I got a call today from these clowns. he asked if i had ever heard of them. I pointed them here.

*Bobs last blog post..Why Buy Today?</abbr>

I'm not sure this person should garner any more of our valuable time and attention....

Ditto. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Although it's probably just coincidence, what really struck me as funny is your IP address originates from the East Bay area, which just happens to be the home of ePerks and Brabus Ventures, ePerks parent company.

No way to know for sure, nor do I really care. I just find it remarkable that virtually all the "support" shown for ePerks across the net always seems to originate from either the East Bay, or far far off-shore.

Elyce - with all due respect, when you come on to my blog and call me and the people that comment here "morons" and "idiots" you're really not in much of a position to say "don't bother talking to me".

I'm fully aware of the definition of "trumped up charges". In my opinion, that's exactly what Behrouzi and ePerks are doing. I think their case is ridiculous and Behrouzi and his lawyers are delusional. I guess the courts will ultimately decide. The court of public opinion has pretty much already reached their verdict.

If you don't like my opinion, or what I have to say, the solution is simple -- don't read it.

jay dont bother talking to me if you are going to make false statements. eperks

is not suing someone on "trumpt" up charges (you sound like a rapper not a real

estate agent). trumpt up charges when the charge is made up. eperks is suing him

for damages that his blogs caused, that realy happend NOW is it right, NO, is it

ethical being he is a blogger NO but dont say the charges are trumpt up!

Elyce -

Did you bother read the post before calling me and the commenters here MORONS and idiots? It's not "just a fricking email". It's about far more than dealing with spam. ePerks is suing someone on asinine, trumped up charges.

Spam I can deal with. Companies suing individuals for something as ridiculous as this, not so much.

Yo MORONS! Its just a fricking email...DELETE THEM! Who cares, there are more important things in the world then idiots that cant deal with spam!!! Obviously you cant sell any homes because you are too busy with this crap...now thats who I want as my real estate agent!!

WINNERS:)

I agree the suit is about negative blog comments.

However if ePerks tries to say their website and traffic was greatly diminished by the blog I would beg to differ because the robots.txt entry is doing more damage to their website than any negative post on a blog would.

Makes you wonder if ePerks did the robots.txt file on purpose or if its out of incompetence on the webmasters behalf.

If VLAD wants to end this just send the attorneys this link. - Look at the areas I boxed in Red.
http://www.interiorliving.com/eperks.jpg

For those who need an explanation.
http://www.robotstxt.org/faq/prevent.html

How do I prevent robots scanning my site?

The quick way to prevent robots visiting your site is put these two lines into the /robots.txt file on your server

I would estimate they did this around October/November and didnt change it.

ejerks should fire their webmaster and stop the stupid lawsuit. The robots.txt is doing much more damage to their site than any blog posting saying something negative.

If VLAD wants to end this just send the attorneys this link. - Look at the areas I boxed in Red.
http://www.interiorliving.com/eperks.jpg

For those who need an explanation.
http://www.robotstxt.org/faq/prevent.html

How do I prevent robots scanning my site?

The quick way to prevent robots visiting your site is put these two lines into the /robots.txt file on your server

I would estimate they did this around October/November and didnt change it.

Now ejerks go fire your webmaster and stop the stupid lawsuit its your webmasters fault not anyone elses.

Mitchell

InteriorLiving.Com

I couldnt count how many times I unsubscribed to ePerks. But with their treatment of Vlad they've earned their new name: eJerks.

Geez - I'm not sure how these guys are still in business. Maybe it's the blogs I read but I've read at least 10 posts (from well known bloggers) about these characters and their many flaws. From what I've read, all of the posts are well warranted and if nothing else, it's always entertaining.

Hopefully all goes well for Vlad

I've been following this thru Bloodhound, activerain, etc. I think its importatn to do what we can to stand behind Vlad. Its really outrageous and could be anyone of us. Good post Jay.

