Videographers needed all over the U.S.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Everytime I "Submit" - I get this message:

error '80040211'

/photo/process.asp, line 80

Anyone else get that?

Murph

[Samuel Birkan]

I got the same result, but they got my info all the same.
I,m interested in seeing all the reactions here.

Jeff - can you give some info how these scams were perpetrated ?- especially as I am in Cincinnati and dont want to fall victim, or worse be a part of one.
Boyd - why would you not touch this - other than some time spent and maybe some gas and a tape or 2 I cant see how the videographer can get ripped off ?

As I said earlier - I also spoke with her personally after doing some name and reverse number search's. Her husband is a news anchor on a local Indianapolis TV station and I asked her some location specific questions which she was able to answer without a blink.
I may be naive but I don't think she is trying to rip anyone off. I think her numbers are a bit high but I get the feeling that she is geuinly trying to start a new business.
Samuel

[Boyd Ostroff]

Guys, everything about this smells fishy...

www.yourgoldenopportunity.net
This should be enough to scare you away right at the start.

I started shooting narrated video tours earlier this year and found myself swamped with work.
Sounds like 1,000 other spam messages I've seen

a team of photographers, soon to be 6,000 strong, around the globe.
Trying to impress you with a big number and an international connection

If you can't shoot it within the 48 hour time frame...let the Realtor know in advance and I'm sure they'll be okay with that.
Like many other work at home scams... set your own hours

Videos should be 3 minutes and under.
Hardly any work is needed.... easy money!

$100 of that is the photographers. Don't worry, we receive a lot of work. You could easily tape 5-7 houses/videos a day.
Work at home! Set your own hours! Make $500 to $700 per day! It's easy!

You will stay busy. Also, you can leave your weekends open for weddings.
And you don't even have to work on weekends!

I made quite a bit of money.
Get rich like me!

This cuts my editing time down to about 20 minutes. www.Nnovia.com (If you want this product, don't buy online. I can get it wholesale for you.)
We even help you out by selling you software at a big discount!

I expect to have a total rollout in December. Until then, we'll be creating the 90,000 websites (that's how many Realtors we'll be working for...)
Wow, that's a big job. ACT NOW... or you'll miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

I'm just not buying any of these. There is nothing specfiic in that e-mail about the "major real estate company" she's working for. That website is so vague that I find it disturbing. The whole tone is just like many, many scams I've seen publicized. If this is legitimate then she has chosen a very questionable way to promote her company. Doesn't it bother you that she says it will be easy to make between $2,500 and $3,500 per week?

I really question what real estate companies would be interested in this anyway. Having recently sold one house and bought another one I can tell you that the larger companies already have their own infrastructure for this sort of thing. Take a look at http://realtor.com for example. Also, did you know that a "realtor" is not the same thing as a "real estate agent." It's actually a trademark of the National Association of Realtors. It would be interesting to see if they have any comment about how this person appears to link her activities to their business....

Quacks like a duck. Waddles like a duck. Hmm, I wonder what sort of animal this is?... Of course this is all just my personal opinion. Maybe you really have stumbled across the elusive "free lunch?"

[Boyd Ostroff]

Samuel: by all means check it out if you're interested. I'll be happy to admit I'm wrong as soon as you spend your first $500 day shooting for Skye. I tend to value my time enough that I don't want to waste it chasing rainbows like this, even if there isn't any obvious risk (by the way... I can tell you how to get a free iPod also ;-). Many of the "work at home" scams involve you buying supplies, or paying a registration fee. Then when you submit your work it somehow fails to meet their standards and is rejected.

Check it out and report back to us afterwards, it should be interesting.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Hey Boyd, can you scam me for a free iPod?

lol

Murph

[Greg Boston]

I am bothered by the fact that I was being asked by an unknown entity to divulge my address information along with my equipment inventory. Let's hope there isn't a network of 6000 thieves ready to relieve people of their stuff. The Paypal payment thing got me wondering also. Could be something to get account info.

I didn't sign up. Just has too much of that fishy smell to me.

=gb=

[Christopher C. Murphy]

First off, if anyone wants to show up at my house looking to steal from me....they'll be staring down the barrel of a shotgun with my finger pulling the trigger. (I live in rural NH, and we eat burglers for breakfast.) No one F's around with my stuff, so this better not be a scam.

Strangely, there is quite a bit of information sent to you when you "sign up". There is a link to a website with very well known real estate businesses, and you can check out lots of "video tours" etc.

I'm cautious like everyone else, but at this point it looks like something worth exploring. If anyone else would like to trade information about their reply email's...let me know. I don't want to post anything to specific on here right now because no one else has yet....why is that?!

In short, there is a website with lots of information about this thing. If it's a scam they've really worked hard to make it work. Otherwise, someone is legit and might be trying to start something legit....who knows!

