Expert TVI Express Reviews

TVI Express scam… is it a pyramid?
We’ve had a lot of requests lately to do a review of TVI Express because it is growing like a weed all around the globe. Travel based network marketing companies come with an inherent degree of skepticism in my book because there has been so much abuse in the past. There are 5 areas that we look at in reviewing every company but none more important than the product because if the product does not check out everything else is null and void.

Does TVI Express have a legit product?
There are some immediate concerns when it comes to the product. First and foremost the corporate website at http://www.tviexpress.com does not even have a tab for their travel products. The website is primarily focused on the opportunity which is not a bad thing by itself as long as there is a clear understanding about the product somewhere… the problem is we can’t find much that resembles a product… ANYWHERE.

We found some product crumbs…
In the downloadable PowerPoint presentation from the corporate sitep (which is 75 slides long, only 4 of which reference any kind of product) and in the company’s video presentation at www.getinandhangon.com they refer to a “Travel & Earn Package” priced at $250. Apparently this package is also synonymous with becoming a distributor, which is a big problem right off the bat. There must be a clear demarcation between product purchase and distributor enrollment. When the two get thrown together there is an automatic assumption that distributors are getting paid to recruit (which is of course what qualifies an opportunity as illegal) because in fact there is no other way to get paid if there is not an option to purchase the product without joining the business.

The package is supposedly valued at thousands of dollars, yet there is no explanation of how this valuation is derived. The really ironic thing is that in the slide titled “What Do You Receive when you become a Distributor” refers to perks resembling a product like a “6 nights/7days Vacation in one of the 5 star Hotels/Resorts across the world” and a “Free return flight ticket*” yet the slide talking about the “Travel & Earn Package” talks about perks that are only relevant to a distributor looking to make money. In reality the two slides are referring to the same thing, making it clear that there is no separation between product and opportunity which spells T.R.O.U.B.L.E. for TVI Express should they ever run into regulators which is likely to happen soon at their current rate of growth.

Benefit of the doubt…
Let’s assume for a moment that this was not a problem and look further to see if there is a real product contained in the distributor enrollment kit or “Travel & Earn Package”. The 6 night/7 day vacation and free return flight are both fulfilled in the form of vouchers. Do yourself a favor and Google the term “travel incentive vouchers.. One company offering strikingly similar vouchers to those described in the “Travel & Earn Package” is http://www.incentivelounge.com. In fact since Incentive Lounge is based out of the UK and TVI Express is also based out of the UK, our guess is that this is the exact company that TVI Express is using.

The problem with the TVI Express travel incentive vouchers…
They are not a retail product. They were never meant to be products. They are meant as incentive giveaways for promotional purposes. Direct mail companies use them to boost response. Large corporations use them as value added perks to create customer loyalty. Websites use vouchers to bait visitors into responding or registering on their site.

Vouchers are sold by the thousands for pennies on the dollar with the assumption that most people will not use them. Very often there are “black out” restrictions and “booking fees” that make these vouchers more trouble than they are worth, but we’re not saying that vouchers are a scam, there are some legit voucher programs out there. The problem is that if these vouchers are the only thing resembling a product TVI Express is digging a hole they won’t soon be able to get out of for two reasons.

First off, when vouchers are promoted as an actual product and people are buying to actually use them, TVI is going to experience a much higher fulfillment of their vouchers than the industry average at which time whoever is TVI’s voucher supplier is going to either going to go out of business (which has happened on many occasions as the voucher business tends to attract scams artists to begin with), cut them off or massively jack up the price of the vouchers beyond the pennies on the dollar that allowed their comp plan to work in the first place.

Secondly, there is no way on God’s green earth that TVI Express is going to be able to show an attorney general or the FTC that their vouchers are actual retail products, and yet the vouchers are the only thing resembling a product in the entire TVI Express program.

The reality is that vouchers are the only way that TVI Express could possibly fulfill the 6 night/7 day vacation and free return flight perks because even with massive buying power no company on the planet could fulfill this by actually purchasing the travel.

At this point we are already comfortable saying that TVI is a nicely disguised illegal pyramid scheme. There is really no need to look any further but I will comment quickly on two additional points of my traditional analysis.

Is there anybody real behind the TVI Express veil?

Ummmmm… humphhhh… weelllllll… NOPE! The fact that the TVI Express chooses to hide who is behind the company and their heavily touted “solid investor group” is a good indication that something is not right. By itself this does not necessarily mean TVI Express is a scam but when combined with all the other red flags you can begin to see that things don’t add up.

The TVI Express scam website spend a lot of time selling the industry of network marketing and the legitimate names behind the industry like Warren Buffet, Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump. They even mention Bill Clinton which I’ve never seen done before. Why so much time talking about these people and not the actually principles of the company or the famous investor group?

I could go on and on with this section but with such a black and white verdict, I don’t see the need.

TVI Express compensation plan comments…
I’m not a big fan of matrix plans and TVI Express is a perfect example of why. The matrix comp plan can be done legit (Melaleuca is a matrix and is one of the most solid and legal network marketing companies of all time) but most often they are used by companies only wishing to look legit. The whole matrix spillover concept attracts MLM junkies and scam artists who are really good at playing on the “quick buck” and “easy money” emotions. This type of comp plan is just too easy to abuse.

It would be a complete waste of my time to break down the TVI Express comp plan so I won’t bother…

Final thoughts & serious word of caution on the TVI Express scam…

The MLM based travel industry has traditionally been full of schemes looking to make a quick buck by touting big numbers and checks. After reviewing and analyzing TVI Express I have found that they are no exception. The old “too good to be true” line very much applies here. This review could have been the length of a novel but I do have a life and other companies to look at so I went only so far as to provide solid factual evidence that TVI is not where you want to invest your time and effort.

For those of you residing in the United States and/or Canada, and possibly other countries but I only speak on what I’m certain of, there is a well documented history of distributors being held legally liable for involvement in an illegal pyramid. Even if you had the best of intentions, realize that TVI Express resides in the UK so if the powers that be are going to go after anybody, it will be the top income earners here domestically.