Quote:
Originally Posted by TheEnforcer
Why the default to no? Does the surfer in your scenario, if they are pre-checked, have ANY excuse not to read the terms and stuff they are agreeing to? It's all fully disclosed before they hit submit.
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There are two points here, one short, one long, so bear with me:
The short one: Quite simply, this isn't what they came to buy, it is an extra, and these outside sites should be properly investigated by the surfer before they buy them. most sites don't offer links to allow you to check the sites, they don't disclose that it is another company, etc. Pre-checking the boxes is like pre-checking the "I am 18" box - it is laughable, won't hold up in court, and certainly isn't the right way to do it.
The longer one: The sales pitch. Many of these sites involved are pushing price points, $2.95 3 day trials, $1 trials, Only $29.99 per month. They don't asterix it. Combined with the prechecked cross sales, these things are blatant lies. The only way you can get a $1 trial from some sites is (a) uncheck all the boxes on the form, (b) make sure you are only signing up for one site, and (c) don't do too much with your membership or it gets converted early. Failure to do so doesn't just cost you $1 or $29.99, but $124. If you can't see where this is wrong, you need to get your moral compass re-aligned, it's pointing up your butt!
Seriously the sales pitch and T&C here are key. The disclosure of charges isn't clear, often pushed to the bottom of the page, as asterix text in small letters, and have nothing to do with the offered price of the site. When I hit the join page, I expect it to be the price that was offered, not some other price.
Example: Godaddy (many don't like them) when you guy a domain they offer you up about 101 other things to go with your domain. NOT A SINGLE ONE IS PRE-CHECKED, NOT EVEN THE FREE STUFF.
This is super short term gain for long term fucking of the business. If Nick@Ilynx was around, he would probably be all over this with 5 cross sales on his join pages!