Internet Advancement.com/4GreatBuys.com

[annabelchaffer]

We have received an email approach purporting to come from 4GreatBuys.com, inviting us to become part of what is described as a shopping mall. However, before responding we took a look at 4Greatbuys.com and found that it is not what we would call a shopping mall, but simply a glorified directory. Does anyone in the big wide world use this directory do you think?

However, the contact gave an email address that comes from Internet Advancement which when searched appears to us to be a poor SEO service. I say this with caution as I have read more detail, about which I would welcome some comments from Forum members, please. Please see this link:
http://internetadvancement.com/90234598fin/services.html

What worries me here is the reference to Directory Information Pages (D.I.P.'s). These sound as if they might be 'doorway pages' which I understand are a "no-no area" so far as Google is concerned (and probably others).

Also, under Accelerator PROGRAMS, the costs sound steep for the work proposed, which in any case we should probably stay clear off! Once you have paid the large up-front costs, if you stop the monthly fees then you loose the up-front payment for ever. Sharp practice?

Fundamentally, I think the approach is somewhat underhand, if 4GreatBuys.com is simply a 'front' for trying to sign up on-line businesses to Internet Advancements services. Do others agree?

Putting aside this 'directory/shopping mall' approach, over the last few months we have been approached by no less than 31 different on-line Shopping Malls (Yes, thirty one) to provide a feed of our products to their Malls. These include The Times of London (newspaper) Shopping Mall (for their readers and others), American Express (for their cardholders, and others), Liverpool Football Club Shopping Mall (millions of followers around the world of their soccer triumphs, or not!) and so many other malls.

Would I be correct in saying that we should concentrate on these clearly legitimate Shopping Malls and forget about 4GreatBuys.com/Internetadvancement.com?

All comments will be appreciated (I am dying to hear Doug's comments - I can almost feel him writhing with a pained expression on his face as he reads the above and the linked page!).