Update #1: As of 05/17/2010 at 6:00pm EST Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post blocked my home IP address. They also blocked my email address. Too bad they don’t know all of the IP addresses I use (mobile wifi ftw!), and hello multiple email accounts?
I was able to use an alternative wireless network connection to login to my Blog Advertising Store account, take more screenshots of the opps I have taken and have been approved for. I also copied down the URL of every advertiser that is currently working with Blog Advertising Store. I am going to contact them tomorrow to inform them of the shady business they are dealing with, since in the end scammed, pissed off bloggers will yank down their written posts, which will ultimately hurt the advertisers themselves.
Update #2: As of 05/18/2010 at 10:00am EST I have sent all of the advertisers listed in Blog Advertising Store’s aka Paying Post’s Open Opportunities page the following email:
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to give you a head’s up about Blog Advertising Store (http://www.blogadvertisingstore.com) aka Paying Post (http://www.payingpost.com). They have a disturbing trend of not paying bloggers on time, or paying them at all, for opportunities that were written by bloggers and accepted by the company. I, unfortunately, am their latest victim. I am contacting you because as the advertiser, you are the one that is ultimately being hurt by Blog Advertising Store’s despicable behavior. Like other bloggers, I will soon being pulling down the posts I have written for you and other advertisers; therefore you are paying Blog Advertising Store for a service that is not being fulfilled, except temporarily. Furthermore, I am sure that some of the other bloggers that have been scammed by Blog Advertising Store are now not only avoiding them, but you and the other advertisers as well, despite the fact that you personally have done nothing wrong in this situation.
For the good of the blogging community and for your bottom line, I would strongly suggest that you cease doing business with Blog Advertising Store. And since they are not using the money you have paid them to compensate bloggers such as myself, you may also wish to consider contacting them and getting a refund.
FYI, Blog Advertising Store owes me $109 for posts written between January 2009 and February 2010. I have been waiting for payment for over two months now, and two weeks of emails have gone unreturned. Additionally, as of yesterday evening, Blog Advertising Store blocked my home IP address from accessing their website (this was confirmed when friends of mine on other connections were able to access the site; I was also able to access the site using a work IP address), and also blocked my emails (also confirmed when I sent them an email from an alternative address).
Here is a detailed, organized blog post I put together explaining the situation and calling for action from the blogging community: http://www.blogging-girl.com/2010/05/17/blog-advertising-store-aka-paying-post-is-a-scam/
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
Jenn
Well over a year ago I signed up for Blog Advertising Store, though at that time they were calling themselves Paying Post. Between then and this past February I have written $109.00 worth of opportunities. I followed the instructions on each opportunity, included the required links, wrote relevant, high quality content, and submitted each opportunity on time. Every opportunity that I did was approved, and as of April 2010 I was eligible to receive payment, as my balance had rolled over $100 (that is Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s minimum payout amount).
Only… I didn’t receive a payment in April. I didn’t receive one in May, either, despite Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s dashboard stating that I would be paid $109 on May 1st, 2010.
Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s Account page
Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s My Posts page
On May 6th, 2010, I sent the following email to support@blogadvertisingstore.com and support@payingpost.com:
To whom it may concern:
As of May 1st, 2010 I was due for a payout of $109.00 to my PayPal account x@jenn.nu. It is now May 6th, 2010 and I have not received anything.
I have been a bit wary completing posts for your company, as in the past I have read some unsavory things about your business practices and the handling of payouts. Please ease my anxieties and compensate me with the money I am rightfully owed. Again, the balance due is $109.00, and my PayPal account is x@jenn.nu.
Thank you very much.
I forwarded the email to them on May 8th, 2010, and again on May 9th, 2010.
As of May 11th, 2010, I still had not received any kind of response, so I sent the following email:
I will continue to email every day until I receive payment. I will continue blogging on multiple blogs about this issue. I will post on Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter. I will contact the Better Business Bureau. I am also going to contact all of the companies that bloggers have written posts on behalf of in order to let them know that while they are paying you, you are not doing your part in paying your bloggers.
Please, prove to me that you are not the scamming, fraudulent company that the majority of bloggers who have worked with you claim you are. Pay me what is rightfully owed. The balance is $109.00, and my PayPal address is x@jenn.nu.
