to reduce operating costs, and you can tweak your service to provide the best type or most-demanded type of service etc.

Wolf5370 is right in that you could effectively 'resell' your logo/ringtone services to someone else, who then resells it again (with each person taking a revenue share). Of course, this generally means that if you are too far down the line, then the generated revenue is not sufficient to sustain the business!