FTD Knows How To Screw You Good

[Robbie]

LOL!

Ordered some flowers for my mom today from FTD online. I had decided already to get the cheapest floral arrangement they had (not because I don't love my mom...just wanted to send her a little floral arrangement to brighten her day without spending a lot).

So I go to their site and they have a real nice little bouquet of flowers in a vase for Mother's Day. It's usually $39.99, but it's on sale for $29.99.

So I think..."Hmmm, I guess 30 bucks isn't too crazy to buy some flowers"

So I go through all the pages putting in the "deliver to" address and the billing address (me) and the message from me and my family to her. Then I finally get to the "pay" page and BOOM! There's a $21.99 "service fee" and $3.37 in taxes as well. (whatever happened to the internet being no tax?)

My 30 dollar flowers to mom have turned out to be $55.35 !

Back when x-sales were happening...we could have learned how to really get your customers by the balls from FTD

[epitome]

It's for your Mom and you probably spend 4x that in a night for coke. She'll be happy and that's what matters.

Tax is because the money is being routed to a local florist and I guess $21.99 is FTD's cut. Somebody's got to pay for those AdWords.

[lagcam]

The service cost is because you are sat there on your ass while these flowers get from one location to another and put a smile on your mom's face.

You could always get off your ass get some cheap flowers from a gas station and drive and deliver them yourself.

There are many things in life to complain about the cost of, but I don't think that putting a smile on your mother's face should be one of them........

[MattO]

My folks used to own a florist. They bailed from the FTD network.

The best thing to do is just look up a local florist by your Ma's and call in an order, it'd probably be a nicer arrangement than the standard "FTD Approved Mother's Day #4 Bouquet in Clear Glass" anyways.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

I bought tickets to see Jane's Addiction online for $40, and on the final screen they dropped in a fucking $25 Order Processing Fee...

Order Processing Fee

The order processing fee covers the cost to fulfill your ticket request when you purchase the tickets online or by phone. This charge includes services, such as taking and maintaining your order on our ticketing systems, arranging for shipping and/or coordinating with the box office will call. It is applied to an entire order. Both the venue and Live Nation determine the charge on an event-by-event basis. In almost all cases, additional delivery prices may be charged based on the delivery method that you choose.

What a fucking rip-off, $25 times how many thousands of transactions a day (and that doesn't include tax or the delivery fee for the friggin' tickets)?!?

Don't even get me started on Banking industry ATM fees, balance inquiry fees, etc...

(there, I feel better now)

ADG

[kane]

I bought tickets to see Jane's Addiction online for $40, and on the final screen they dropped in a fucking $25 Order Processing Fee...



What a fucking rip-off, $25 times how many thousands of transactions a day (and that doesn't include tax or the delivery fee for the friggin' tickets)?!?

Don't even get me started on Banking industry ATM fees, balance inquiry fees, etc...

(there, I feel better now)

ADG

Ticketmaster used to be even worse. Back in the day when Pearl Jam was fighting them they would often assign the amount of the service charge based on the quality of the tickets. For nosebleed seats you might get a $15 service fee. For great seats on the floor the fee might be $75. It was crazy. I some instances it was like Robbie's flowers and the service fees were as much as the actual ticket.

[candyflip]

FTD fucks over the Florists that actually do all the work as well. They're a shady business from top to bottom.

[Deej]

yea, its much higher because they are just playing middle man and candy is right. they rape the florist comparitively speaking...

[Robbie]

It's for your Mom and you probably spend 4x that in a night for coke. She'll be happy and that's what matters.

Tax is because the money is being routed to a local florist and I guess $21.99 is FTD's cut. Somebody's got to pay for those AdWords.

I think I was pretty clear that I wanted to brighten my mom's day.

The point I was making is how they slide that "service charge" in at the last minute. After you have went through several pages of giving them info and even filling out the little "I Love You" message that comes with the flowers.

That's the genius of it. You are thinking it's $29.99 And they deliberately make you think that until you are at the end and you are emotionally invested. THEN they hit you with the "fees" and "taxes" (even though it's on the internet and is supposed to be tax free, though I have noticed over the last couple of years that nothing is anymore...I used to buy all my music gear online, and NEVER paid taxes on any of it. It's why I bought online instead of my local dealer...not anymore)

They don't tell you up front that there is a fee. You go through the entire process and THEN get screwed at the end.

This isn't about your notions of how much coke I may snort in an evening or whatever you think you know. It's just my observation of how they nail you in the ass for money. And how clever it is.

Could you imagine the screaming on GFY if an adult paysite were to do that?

Hmmm...now that I think of it, maybe I should!

Make my join page 4 or 5 pages long and have them answer a question on each page ("Which scenes do you like most? Anal or vaginal?") and fill out their credit card info and everything and then the FINAL page would be a "Submit Your Order" page which would then let them know there is a "service fee" of $20

Hell yeah!