I hate how when you click on the unsubscribe link but it never works. You did the right thing, but it will do no good. Every marketer knows repetition is key, they need to 'beg like a child' before you will cave in and buy their goods. Thats why marketers for years to come will be sending repetitious emails and junk mail. Believe me, I don't think it should be stopped, but I do think it should be regulated. One soliciting email or letter per person per month maximum.

I don't remember getting ePerks e-mails and I'm surprised as I get so much spam. Maybe it goes to my spam folder. Thanks for keeping this on the radar. I have also set up Google Alerts for this situation and I'm glad to see more people spreading the word about Vlad's situation. I've donated to help his legal defense and hope other's will, too. If I were in his situation I'd certainly appreciate all the help I could get.

I don't know why some corporations are so naive to the impact of bloggers. As a group we can impact the world. My hats off for reporting this. I have received similar offers from other companies and you can't click out of their mailing list. I don't get why this would be such a big deal. Just let me off your list. Additional bombardment of emails usually doesn't change my mind to take a companies offer.

@Howard - *completely* different "Jayson".

@Shannon wrote - "And to be candid I think our industry has had as much trouble coming out of the silo as any." I agree 100%

@Missy - Google works n mysterious ways

@Mark - I've been getting them off and on for months. I'm not holding my breath on the FTC...

@Paul - I'm betting a lot of people get them. Until the mess with Vlad, I just hit the delete key. Simply used it this time to help spread Vlad's story.

@Greg - not a problem. And thank you!@OC
- it can take a long time to build a rep. Not so long to tear one down.

I've not followed this story and I have to admit, I'm shocked. Disgusting the way some people are willing to operate a business. Distressing also, the way that technology can be used to slander someone in such an alarming way as apparently has happened with Vlad. Thanks for not just deleting it - I think it's a part of a great professional network to notify one another of business practices like these!

So from broker science they were discussing the next venture from this guy at ihype. This is pretty funny

"Execution. Since iHype is a paid blog post platform, it would make sense that they eat their own dog food by implementing paid posts as part of their marketing and launch campaign. There is only one problem with the paid posts implemented by iHype to raise awareness about their company, the bloggers they have paid are are promoting Hype.com NOT iHype.com! That’s right, this post, this post, this post and this post are paid posts where the paid reviewers are reviewing the “Ihype.com” launch on June 2nd, but actually discuss the energy drink called “Hype” that is found at hype.com, ouch."

Thats is pretty amusing.

Hi Jay

I have actually been involved behind the scenes a little for some time, helping Vlad clean up some of the mess that "whoever" (yet to be proven) created to defame him.

Along those lines, it is extremely important if you can provide Vlad with the full header information of the emails your receive.
They are important clues and evidence.

Jay,

Funny... I hope the FTC actually does something... I guess what you need to do is just ignore them??? I must have received about 2 a day for about 2 weeks and then they stopped?

Jay, I just had your post picked up on my Google Alerts for the term I follow. ( one of them ) Real estate lead.

Keep up the good work...

Hey, good reply Jay,

Just a broker drifting by. I understand your point about how not to do business. I didn't follow the links but I will. It is interesting watching companies that are used to living in a silo learn how to work in a flat world. And to be candid I think our industry has had as much trouble coming out of the silo as any.

Jay, first of all, I now know how you can be all over the Internet when it only took you 10 minutes to write this post, it took me 20 minutes to make this comment. And that doesn't include the time I spent reading Trace's fabulous post about this scoundrel.

Second, is that "your" Jayson who is the author of the email.

And lastly, why is it that both real estate consumers and real estate agents fall prey to these scams. Don't be a lead and don't buy a lead.

Shannon -

The majority of this post is copy/paste. It took less than 10 minutes to write.

Yes, I could have deleted the emails faster than that.

But that's really neither here nor there.

It's not so much about me getting spam as it is about what ePerks is doing to Vlad. If you are a blogger in any sense, or a fan of the Constitution, it should concern you.