Murph

[Jeff Donald]

Samuel, the scam is that they are poorly run and managed companies in most cases. You do a job or two and get paid promptly. Then you get a "big job" involving hours of scripting, production, editing, etc. You deliver the job with hundreds of hours of time invested. No payment. Promises of payment, but still no check. Then they don't answer the phone. They just disappear in the night. I remember a company in Dayton (Mainsail, Full-sail?) got hit for 6 figures.

A hundred here and there is fine. But watch out when they try to get you involved in bigger projects.

[Jacob Ehrichs]

I've written a little word doc with some information on it concerning this topic if anyone would like to see it. Just a sluething adventure I had. I would just post the text but there is some formatting that wouldn't carry over and it could get ugly pretty quickly, and no way to attach the file here. If you'd like a copy please feel free to email me at ehrichsj@hotmail.com and I'll send it out to you. Might be interesting, might not.

[James Emory]

Well another claim made on the website that is a crock is:

"It's a technology savvy corporation that sees the value of being the first and only real estate company to enter the video streaming world."

The first and only? Well maybe in India but in the U.S. there are hundreds if not thousands of companies providing streaming media tours of property and structures. I've been doing it for 5 years. I know of several others not to mention real estate companies that do it themselves. It just sounds like another company promoting themselves as the cutting edge. Just do a search on this board and you'll find a few posts about video tours. I agree with Jeff and Boyd, be careful. That is just not a very realistic scenerio, a bit of wishful thinking. I wonder what she has that noone else has been able to accomplish. They want you to shoot and edit for 100.00 per house. How many do you think you could do in a day and are they all in the same area? It seems that they're making their money with volume considering the low production rates. That submission form sounds like an interrogation rather than an application especially for such low pay. Every client I've worked for just needed to see a resume, reel, and/or references.

Here is a company that does alot of real estate video:

www.crozierhenderson.com

P.S. Streaming media is old news!

[Samuel Birkan]

Jacob I sent you an e-mail asking for your info.

Christopher , would you mind posting the link to the website so I can check it out.. I did not get a link in my reply e-mail from her. Here is My reply from her,

"Hi Samuel,
Thank for responding. It appears you don't have any questions for me so, if you don't mind, I'm copy/pasteing some info I sent to other photographers. It's kind of long, so get some coffee...haha
If after reading it you have some questions, I welcome the opportunity to answer them.
Thanks again,
Skye
By the way...you're the first person I have in Cincinnati...lots of work for you!!! "

Then the standard stuff follows.
If this is a scam then why is she putting her home address in her e-mail reply?
So long as I,m not asked for money or for anything more, then I'm game to try it out , but I'm not quitting my day job yet!
Thanks
Samuel

[Jeff Donald]

I think the use of the term scam is being misapplied in this thread. This is not a scam like the Nigerian "lost money" in the bank scam. My experiences relate to a number of similar businesses that make real estate videos that are poorly managed and the production company (meaning you) is out their time and materials.

Boyd is pointing out that your unlikely to make it rich, like her website implies.

[Greg Boston]

<<<-- Originally posted by James Emory :
Here is a company that does alot of real estate video:

www.crozierhenderson.com

-->>>

Funny that you chose that company James. I watch their DFW home show on Sunday morinings. Since they seem to be TX based, I was wondering how you knew of them.

regards,

=gb=

[K. Forman]

Almost anything can turn into a scam... I did a shoot down in West Palm, footage for a PBS doc. It was a 2 hr drive each way, plus 8 hrs and tapes. I was told to email him the invoice, and I would get a check.

This was 8 months ago, and still no check.

If these people are giving home numbers and addresses, it is at least a little more trustworthy, than say, a p.o. box, hotmail account, or a pager number. As James pointed out, lots of Real Estate agencies are using video, and yes- there are people who want to make money. That is why we do video, right? That was what I was thinking... It just hasn't happened for me yet ;)

It sounds fairly legit, as they aren't claiming you'll make a fortune on a shoot, only $100. That sounds like a fair price to drive out, set up, shoot a walkthrough, and edit 3 minutes of video. If anything, they are likely just sugar coating how busy you'll be. But, if you can get a few jobs here and there, what does it hurt?

[Tim Brown]

I agree with Keith.

Any opportunity can turn sour, but the only reason we take risks is because we are looking at the "potential" of the opportunity. It is my opinion, however, that this is not a scam.

I have sent several e-mails to Skye and have received several responses all containing detailed information and specific answers to the questions I have asked.

One question I've asked in particular was concerning the validity of Skye and her business, to which she responded with an e-mail containing background information, a list of names and numbers of people she has worked with, and the name and e-mail address of her attorney. It seems that all the information she has given has panned out and I have no reason to believe that this is a hoax of some kind.

Hope this helps.

-Tim