[Robbie]

The service cost is because you are sat there on your ass while these flowers get from one location to another and put a smile on your mom's face.

You could always get off your ass get some cheap flowers from a gas station and drive and deliver them yourself.

There are many things in life to complain about the cost of, but I don't think that putting a smile on your mother's face should be one of them........

I live in Las Vegas. My mom lives in central Florida.

But you're right...I should just hop in the car on Sunday and drive over with flowers.

Remember...this is Robbie, not gideongallery. HE lives in his mom's basement. I moved away from home and on my own in 1978

[baddog]

You have to be kidding me that you have never had to pay tax on an Internet purchase prior to FTD.

[shake]

LOL!

Back when x-sales were happening...we could have learned how to really get your customers by the balls from FTD

Wait until you find out that you also signed up for the "flowers of the month club"

[LeRoy]

With the $$ you make...

I'd fly there and hand deliver them

That's just me cuz I love my mom

[Robbie]

Wait until you find out that you also signed up for the "flowers of the month club"

I found that out in an email. I "signed up" for "holiday reminders" Damn hidden pre-checked box!

[Robbie]

You have to be kidding me that you have never had to pay tax on an Internet purchase prior to FTD.

I bought music gear online from the mid '90's forward...
No tax and free shipping. It always saved me hundreds of dollars over buying the same exact thing locally.

I'm also looking at the dozens of receipts I have from BHPhotoVideo in my email...not one of them has ANY sales tax on it.

[arock10]

Purchase the dandelion especial for her

[lazycash]

Remember...this is Robbie, not gideongallery. HE lives in his mom's basement. I moved away from home and on my own in 1978

[baddog]

I bought music gear online from the mid '90's forward...
No tax and free shipping. It always saved me hundreds of dollars over buying the same exact thing locally.

I'm also looking at the dozens of receipts I have from BHPhotoVideo in my email...not one of them has ANY sales tax on it.

I guess living in NV you might have no sales tax. Your prior state did not either?

[Robbie]

I guess living in NV you might have no sales tax. Your prior state did not either?

Of course NV has sales tax. REAL high. And so did South Carolina where I lived before. Check your receipts from bhphotovideo...you won't see any sales tax ever.

This was my email receipt for my Bogner guitar amp. Purchased from Music Toyz in California online and shipped to me in South Carolina:
BOG04 Bogner Ecstacy Classic EL34 1 $3,779.95 $3,779.95
Shipping: 2nd Day UPS Air USA ONLY !: $13.95
Sales Tax: $0.00

That was 2006. Now check out this receipt from 2011 for my newest guitar amp :

1 Line 6 50 Watt 1x12i Adaptive Guitar Combo Amp 1,299.99
1 On Stage RS7705 Adjustable Amp Stand 40.76

Order Recap:
Total Product $: 1340.75
Net Product$: 1340.75
Sales Tax: 108.60
Shipping: 0.00
Insurance : 9.95
Grand Total: 1459.30

Notice that NOW there is sales tax!

And yet on BHPhotoVideo? No sales tax. Ever.
It's almost like companies are just charging sales tax whenever they feel like it?
Here is a recent bhphotovideo receipt:
Bescor BEPRB12XLRAT
PRB-12XLRATM Starved Electrolyte Battery Belt (12v, 12 amp hours)
1 $129.95 $129.95

Sub Total: $129.95
Shipping: $18.45
Sales Tax: $0.00
Total $148.40

Again...no sales tax. WTF?

[Slappin Fish]

Back when x-sales were happening...we could have learned how to really get your customers by the balls from FTD

They are still happening

Sites with some of the worst x-sales I've ever seen, hidden within the T&C with no possibility to uncheck are buying ad spots on thousands of tubes at the moment.

Could you imagine the screaming on GFY if an adult paysite were to do that?

At least you know exactly how much you are going to pay before you submit your credit card details. Airlines do the same. You can't compare that with the pure scam STILL happening in porn where people click a submit button thinking they will be charged $29.99 and end up billed over 200 bucks.

[Robbie]

At least you know exactly how much you are going to pay before you get your credit card out. Airlines do the same. You can't compare that with the pure scam STILL happening in porn where people click a submit button thinking they will be charged $29.99 and end up billed over 200 bucks.

Not exactly...they had me put in my credit card info, email address, billing address, etc. on pages prior to the "Submit" page. It was on that last "Submit" page after going through 4 pages of putting in info that the "service fee" and sales tax was revealed.

And also...just wondering...how is anybody still doing hidden cross sells? Who? Name a site. I'd like to see who is somehow getting past all the new Visa and Mastercard rules. These days you can't even use certain words in your tour without Mastercard shutting you down
(talking about things like saying "She forced the door open"...they see the word "forced" and flag you).

So how the heck is anybody able to continue to process and do hidden pre-checks? I don't personally know of anyone doing that.

