The Arbitrage Conspiracy… Or Controversy?
By Anna Johnson on December 19th, 2008If you’re on a few Internet marketing lists you’ve probably received various promotions for ‘The Arbitrage Conspiracy’ over the last week or so. By all accounts, it’s been a huge launch. Sales have been spectacular… and so has the backlash.
So what is The Arbitrage Conspiracy… and why has it stirred up so much controversy on the popular Internet marketing discussion board, the Warrior Forum? And why, despite the naysayers, has the launch already made (according to my sources) several million dollars in sales… and given a number of affiliates a nice 5 figure payday?
Well, firstly, what I’m about to say is NOT a product review. I haven’t seen the program. I wasn’t one of those who attended the infamous one-day seminar in Las Vegas, where the mysterious ‘Aymen’ explained his system.
But, from what I understand, The Arbitrage Conspiracy is a 12-week program that aims to teach you how to (a) buy traffic using pay-per-click advertising and (b) monetize that traffic by promoting cost per action (CPA) offers.
Promoting CPA offers essentially involves you being an affiliate for various companies on one or more CPA networks. But instead of promoting an offer that aims to persuade the prospect to buy something; you promote an offer that aims to get the prospect to DO something i.e. take some kind of action, such as filling in an inquiry form.
The marketing for The Arbitrage Conspiracy – especially the ‘free report’ – has been super-slick. That, and the fact that the program is relatively expensive – U.S. $1,997 – is probably a big part of why Aymen and some of the ‘gurus’ promoting The Arbitrage Conspiracy have drawn some heat in the popular Internet marketing discussion board, the Warrior Forum.
Reviewing some of the posts in the Warrior Forum, it appears that, among the ‘doubters’, there are people claiming The Arbitrage Conspiracy is overpriced for what it teaches… others saying it teaches nothing new… others questioning the possibility of making the kind of money Aymen claims to be making… others saying the gurus were paid to provide their testimonials… and on it goes.
As you might imagine, there are plenty of others defending the price, value, etc of the program too.
Who to believe?
Well, here’s what I believe: firstly, it IS possible to make truckloads of money buying and monetizing traffic via PPC and CPA offers. Secondly, the Arbitrage Conspiracy WILL teach you a system for doing so.
BUT… whether it teaches YOU something you don’t already know… or whether YOU will have the time, resources or ability to practice and master the skills involved… or whether it fits into YOUR existing business model… well, those are entirely different questions.
Is the program overpriced? Is the information freely available? That’s subjective.
If you are a wealthy business owner with very little time to do research, investing in The Arbitrage Conspiracy may be HIGHLY cost-effective for you. It may save you a huge amount of time, and may teach you exactly what you need to know for a relatively small investment, given your level of wealth.
The opposite may be true if you are ‘time rich, money poor’.
Nevertheless, I do think there are a bunch of people who should ‘just say no’ to this program. The Arbitrage Conspiracy is based on a very particular kind of business model that is ideal for certain kinds of people… and NOT for others.
If you love any kind of TRADING – i.e. you love trading for its own sake rather than what you happen to be buying and selling – then I reckon The Arbitrage Conspiracy will probably suit you down to the ground. Provided, of course, that it teaches you stuff you don’t already know.
On the other hand, if you prefer the idea of creating and selling products or services… or you are desperately trying to focus on building a product or service based business… The Arbitrage Conspiracy probably isn’t right for you. You may learn some useful techniques and tactics… but only at the risk of being severely sidetracked from your REAL business.
Having said that, if what I hear is correct, EVERYONE in the Internet marketing niche should be studying The Arbitrage Conspiracy LAUNCH, if not the product. Not just what the promoters are doing, but also their affiliates.
Why? Because if the website copy is accurate, more than 436,758 visitors went to the site in the 7 days prior to the launch on December 11, 2008. More significantly, according to my sources, the product has already generated several million dollars in sales… with the top affiliates banking high 5 figures in commissions.
Not too shabby, and such results definitely justify taking a few marketing notes.
Of course, if you ARE interested in knowing more about The Arbitrage Conspiracy, then, by all means, do your due diligence. Read the good, the bad and the ugly.
But read EVERYTHING with a skeptical eye.
Those guys who are criticizing The Arbitrage Conspiracy for teaching the obvious? Well, surely it’s not just a coincidence that some of them already offer – or plan to offer – their own products or coaching about how to make money from CPA marketing…
And you know what? THAT’S smart marketing too! I mean, what better opportunity for someone with a ‘how to’ CPA product or program than to capitalize on all the attention by doing some good old fashioned ‘don’t buy theirs, buy mine’ marketing?
But please, whatever you do, only get The Arbitrage Conspiracy if it fits within your business model and buying it constitutes the best use of your $1,997 right now. (There are all kinds of other uses for that money that may yield a higher return…)
Otherwise, just say no.
Still interested? Then be sure to check out James Schramko’s interview with Aymen about The Arbitrage Conspiracy.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Anna,
Wow – I rate this a 10/10.
This is by far the most balanced and intelligent review I have seen on this subject. No wonder your kikabink newsletter is one of the few remaining newslettes I still subscribe to. I can always count on thr thruth and a fair viewpoint.
Great stuff!
James
December 30th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
This is a very intelligent and accurate analysis of Arbitrage Cpcy.
I personally took the course because what you can potentialy do with this course is worth the try anyway.
Rgds
eka
April 30th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Hi. I took the course and followed the program religiously. The comment I think you make that others should heed is this one: “But read EVERYTHING with a skeptical eye.” The AC owners are after all expert marketers
BTW. The cost of the course was far less than the total cost to me personally. I am also skeptical about the infamous “Anthony” that made $50k in the first 3 weeks of the course.
Last thought – people generally sell their money making secrets for good reason! I suspect the main reason these ‘secrets’ were sold is that they are becoming less effective over time.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Grant, I find this interesting… and disturbing:
“The cost of the course was far less than the total cost to me personally. ”
In particular, what people often forget about is the opportunity cost.