Beep Xtra Review: “Affordable” merchant discounts?
There is no information on the Beep Xtra website indicating who owns or runs the business.
The only identifying information on the Beep Xtra website is the following line taken from the company’s “Terms and Conditions”:
Compensation plan which is on a voluntary basis and exists solely on the world wide web based in the British Virgin Islands only.
The British Virgin Islands of course being an internationally recognised tax haven.
The Beep Xtra website domain (“beepxtra.com”) was registered on the and lists an “Angelos Hadjiphilippou” of “Exevior Technologies Ltd” as the owner, operating out of Limassol in Cyprus.
Exevior Technologies (of which Hadjiphilippou is the owner) is a web-design company, presumably responsible for the coding of the Beep Xtra website and not the owners of the business itself.
One peculiarity exists on the Beep Xtra website on a page they call “strategic partnerships”.
On this page Beep Xtra claim to have ‘a relationship with KaratBars International‘:
Beepxtra has a very special relationship with Karatbars International from Stuttgart in Germany. Whilst at first glance they are completely different companies they share a common philosophy and here is a rare synergistic business relationship.
It is even more rare because the members of both companies can exist separately in each business of Beepxtra and Karatbars International and while this nearly always has a negative effect on one company, the nature of the two businesses means that they actually complement each other’s growth in a constant two way wave.
Members who get involved in Beepxtra are actively encouraged to look at Karatbars.
-Both companies believe and promote the movement of money.
-Both companies benefit when people, shops and businesses join both companies.
-Both companies are committed to honesty of trading and the honest movement of money which leads to long term stability.
-Both companies grow faster when the other has an increase in growth.
In summary Beepxtra believes that every member in Beepxtra would benefit from a membership in Karatbars international.
There appears to be an obvious business relationship here which is not being openly disclosed. I’d flag this as a potential misrepresentation of the Beep Xpress business opportunity.
This concern is only magnified by the lack of disclosure as to who is running and/or owns Beep Xpress itself.
As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money.
The Beep Xtra Product Line
In addition to software installation services charged to merchants, Beep Xtra themselves have no retailable products or services. All commission revenue is generated via a fee charged on transactions taking place within the Beep Xtra merchant network.
The Beep Xtra Compensation Plan
The Beep Xtra compensation plan revolves around revenue generated via purchases from participating Beep Xtra merchants. This revenue is sourced from the 2.75% flatrate fee Beep Xtra charges participating merchants on each purchase made within the network.
40% of that fee goes straight to the company, with the remaining 60% split between affiliate commissions (95% of the 60%), a “national voted charity (2.5%) and “local language support staff” (2.5%).
Cashback
When a Beep Xtra affiliate completes a transaction in the Beep Xtra merchant network, they generate a cashback which is loaded onto their account. This cashback can be used to pay for or put towards other transactions made within the Beep Xtra merchant network.
Shop Commission
When an affiliate signs up a store or other affiliates under them, they earn a percentage of the 60% of the 2.75% fee Beep Xtra charges merchants per transaction.
40% in total is paid out under shop commissions, with
- 20% going to the affiliate who signed up the shop the transaction was made and
- 20% going to the affiliate who handed out the Beep Xtra card used to make the transaction
Beep Xtra Affiliate Membership Ranks
There are six affiliate membership ranks within the Beep Xtra compensation plan and, along with their respective qualification criteria they are as follows:
- Sales Manager – create a Beep Xtra account
- Area Sales Manager – personally recruit at least 3 Sales Managers
- Regional Sales Manager – personally recruit at least 3 Area Sales Managers
- National Sales Consultant – personally recruit at least 3 Regional Sales Managers
- Regional Sales Consultant – personally recruit at least 5 National Sales Consultants
- Global Sales Consultant – personally recruit at least 5 Regional Sales Consultants
Differential Bonus
The Differential Bonus consists of up to 30% of 55% of 60% of the 2.75% Beep Xtra charge merchants per purchase made within the network.
- Area Sales Manager – 10%
- Regional Sales Manager – 15%
- National Sales Consultant – 20%
- Continental Sales Consultant – 25%
- Global Sales Consultant – 30%
I believe the Differential Bonus is paid out to the affiliate who handed out the Beep Xtra card used to make a transaction, however this is not clarified in the Beep Xtra compensation plan material.
Leadership Commission
The Leadership Commission pays out a percentage of the 55% of the 60% of the 2.75% Beep Xtra charge merchants per purchase made within the network.
This percentage is paid out down a possible five levels of recruitment, with how many levels a Beep Xtra affiliates is paid on being determined by their affiliate membership rank:
- Level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 1%
- Level 2 – 2%
- Level 3 – 3%
- Level 4 – 4%
- Level 5 – 5%
Again, it’s not explicitly specified in the Beep Xtra compensation plan material but I believe the Leadership Commissions are paid out according to the affiliate who handed out the card used to make a transaction.
