Consumers:
Consumer Tips > Work At Home Tip Sheet
Many consumers who need extra money find it impossible to hold even a part-time job outside their home because of family obligations or health considerations. These people often are attracted to classified ads in the newspaper or in magazines or direct mail solicitations which offer them a chance to earn money by doing work at home.
Work at home opportunities are quite frequently schemes which take advantage of low income or handicapped persons. These schemes all have one thing in common: you must buy something before you can begin work.
If you answer an ad that offers profits for a work at home project for which there is a great demand, but which requires no experience, chances are you will end up losing money instead of making any.
A typical advertisement for a work at home opportunity claimed "$356,000 Weekly Guaranteed. Work two hours daily at home." Investigation disclosed, however, that the "guarantee" did not apply to the earnings, but only to a refund of the $15.00 paid for how-to details if the worker’s own efforts failed to produce the weekly income.
Another typical ad promised "$1,000 to $3,000 monthly stuffing envelopes." BBB shoppers answering such ads did not receive the expected envelopes for stuffing, but instead got promotional material which asked for a payment of $8.00 to $25.00 to obtain details on money-making plans. To make matters worse, to pursue the plans would have required spending several hundred dollars more for advertising, postage, envelopes and printing.
It is not difficult to see that this system is one which feeds on continuous recruitment of persons to offer the same plan. By such a geometric progression, soon everyone in the country would be trying to sell envelope stuffing plans in true pyramid fashion.
According to the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service, "In practically all businesses, envelope stuffing has become a highly mechanized operation using sophisticated mass mailing techniques and equipment which eliminates any profit potential for an individual doing this type of work at home. The Inspection Service knows of no work at home promotion that ever produces income as alleged." In a 12 month period, the Postal Inspection Service reported it has put about 3,500 of these work at home operations out of business through mail stop orders, consent agreements, or criminal proceedings.
ASSEMBLY WORK AT HOME!! Earn $600 monthly. Easy money.
HOME SEWING. Make interesting and beautiful items for others to enjoy.
In these schemes, you must invest hundreds of dollars in instructions and materials and many hours of your time to produce items for a company that has promised to buy them. These offers include making baby booties, aprons, plastic signs, and toy clowns, to name just a few. However, once you have purchased the supplies and done the work, the company may decide not to pay you because the work you send back does not meet certain "standards." You are left with the equipment and the supplies, and you must find customers for the items you have already made.
"We pay you $5.00 per thousand-gliding greeting cards; good opportunity for beginners;
no experience necessary. No selling!"
Those interested in an assembly work-at-home business should find out what fees are involved and weigh this against the amount of money they can expect to earn. BBB experience has shown that earnings claims by many work at home promoters are often false or highly exaggerated. Many companies require advance money for information, instruction booklets or brochures related to setting up a work at home business. Also find out if you are required to sell the finished items yourself, or if they will be purchased by the company. Find out what the company’s "standards" are - you may be told that your work does not meet these standards and you will not be paid.
"RAISE CHINCHILLAS AS A HOBBY. Fabulous profits. Small space in your basement, garage, or extra room is all you need."
"$300 - $700 monthly to raise rabbits. Lab animals. We supply…….."
Successful small animal breeding is not for hobbyists. It is a very technical field which requires considerable knowledge and expertise and, frequently, a sizable initial investment. Persons who respond to such ads may find themselves with animals or pelts that cannot be sold at any price - much less the profits they were led to expect. The pay-off for the promoter of this scheme is to sell at inflated prices to persons who have no understanding of the small animal market.
Remember this - if you have to "buy" anything to get work to be done at home, be on your guard. It may only be a plan to "sell" you something. Firms offering salaried home employment do not advertise. They can get more workers than they need by word of mouth advertising.
"Received $9.80 for his 15 cent local newspaper. Clip news items from your local newspapers, worth $1 - $5 each."
"Women - Do homework in spare time. All kinds of pleasant profitable work."
Ads like these do not offer home work but "ideas" for setting up a home business. The most common suggestions are for setting up a mail order business or an at-home local newspaper clipping bureau.
INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU INVEST
There is no substitute for closely examining any offer which promises or guarantees income from work-at-home programs. If it sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is. Consider it a warning sign if a worker must buy something in order to start the program. Those interested also should take into consideration that by becoming involved in a work-at-home scheme, they might well be perpetrating a fraud by selling the program to others, and risk investigation by federal, state and local authorities.
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Consumer Protection Division
501-682-2341
800-482-8982 (statewide)
501-682-8118 (fax)
consumer@arkansasag.gov