So give up the info...name a site that is doing that. I'd like to check that out.

[Slappin Fish]

Not exactly...they had me put in my credit card info, email address, billing address, etc. on pages prior to the "Submit" page. It was on that last "Submit" page after going through 4 pages of putting in info that the "service fee" and sales tax was revealed.

And also...just wondering...how is anybody still doing hidden cross sells? Who? Name a site. I'd like to see who is somehow getting past all the new Visa and Mastercard rules. These days you can't even use certain words in your tour without Mastercard shutting you down (talking about things like saying "She forced the door open"...they see the word "forced" and flag you).
So how the heck is anybody able to continue to process and do hidden pre-checks? I don't personally know of anyone doing that.

So give up the info...name a site that is doing that. I'd like to check that out.

Airlines do the same, tried booking a short trip the other day after they added 2 fuel surcharges, luggage, service fee... the price had doubled still i knew what I was paying.

Let me make a screenshot I'll show you real shitty x-sales.

[epitome]

I think I was pretty clear that I wanted to brighten my mom's day.

The point I was making is how they slide that "service charge" in at the last minute. After you have went through several pages of giving them info and even filling out the little "I Love You" message that comes with the flowers.

That's the genius of it. You are thinking it's $29.99 And they deliberately make you think that until you are at the end and you are emotionally invested. THEN they hit you with the "fees" and "taxes" (even though it's on the internet and is supposed to be tax free, though I have noticed over the last couple of years that nothing is anymore...I used to buy all my music gear online, and NEVER paid taxes on any of it. It's why I bought online instead of my local dealer...not anymore)

They don't tell you up front that there is a fee. You go through the entire process and THEN get screwed at the end.

This isn't about your notions of how much coke I may snort in an evening or whatever you think you know. It's just my observation of how they nail you in the ass for money. And how clever it is.

Could you imagine the screaming on GFY if an adult paysite were to do that?

Hmmm...now that I think of it, maybe I should!

Make my join page 4 or 5 pages long and have them answer a question on each page ("Which scenes do you like most? Anal or vaginal?") and fill out their credit card info and everything and then the FINAL page would be a "Submit Your Order" page which would then let them know there is a "service fee" of $20

Hell yeah!

I get what you are saying and my reply probably sounded harsher than I intended.

In the future just call a local florist (use yelp if you need recommendations). They'll know what to send and will take good care of you.

[Slappin Fish]

It's so full of crappy x-sales it's hard to understand, but if you look closely you'll see you can uncheck "Platinum Membership" but not the "Premier Passport" (**) its within the T&C's and charged to all, to make it worst even if you cancel it some memberships remain active. Oh and this is just to create a "Free Profile"

[epitome]

It's so full of crappy x-sales it's hard to understand, but if you look closely you'll see you can uncheck "Platinum Membership" but not the "Premier Passport" (**) its within the T&C's and charged to all, to make it worst even if you cancel it some memberships remain active. Oh and this is just to create a "Free Profile"

"or the then applicable rate."

So if they bump it to $89.95/mo, tough shit?

[Robbie]

It's so full of crappy x-sales it's hard to understand, but if you look closely you'll see you can uncheck "Platinum Membership" but not the "Premier Passport" (**) its within the T&C's and charged to all, to make it worst even if you cancel it some memberships remain active. Oh and this is just to create a "Free Profile"

So what site is that? I'd like to look at that myself.

[Slappin Fish]

So what site is that? I'd like to look at that myself.

This particular site? It's Gf2ube but look around the tubes specially 3d porn ads, nothing much has changed

[Robbie]

This particular site? It's Gf2ube but look around the tubes specially 3d porn ads, nothing much has changed

Looks like it's selling a membership to ultimatepornlovers dot com

I'm not sure that I'd say that whole setup is really a shady hidden x-sell. It looks pretty straight forward to me.

I wonder if they make any money off of that? I can't think of anybody who would be ignorant enough to put in CC info for a "free" tube site, especially in 2012 with all the big pirate sites giving it away for free already.
Looks like the tube site is just a big promo for the paysite and they are just being tricky and getting you signed up to a trial membership (like an api kinda does).

The x-sells are interesting...I'm assuming that the owner of the tube/paysite either owns the other sites or has partnership...As I understood the new rules over the last two years, you can't x-sell to another merchant account. You CAN x-sell to sites that process on the same merchant account ownership (such as CC Bill sites x-selling to each other)

Am I correct about that?

Anyway...yeah, if anybody were still pulling out their credit cards for porn (which is pretty rare at this time) that could cost 'em if they weren't paying attention.

Of course...they could just charge the whole thing back. God knows we all have that shit happen from asshole surfers all the time on honest sites. lol

At least if any surfers do get burned there...they will blame it on a tube site.

[Mutt]

scam sites like GF2tube are the only sites that can turn a profit on tube site ads - i'd love to get a look inside their members area.