Ie. If you recruit a new affiliate and a card they handed out was used to make a transaction, you’d earn the level 1 1% commission. If an affiliate they recruited did the same, you’d earn a 2% level 2 commission and so on.
World Bonus
Other than providing a percentage of the World Bonus affiliates can earn, Beep Xtra provides no further information on the bonus.
- National Sales Consultant – 2%
- Regional Sales Consultant – 3%
- Global Sales Consultant – 5%
Presumably the above percentages are three separate global revenue volume pools (10% of 55% of 60% of every 2.75% fee charges goes into the pools), which is periodically paid out to qualifying affiliates equally (one affiliate = 1 share).
Joining Beep Xtra
Affiliate membership to Beep Xtra is free.
Merchants can sign up as affiliates, however they themselves must be signed on as merchants within the network (which attracts an additional fee of between $125 to $400 (see conclusion below).
Conclusion
As as is typical with cashback MLM opportunities, Beep Xtra’s business model will need some time to fully understand. It’s not as bad as say the nightmare that is say Lyoness, but whenever a company starts talking about a percentage of a percentage of a percentage of a percentage as a commission, inevitably people are going to get lost (I know I did).
That said having gone over Beep Xtra’s plan now the basic idea is that merchants foot the bill for the shopping network. In addition to the cashback discount offered (which has to be a minimum 2.5%), Beep Xtra charges merchants a 2.75% fee per transaction within the network, which is the money that is used to pay commissions to affiliates (amongst other things).
It’s worth noting that as a point of reference, if $100 was spent you as an affiliate are going to receive a percentage of the $2.75 fee Beep Xtra receives from the merchant.
Success within the Beep Xtra network revolves around the signing up of merchants, which itself might prove challenging.
If a merchant requires a Beep Xtra supplied tablet to keep track of Beep Xtra transactions, they charge them $400 on delivery. A merchant can reduce this cost by prepaying only $235, however this results in an installation date of anywhere between 30 to 60 days.
If a merchant uses a computer system already, the cost for participation $210 if paid on the day of installation, or $125 prepaid for an installation within 30-60 days.
200 and something cards are included with either installation, with the signing up as an affiliate by a merchant definitely an additional marketing angle, however it should be noted that additional cards to hand out have to be bought first from Beep Xtra.
Cards appear to be sold in the thousands (regular or custom printed), but I wasn’t able to find a firm price on them.
Finally in order to generate revenue within the business, a Beep Xtra merchant has to be willing to offer discounts to Beep Xtra affiliates, and pay Beep Xtra a mandatory 2.75% fee per transaction within the network.
Get through all that and, assuming Beep Xtra affiliates shop at the merchant, that’s where the commissions revenue comes from.
As far as I can see all affiliate commission revenue is sourced from transactions within the network, with there being no attached “Accounting Unit” style component ala Lyoness.
That goes a long way towards the legitimacy of the opportunity, with my only question being that of retail. As I see it retail in Beep Xtra’s model are merchants who don’t also actively participate as affiliates. They provide revenue by way of software installation and then via sales transactions.
If the bulk of merchants who sign up also go the affiliate route, then there’s potentially a question to be raised regarding retail activity within the network. Naturally with merchants being third-parties, their own products do not count as Beep Xtra’s, as all they’re doing is offering access to a discount through the network.
Discounts on third-party products and services alone is not a viable MLM product.
That issue aside, if they can get enough non-affiliate merchants on board then this might be one opportunity to watch. I will say that as it stands it’s definitely one of the more viable (read: non-affiliate funded) cashback MLM opportunities I’ve seen launched to date.
One final note, be wary of a tie in with KaratBars International or any pressure to sign up to the opportunity (or any other opportunities for that matter), simply because you’re a member of Beep Xtra.
The “strategic partner” page on the Beep Xtra website definitely reads like they’re not willing to reveal the full extent of the obvious relationship between the two companies, which raising questions of transparency within the business, raises a potentially serious red flag (potential misrepresentation of the greater Beep Xtra business at large).
It’s worth mentioning that Cyprus itself is a bit of a international monetary “safe haven”, being near Europe but not precisely “in” Europe.
TVI Express setup a fake office (probably virtual) in Cyprus. Cyprus was also famous for being money laundering heaven for the Russian mob and Al Qaeda (specifically, the rumored Al Qaeda navy, the fleet of merchant vessels Al Qaeda allegedly uses to move people and equipment around the world), until Europe forced it to clean up its banking system for it to join the EU.
Good evening from Sunny Cyprus, and a very big Thank You for an honest review!!!
The fact that BeepXtra has a review up here, which means it came all the way to you, and backwards, on Day 6 after launch, really really exceeds my expectations!
To fill in some blanks, and please excuse me if it’s not all as time is of the essence. Indeed you have rightfully discovered my name as owner of the domain and Exevior Technologies Ltd behind it. I am one of the investors and active directors of BeepXtra as well as owner of Exevior and a multitude of other Technology related companies.
