Paul Birdsall's Streamline funnel system Is a of the century!

Too many seniors and poor people did get hurt by this scam.

It all started in the last week of June. The pre-launch information of the Streamline Funnel System was revealed by Paul Birdsall and offered to the internet community with a lot of hype and hoopla. It all ended up being one big scam. In the information Streamline Funnel System offered a super low monthly membership fee of $ 9.99 per month in return for which the member will get his Streamline Funnel System link broadcasted to a double opt in, white listed and targeted mailing list of 10,000 each month. Any sign ups from these mailings would later be available to the member’s personal list where they can promote any of their own products. No number was ever mentioned but because they were using the new Web 3.0 technology they had already a huge list of prospects who are waiting to receive information from Streamline Funnel System. Of course, in its own way this looks too good to be true, but who had ever heard of Web 3.0? Most people have heard of Web 2.0 and therefore would naturally expect that Web 3.0 is an improvement of Web 2.0. The official launch date to the general public was set for July 1, 2009.

Here are some of their selling points:

See how people like YOU are simply plugging into Paul Birdsall's brand new Streamline Funnel System and earning as much as $1,000* to $10,000* a WEEK from HOME.
• Personal selling, convincing, and explaining: ELIMINATED 
• Buying leads, cold calling, selling to your friends and family: ELIMINATED 
• Mickey Mouse home based businesses that are designed only to profit the creator: NEVER AGAIN! 
• Learning, studying, testing, applying and re-testing the never ending Web2.0 Internet marketing methods: NEVER AGAIN! 
Competitors are stunned and left scratching their heads as our members generate thousands of dollars a week - ON 100% AUTOPILOT!


In one of his audio seminars, people who had signed up in this pre-launch period were being told that their market studies have shown that a sign-up rate of somewhere between 20 and 25% can be expected. That means that a member could expect somewhere between 200 and 250 people in his or her downline. An unusually high conversion rate, but at this entry price understandable.

Due to Independence Day and an official Canada holiday the launch date was post postponed till July 7th. 

During the pre-launch period members were given more information and were told that they would earn about 50% commission when one of their direct downline would purchase an additional Lead Package of 10, 20 or 40 thousand. Minimum commission would be $ 50.00 for the 10K Lead Package. This made the proposition even more attractive. 

Pre-launch members started their promotions and as a result of the low entry price, an unusual portion of people in the low income group, people who have just been laid off, senior citizens and single mothers had dreams of getting out of their financial situation and signed up. Because of all the blown up promises the pre-launch promoters gathered an amazing number of sign ups of approximately 38,000 at launch date. 

Only a couple of days, no more that 3, before the official launch date promoters were being told that the price was not just $ 9.99 because that was only the “lock in your position” price, but that there would be an additional fee of about $ 40.00 per month.

As a result, from the approx. 38,000 prospects about 8,000 people signed up on the official launch date.

Sign up date was a complete disaster. Payment system was not ready and no proper receipts were produced. It was a problem for some, but because of the great opportunity it was overlooked by many. The computer system was a total disaster and so it seemed were the people operating them.

About 2 weeks after launch date, members were informed that the credit card processor had frozen the account for 6 months. They were scrambling to get a new processor and will get back to the members. In the meantime it appears that none of the leads had gone out. Members were advised that it could be between 7 and 21 days before mailings would go out for the basic members who their full membership. In the last week of July Streamline Funnel System contracted a new credit card processor and members were advised to sign up again starting July 28th or July 29th. This fee had to include the $ 9.99 “lock in fee” or 3 day trial that would be returned by the original credit card processor. The original credit card processor would credit these payments back on the member’s card before July 31st.

Originally a commission payment policy had been announced. Commission would be paid within 5 days following the month that a commission was produced. This was changed to 15 to 17 days after commissions were earned.

Much of the problems were caused by misinformation and making of promises that were not being kept. To this date it appears that several of the members have not received the initial payment of $ 9.99 back, but have also not had their link shown to the 10,000 opt in list. Many of the people who have had their list go out eventually are complaining that they have had very little reaction and that commissions due to them have not been paid on time. Others are claiming that mailings have gone out to their list but with links from the founders of the program.

At one point they had a official member Forum, but when too many negative feelings started to be expressed. Many negative posts never made it on the board or where removed. On or about August 12th it was decided that the Forum was locked for clean up. A couple of days later it was re-opened, many of the posts expressing legitimate concerns about Streamline Funnel System were removed. So much for a member's Forum. (This must be the NEW freedom of speech principle) In response, some disgruntled members started their own Forum Streamlinefunnelsystem Revealed, where everyone could vent their frustrations. 

The developers of the Streamline Funnel System have recently announced Phase 2 of their program and now it appears that it seemed to have been the intention all along to merge the Streamline Funnel System members into the Shaklee Corporation and have them put under a number of the Shaklee official Distributors. After some investigation it shows that a number of the top figures in the Streamline Funnel System are also Distributors of the Shaklee business. 

Attracting people to a 'hands-free' money making internet marketing system at $ 9.99 is a far cry from becoming a sales person or distributor for a consumer product corporation that wants their distributors to carry inventory etc. For many of the disadvantaged and poor people who saw the Streamline Funnel System as their last hope to get out from under and turn their life around. Instead, they were plundered by unscrupulous scam artists who were in the process of recruiting a large sales force for a large corporation. These poor people have invested some of the little money they have, spent time to build a downline only to learn that there is much more money needed than they have access to and therefore have to drop out. The result is that the downline goes to the developers. If that isn't a fraud, I don't know what is.

It might be a funnel system, but I am afraid that the funnel is being emptied in the wrong pockets. Is it a Ponzi Scheme, some of the people did get paid what was due to them but many members did not receive anything.

To sum it up; Streamline Funnel System is a scam to attract people to join a program that will eventually draw them into another unrelated company. Many innocent and poor people have been deceived by this group and their fraudulent actions. It is time that competent authorities start investigating Paul Birdsall and Streamline Funnel System and check into this, what appears to be, set up as a fraudulent venture. Maybe they can find out what the "real" Streamline Funnel System is all about too many people got hurt in the process and their last hope and dreams in these troubled times have been squashed.