I forwarded the May 11th email to them on May 12th, May 13th, May 14th, May 15th, May 16th, and May 17th.
Last night I sent the following email:
If I do not receive a payment of $109.00 to x@jenn.nu by 5pm EST tomorrow afternoon, I will be blogging about your company and its scamming practices on the following blogs:
http://www.blogging-girl.com
http://www.heytechgirl.com
http://www.in-my-bag.com
http://www.jenn.nu
http://www.kitty.nu
http://www.mamahood.org
http://www.thatfatchick.com
Additionally, I will be posting about your company on the following forums/public groups:
http://www.payu2blog.com
http://www.lavish.nu
http://www.ning.com (every single product review/paid blogging/mommy blogging community I can find)
Finally, I will be spreading the word on at least a dozen social networks, including:
Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, StumbleUpon, TwitterPlease, take the professional route and pay the money that is RIGHTFULLY OWED TO ME.
I sent yet another email this morning:
I will also be contacting every single company that I have written a post on behalf for through your company, as well as every company I find listed in the open opportunities list.
It is now after 5:00pm EST on May 17th, 2010 — over two months past the date I should have been paid $109 for the opportunities I wrote and had approved by Blog Advertising Store and Paying Post. Interestingly, I suddenly am unable to access blogadvertisingstore.com or payingpost.com, though the few people I asked on AIM reported being able to access it with no problem.
Summary
Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is a scam. Do NOT take any of their opportunities, as you will not be paid for the work that you do. Essentially, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post and the advertisers that they work with will be getting free advertisement on your blog(s).
Unless I am paid the $109 that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post owes me, I will stand firm in my belief that the company is a SCAM. They collect money from advertisers and turn around and provide opportunities to bloggers, only they do NOT hold up their end of the bargain and pay the bloggers for their work.
Spread the word
Spread the word about the SCAMMING COMPANY that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is! Please don’t let them continue to get away with this behavior! We can effectively shut them down by refusing to work for them. With no bloggers to blog about their company and the companies and products of the advertisers they work with, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post will eventually go out of business.
If you have a Twitter account, please spread the word by tweeting about this post:
Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post is a scam! http://bit.ly/basppscam #paidblogging #scam
Did you also try the email listed on their whois? http://whois.domaintools.com/blogadvertisingstore.com
Tweeted about it.
I’ve been attempting to get the $101 they’ve owed me for… months now, and in doing some more recent reading about them I’ve come across some instances where they block people from their website who request (rightful) payment too much.
It’s sad that a lot of people are blowing it off as a loss, though, as compared to being more pro-active about it. Another thing that I read about them is that they attempt to contact bloggers’ hosting providers and file “naming/shaming” complaints if they are talked badly about — even if they’re clearly in the wrong and everything that’s said about them is factual.
wow, thats crazy. I’ve tweeted it and asked that my followers retweet, we have to shut them DOWN!! I feel like next they will come for the younger bloggers, such as myself. I will post a mini blog in my sidebar about this as well!
Not cool!! I hate seeing fellow bloggers getting ripped off! I have blogged about your experience too, good luck getting your dues. Isn’t there a government agency or someone you could contact? Here in Australia we have a department we can go to for complaints such as these, I would assume America would be the same.
That’s so awful! After a YEAR of work?! I hope you’ve contacted everyone by now and can give us a little update.
I joined them under “Paying Post” back when I was actually doing paid blogging – been out of that loop for more about 7 – 8 months. I never got any work with them, which now I realize is likely a very good thing.
I did a quick search on them and saw many other negative reviews.
I hope the advertisers will pull out!
That really bites, Jenn. I hope you eventually get paid for your hard work.
@Reese: Uhm, in that first sentence… subtract that “more” lol
If I signed up with them I never did any work for them, thank goodness! They sound truly shameful and I’m surprised they haven’t gone out of business yet just because of people like you complaining. It’ll be interesting to see if they contact anyone and say that you are bashing them and your site needs to be suspended/killed/burned to the ground!
I signed up there as well a long time ago but never got back. Thank goodness for that! Will spread the word!
I hope everyone involved will get their money back!