A family member introduced me to Gobza a few months ago and I’ve been busy telling people about it on Twitter and my other social networks. I’ve written a few articles about Gobza here at OMD, but thought it was time to provide an update and a more thorough review. Gobza has been in the early stages of promotion all summer and is getting ready to be released.
What is Gobza?
Gobza has a unique approach. Businesses can advertise for free by sharing what are called GobzaOffers with shoppers. These are deals shoppers can search for using Gobza based on what they plan to purchase. Note: this is different than daily deals. Daily deals are sent to you and sometimes result in impulsive spending decisions. :(
Traditionally, businesses have competed with each other in advertising based on how much they invest or the size of their budget. Generally, the larger the advertising budget, the more brand awareness which may lead to more customers assuming a quality product.
Gobza changes this model because business compete based on the offers alone. So, if I want to go out to eat I could search for a GobzaOffer related to restaurants in my area. My search results would then be displayed based on the popularity and quality of the offers and not how much the business has invested in the advertising. In other words, they can’t pay to be at the top of the search results!
Considering Gobza is free for shoppers and businesses, you’d think word would travel fast and everyone would be running to sign up? That’s part of the Gobza plan. They’ve figured out a way to spread the word using online viral marketing and reward people for helping them do so (more on the rewards below).
Gobza is by invitation only. So, when I signed up, I received a custom GobzaLink for me to use to invite others. I can pass that link onto my Twitter followers, Facebook friends and so on. Everyone wins if my friends sign up and use Gobza to make a purchase.
The business wins because they generated revenue through the sale of their product, the shopper wins because they got a good deal and I win because I helped make all this happen and get paid a small commission as my reward. Very cool!
[box type="info" style="rounded"]Gobza - Sign up for free to save money![/box]
How Does the Exchange of Money Work with Gobza?
This is probably the first question most people asked when looking at Gobza. Gobza recently shared how all this works with their members, so I thought it would be best to simply reshare what I received with you.
When a business (which signed up with Gobza for free) creates a GobzaOffer, Gobza earns … nothing. (Gobza is a free advertising platform for businesses.)
We want local and national businesses to advertise offers on Gobza because a variety of GobzaOffers will attract more shoppers. Shoppers pay a small GobzaFee to receive the offer. The GobzaFee for each offer is determined by our “Pricing Matrix” that is based on a percentage of the savings passed on by the business to the shopper.
For example:
- An offer that has a savings to the shopper of $10 would have a GobzaFee of $1. (Shopper spends $1 to save $10.)
- An offer that has a savings to the shopper of $100 will have a GobzaFee of $8. (Shopper spends $8 to save $100.)
- An offer that has a savings to the Shopper of $1,000 will have a GobzaFee of $50. (Shopper spends $50 to save $1,000.)
After paying the GobzaFee by credit card or PayPal, the shopper immediately receives the GobzaOffer via email or on their smartphone. The shopper then takes the GobzaOffer to the business and pays the discounted amount on the GobzaOffer directly to the business at the point of sale.
To reward our community, Gobza takes the GobzaFee and pays a 2% commission to each of the eight connectors directly linked to the transaction. This includes the four connectors of the business that sold the GobzaOffer and the four connectors of the shopper who purchased the GobzaOffer.
In summary, Gobza pays out a total of 16% of the GobzaFee created by every transaction. That might not seem like much money at first, but think about the potential when many, many people are using Gobza to find deals. I know I’d be happy just making an extra $50 per month that could help pay for groceries or even provide some extra entertainment for our family!
Gobza FAQ
Gobza has a FAQ page on their website that cleared up several other questions for me so so I thought I would reshare some of those highlights and what I think may be some of the more popular Q&A.
How is this different from Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)?
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a system for selling goods through a network of people who become distributors of that product. Our Connectors are not distributors and they do not sell a product. You already tell others about products or services you love. When a transaction occurs on Gobza between people that you connected to Gobza, we reward you for spreading the word.
How do I receive my commission payments?
We process all payments through PayPal. On the 15th of every month, if your commission total is $100 or greater, you’ll receive an email from us asking for your PayPal email address for immediate payment. If you’ve already received one commission payment from us, additional payments will be made on the 15th of every month when the amount owed is $100 or greater.
How do I know who has signed up under my GobzaLink?
You’ll receive an email with the email address of each person that signs up under your unique GobzaLink immediately after they register. In August, you’ll have access to a report showing the email addresses of each Shopper, Business and Non-Profit signed up in your First Wave. For your Second, Third and Fourth Wave, you’ll have access to a report showing the total number while the details remain private.
How is this different than other daily deal sites?
Businesses advertise free and risk free. Businesses get all the money for the GobzaOffer they place and they get it when the shopper redeems it. Businesses are in control of the GobzaOffers they make and can make them 24/7/365. Shoppers have access to multiple GobzaOffers 24/7/365. Shoppers get what they want, when they want it, for less. Everyone who connects others to Gobza get commissions for that connection for life.