Did you follow any of the links to see what they are trying to pull? If not, you might want to. It's disturbing, and more people need to hear about it. I now know for a fact at least one person reading this has never heard of ePerks. I suspect there are more....

It's also about how not to market, and how to alienate clients and potential clients -- both valuable lessons (I think) for any agents or business people that happen to stop by.

We can all learn something from the study of human behavior. Regardless of if you are here as an agent, a "consumer" or just passing idle time absorbed in the scintillating writing, (I'm *kidding*) take a moment to reflect on what ePerks is doing to themselves. Surely we can all apply some of this to our own lives.

Personally, I find I can often learn as much, if not more from hearing about how not to act. This is a classic case of what not to do....

Oh come on! You Just invested more time writing this post than it would take to deleat spam from any company for 10 years. I never heard of Eperks. Just hit the "add sender to blocked list" button and move on.

@Andy - done! And thanks for lending your expertise to "the cause".

@Shailesh - yup, seems like Business 101.

@Jason - usually I avoid unsubscribe buttons because many report all that does is verify the spammers have a valid email address. But I'm just sick of these things clogging up my in-box. I've gotten FOUR from eJerks alone TODAY.

@Ken - I doubt it will do any good. But it made me feel better. Maybe the FTC could slap a big ol fine on ePerks and funnel the money over to someone in the Dept of Energy who could do something about $4/gal gasoline....

Nice to see so many people getting behind Vlad and standing up against this company. Sure it will be interesting to see how that all plays out.

Jay I would love to know if you hear anything back from the FTC. Have wondered if they actually do anything with the complaints or if it's all bs.

Hey Jay-

Way to take a stand. I haven't received anything from eperks oh crap I mean ejerks, but I have from countless others. It seems like it is never ending with the opt-outs and they never work.

Jay,

Yeah I've read about these guys. I guess they missed the common sense part of running a business: "Don't piss people off".

I got a call today from these clowns. he asked if i had ever heard of them. I pointed them here.

*Bobs last blog post..Why Buy Today?</abbr>

I'm not sure this person should garner any more of our valuable time and attention....

Or maybe its just the smart intelligent ones originate from the East Bay...just a thought:) The ones that actually make money by doing their job...you should take some notes.

Ditto. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Although it's probably just coincidence, what really struck me as funny is your IP address originates from the East Bay area, which just happens to be the home of ePerks and Brabus Ventures, ePerks parent company.

No way to know for sure, nor do I really care. I just find it remarkable that virtually all the "support" shown for ePerks across the net always seems to originate from either the East Bay, or far far off-shore.

I have had my laugh for the day, thank you very much:):)

Elyce - with all due respect, when you come on to my blog and call me and the people that comment here "morons" and "idiots" you're really not in much of a position to say "don't bother talking to me".

I'm fully aware of the definition of "trumped up charges". In my opinion, that's exactly what Behrouzi and ePerks are doing. I think their case is ridiculous and Behrouzi and his lawyers are delusional. I guess the courts will ultimately decide. The court of public opinion has pretty much already reached their verdict.

If you don't like my opinion, or what I have to say, the solution is simple -- don't read it.

jay dont bother talking to me if you are going to make false statements. eperks

is not suing someone on "trumpt" up charges (you sound like a rapper not a real

estate agent). trumpt up charges when the charge is made up. eperks is suing him

for damages that his blogs caused, that realy happend NOW is it right, NO, is it

ethical being he is a blogger NO but dont say the charges are trumpt up!

Jay why bother reading when you can just call names with complete anonymity.

Elyce -

Did you bother read the post before calling me and the commenters here MORONS and idiots? It's not "just a fricking email". It's about far more than dealing with spam. ePerks is suing someone on asinine, trumped up charges.

Spam I can deal with. Companies suing individuals for something as ridiculous as this, not so much.

Yo MORONS! Its just a fricking email...DELETE THEM! Who cares, there are more important things in the world then idiots that cant deal with spam!!! Obviously you cant sell any homes because you are too busy with this crap...now thats who I want as my real estate agent!!

