Earth4Energy.com Falls Short of WebWatch Guidelines
A reader recently e-mailed us with the following request:
Hello there,
I was reading online about making your own solar panels for your home and I came across www.earth4energy.com. I've been searching online for over an hour trying to find out if this is legit or a scam and I can't seem to find anything bad written about it. Too good to be true? It'd be great if it's not a scam, but no major companies back it yet (fairly new product), so CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc., any big name companies/news agencies have no information about it on their sites. Even went to epinons.com and other sites like it that would have real reviews from consumers, not just the ones on the Earth4Energy website, but came up with nothing. I did a consumer watch search on google and found you guys so I'm hoping maybe you call can find out if this is the real deal. It seems to be quite popular, many matches come up in a google search but many links did lead right back to the main website which is why I'm somewhat skeptical. Just trying to make sure people aren't losing money over something that could be fake... or if it's legit, I'm down to buy it!
Thanks for your time,
~Jenna
Well, we paid a visit to www.Earth4Energy.com, and were underwhelmed by what we saw, and concerned by what we didn’t.
First, the site doesn’t meet WebWatch’s guidelines for Web credibility by failing to disclose any “identity" information beyond an e-mail address. There’s no physical address, no phone number, and no statement of mission, purpose or ownership. There is a picture of some guy on the homepage named Michael Harvey who promises to reduce your power bill by 80%, but the site leaves his credentials and qualifications something of a mystery.
There’s also a video pop-up of someone named “Susie,” who welcomes you to the “official” Earth4Energy site before making Michael’s sales pitch. It's this: $49.97 for access to his Earth4Energy manual (you have to print it out yourself), which purportedly shows you how to build your own windmill and solar panels. Mercifully, Susie comes with a mute button.
Beyond that, Earth4Energy.com has that classic “site in a box” look. And as we’ve warned in the past, sites that look amateurish are usually best avoided.
We also loved all the foreign flags at the bottom of the site, undoubtedly pasted there to give the site a veneer of international respectability by hinting information is available in many languages. Problem is, the flags are window dressing that take you nowhere. Even the “+ more” next to the German flag doesn’t take you anywhere because it's not linked to anything.
Finally, we checked out the “affiliates” link at the bottom of the page, and have a feeling this is what this site is all about: getting cash-hungry consumers to create their own sites promoting Earth4Energy for a promise of 75% of each manual sold. The page also features a dozen variations on the Earth4Energy site ready for downloading. And the url www.ezcbcash.com/products/earth4, didn’t exactly inspire confidence either.
Comments
it's amazing how many fake testimonials pop up when you google "Earth4Energy.com scam".
i guess it's about as convincing as any other pyramid scheme.
Posted by: tom | November 18, 2008 06:26 PM
I've been searching for something like this, but after reading not so sure I want to go with this product. Back to the search...
Posted by: ryan davis | November 18, 2008 06:10 PM
I too have been searching for any credible information other than advertising and found nothing. Thank you for covering this.
I find it interesting that the one person who is so indignant that you would question the product without owning it goes by the name "Jon Sample." Now, there's a believable name! HA! Hey Mr. "I'm not affiliated with them in any way, just a happy customer." If that is true then provide us with proof right here of your project from start to finish (with photos) and real electric bills.
Posted by: Phil | November 14, 2008 09:37 PM
Have been searching for the same kind of info as first poster in this thread. Everything I've found looks like it's owned by or written by the underlying company, especially seemingly unrelated websites. It does smack of an internet marketing scheme but that doesn't mean the eBook isn't valuable. But no whois info on website owner, no BBB.org membership, no independent reviews. Hmm...
Posted by: Jon Sample | November 10, 2008 01:43 PM
I have personally used Earth4Energy and it really does what it claims.
I'm not affiliated to them in any way, I'm just a happy customer.
I am shocked at how you claim that Earth4energy is a scam, without any evidence.
Have you actually bought the product? I have and It does what it says it will do.
If you're planning to claim that a product is a ripoff, at least buy it and review it before giving such false statements.
The product offers a 60 day unconditional money back guarantee, a scam site would have a money back guarantee
Posted by: Vince Botanke | November 2, 2008 09:28 AM
Absolute scam!!!!!!
Posted by: Michael | October 27, 2008 01:12 PM