There are many more questions and answers on the Gobza FAQ page that help provide clarity for businesses, non profits, shoppers and commissions. Check it out if you want more information!
Is Gobza a Scam?
I think it’s perfectly natural to question new opportunities such as Gobza. I know I had to do some research before signing up to feel confident in my decision. Especially since I knew I was going to be telling others about it. Still, I have to be honest and tell you I don’t know everything about the company and what the future may hold. I guess we could say that about a lot of opportunities and businesses. However, I haven’t seen anything that has made me overly skeptical or concerned with their practices.
My initial concern was whether or note Gobza was a pyramid scheme. So, I did some research on pyramid schemes and I thought I would share my findings with you.
Pyramid schemes are illegal and many of them disguise themselves with selling a product or service. However, the only money that is typically exchanged is the money new members invest to get started or membership fees. The products are typically overpriced and difficult to sell, but it’s not the intention of the organization to sell the products. The intent is to get new members signed up so the up-line can make money. It’s proven these businesses can’t sustain themselves. They always crumble because as the pyramid grows so large there isn’t enough money to pay everyone.
This is comparison between Gobza and Pyramid schemes you can keep in mind when deciding whether or not Gobza is right for you:
- Gobza is free to join for businesses, non profits and shoppers. Pyramid schemes require membership fees, large sign up fees and typically pay bonuses. Gobza pays only when a product or service is sold
- Gobza is primarily interested in creating a free market for businesses. In other words they want to level the playing field so small businesses can survive and compete against big businesses because advertising is free. Therefore, their primary focus isn’t recruiting new members. As more people sign up, the idea is that more people will share Gobza with others
- Pyramid schemes offer over priced products or no products at all. With Gobza, the actual products exchanged are all the offers for the advertised products and services.
- Pyramid schemes typically require substantial start up costs and investments. There are zero costs to get started with Gobza
- You typically have a high pressure presentations to recruit new members. Not so with Gobza. You won’t find any high pressure presentations.
- Pyramid schemes typically offer promises of riches. You won’t see anything other than Gobza being shared as a good opportunity for everyone. There is a chance to earn extra money if you choose to share your link but you have to put forth effort and time to do so and again, no pressure to do so
Gobza Testimonials
Interested in hearing what others are saying and if businesses have really signed up? Here are some testimonials from a number of organizations that have signed up and what they’re saying about Gobza. I understand each of these businesses are open to being contacted to discuss Gobza and their plans for using it.
Mike Pede – President, University of Houston Alumni Association
Because it is a revolutionary new way to raise money for our organization for free. Not only that, we pass it to all of our alumni and sponsors and they too can use this new invention – Free Advertising + Free Viral Marketing – to do great things for their families and businesses…at no cost.
William Slack – Ark‐La‐Tex Portable Storage, LLC
Our company, Ark‐La‐Tex Portable Storage, LLC is in with GOBZA. We love the idea of passing it along to create free advertising opportunities and cash flow at the same time.
John H. LeBlanc – Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
We have signed onto Gobza. It is the easiest way to create funding for our school I have every seen. Best of all it’s free.
Bill Fisher – Sysco Foods Central Texas Division President
We’re in with Gobza. We see it as a unique, free way to help all our clients with free advertising that will get them more sales.
D.W. Rutledge – Texas High School Coaches Association Executive Director
The Texas High School Coaches Association is on board 100% with Gobza. It’s a slam dunk because it’s free and it helps any company, person or non profit make money off a revolutionary new patent pending advertising medium and technology… also free.
How Do You Sign Up for Gobza?
Daily deal sites beat me down because they flood me with emails and again, they make it easy to impulsively spend money. Many times the major daily deals share ridiculous offers that I would never imagine spending my money on. Flight lessons anyone? Let’s get realistic!
I want offers that I can search for when I want them and not people sending more stuff to consider and possibly tempt me with. Wouldn’t it be great if local businesses compete with each other for the best discount and not how much money they throw at advertising? That approach is sure to get us the best deals!
Gobza is launching very soon. The only way to join is by invitation only and using someone’s GobzaLink. So, this is your opportunity to join by simply visiting Gobza.com (via my GobzaLink) and signing up. Keep in mind that you can join as a business, shopper or even as someone who wants to earn money. Even if you’re not interested in earning commissions and sharing your GobzaLink, you can still use Gobza to save money when you shop.
I have no hesitation sharing Gobza with everyone because I think it’s going to be good for businesses, especially the small business owners, and certainly for shoppers. The makers of Gobza say that people Google today to search and that people will Gobza tomorrow before they buy. I’m not sure if it will become this popular, but hey, you never know!
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About Jason Price