WINNERS:)

I agree the suit is about negative blog comments.

However if ePerks tries to say their website and traffic was greatly diminished by the blog I would beg to differ because the robots.txt entry is doing more damage to their website than any negative post on a blog would.

Makes you wonder if ePerks did the robots.txt file on purpose or if its out of incompetence on the webmasters behalf.

If VLAD wants to end this just send the attorneys this link. - Look at the areas I boxed in Red.
http://www.interiorliving.com/eperks.jpg

For those who need an explanation.
http://www.robotstxt.org/faq/prevent.html

How do I prevent robots scanning my site?

The quick way to prevent robots visiting your site is put these two lines into the /robots.txt file on your server

I would estimate they did this around October/November and didnt change it.

ejerks should fire their webmaster and stop the stupid lawsuit. The robots.txt is doing much more damage to their site than any blog posting saying something negative.

If VLAD wants to end this just send the attorneys this link. - Look at the areas I boxed in Red.
http://www.interiorliving.com/eperks.jpg

For those who need an explanation.
http://www.robotstxt.org/faq/prevent.html

How do I prevent robots scanning my site?

The quick way to prevent robots visiting your site is put these two lines into the /robots.txt file on your server

I would estimate they did this around October/November and didnt change it.

Now ejerks go fire your webmaster and stop the stupid lawsuit its your webmasters fault not anyone elses.

Mitchell

InteriorLiving.Com

I couldnt count how many times I unsubscribed to ePerks. But with their treatment of Vlad they've earned their new name: eJerks.

I wish I only got the e-mails but I get the phone calls too!. Does not matter how many times you tell them you are not interested they still call back.

Geez - I'm not sure how these guys are still in business. Maybe it's the blogs I read but I've read at least 10 posts (from well known bloggers) about these characters and their many flaws. From what I've read, all of the posts are well warranted and if nothing else, it's always entertaining.

Hopefully all goes well for Vlad

I've been following this thru Bloodhound, activerain, etc. I think its importatn to do what we can to stand behind Vlad. Its really outrageous and could be anyone of us. Good post Jay.

I hate how when you click on the unsubscribe link but it never works. You did the right thing, but it will do no good. Every marketer knows repetition is key, they need to 'beg like a child' before you will cave in and buy their goods. Thats why marketers for years to come will be sending repetitious emails and junk mail. Believe me, I don't think it should be stopped, but I do think it should be regulated. One soliciting email or letter per person per month maximum.

I don't remember getting ePerks e-mails and I'm surprised as I get so much spam. Maybe it goes to my spam folder. Thanks for keeping this on the radar. I have also set up Google Alerts for this situation and I'm glad to see more people spreading the word about Vlad's situation. I've donated to help his legal defense and hope other's will, too. If I were in his situation I'd certainly appreciate all the help I could get.

I don't know why some corporations are so naive to the impact of bloggers. As a group we can impact the world. My hats off for reporting this. I have received similar offers from other companies and you can't click out of their mailing list. I don't get why this would be such a big deal. Just let me off your list. Additional bombardment of emails usually doesn't change my mind to take a companies offer.

@Howard - *completely* different "Jayson".

@Shannon wrote - "And to be candid I think our industry has had as much trouble coming out of the silo as any." I agree 100%

@Missy - Google works n mysterious ways

Mark - I've been getting them off and on for months. I'm not holding my breath on the FTC...

Paul - I'm betting a lot of people get them. Until the mess with Vlad, I just hit the delete key. Simply used it this time to help spread Vlad's story.

Greg - not a problem. And thank you!
@OC - it can take a long time to build a rep. Not so long to tear one down.

I've not followed this story and I have to admit, I'm shocked. Disgusting the way some people are willing to operate a business. Distressing also, the way that technology can be used to slander someone in such an alarming way as apparently has happened with Vlad. Thanks for not just deleting it - I think it's a part of a great professional network to notify one another of business practices like these!