Furthermore, Beep has offices in BVI, UK, and Cyprus as it’s HQ for a number of reasons, including the well spotted “Tax Heaven” of both BVI and Cyprus.
Cyprus being the HQ, strategically placed in the center of the globe, being a crossroad of 3 continents in shipping and very easy access to the rest continents, along with the current economic standard and low labour costs, it establishes a very prosperous and viable location for expansion or handling our operations globally, left right and center.
Virtual Office? Definitely not, as I spend most of my days in it lately!!!
Most of the rest you got it, so there is no need in correcting numbers or phrases here and there. The general point is, it’s Free to join, free to use, pay’s you back for giving your friends a free discount card or a fellow store owner to gain access to a global loyalty card… I’ve had comments that it’s too good to be true!!!
Maybe i should tell the developers NOT to make everything so simplified? 😉
Best regards, and thank you again
Angelos Hadjiphilippou
IT Director and Co-Founder
Hi Angelos, can we get a list of the owners of Beep Xtra (specifically on the MLM side of things). You’re obviously bringing the tech side to the business but it’s always good to know where the MLM history of a company is coming from.
Also some further clarification on the specific nature of the relationship between Karatbars International and Beep Xtra is also needed.
Other than that good luck with the business!
It’s that other scam.
How are you viewing FlexKom as competitor? 🙂
Hi Angelos
Thanks for fronting up, but like Oz I would like to see more on the founders and a physical address of the business.
I am a member of Karatbars which is located in Germany and is a very reputable business so if you have connections to them that would give me a lot of comfort.
I would really like clarity on ownership as I am in a position to offer this to a Global, well established, respected Company who have high ticket sales, mostly above $10,000.
Before presenting this to them I would really need to know beepxtra was sound and going to be around in years to come.
Thanks Carl
Hi Carl,
I 2 am a member of Karatbars and also Beep and very exited about what beep have created in the back office for merchants.
They have programmed into the EPOS terminals which they provide, a option where a customer can convert the cash they have gained on the loyalty cards into purchasing Karatbars gold if they wish which as you know in stable currency world wide.
Then at some point in the future customers holding gold cards can convert the gold back into cash using the beep registered shops.
This gives Karatbars in one stroke exchange shops which they are keen to have, and beep customers a chance to save gold. But the best bit it’s free to use.
Hi Angelos,
I tried to sign up as Karatbar free member thru Beepxtra site and it showed exevior as sponsor, that means you are using this dummy program to get sign up for Karatbar.
As per Mark’s post above, so basically the KB gold relationship is the upsell to BeepXtra affiliates to participate in Karatbars as an affiliate under Angelos Hadjiphilippou (Exevior).
I hope this is fully disclosed to participating affiliates and not done secretly on the sly (with them having no idea about their automatically assigned upline).
An excellent critics review!
I have been with Beep from the beginning, and they are a joy to work with. If you are an affiliate, and you point something out that could be clarified, or something else that should be mentioned, how often do you usually get listened to?
Karatbars has been removed from the Beep site, so that people don’t think they are being pitched 2 businesses in 1. Anyone already in KB could benefit from Beep, but that’s as far as it goes.
On the cards for shops, in the review you say they get 200 something….
The shops get 250 on day 1 of going live in the network, then when they have registered 175 of those they will receive another 250. FREE.
The shops will also be able to offer their goods and services through the Beepstores portal, the 2.75% is essentially advertising revenue. In return they should get extra footfall.
On the 30-60 days integration times, I don’t know the authors history, but when I worked in retail if integration times were 7-14 days you wouldn’t have time to prepare and train staff for the new system. So 30 days seems very practical to me.
If you’re lucky enough to get an invite to join this company a week after launch, grab it with both hands!
Hi Oz
Far from it everything it is out in the open regarding this, as they are 2 separate company’s just working together and allowing affiliates to participate in both without conflict.
The up sell that you are taking about going to Angelos via Karatbars only works if someone is registered under him, and you cannot do it on the sly as it has strict checks about them from Karatbars as you are trading gold around the world, which is highly regulated.
Like me it was not the case as I was in Karatbars first before Beep, and the same can be said about most affiliates registered with Karatbars, it just gives customers the extra choice, spend the cash or buy gold.
From a personnel reason I registered with Karatbars to buy gold every month for my nest egg as my pension is crap. But also good tax reasons as well.
Also like Beep you can join and register for Karatbars Free, it’s up to you to upgrade if you wish.
Like it’s said its Free to use free join !,,,
Regards
Mark
@Mark
When I said “on the sly” I meant Beep Xtra signing people up unknowingly under their affiliate link. There was no mention of this on the Beep Xtra Karatbars International page.
If they’ve since removed that page altogether that tells me there was some confusion. Glad to see they’ve responded accordingly.
I think if you’re launching your own MLM company then it’s always going to be a bit iffy to cross recruit your affiliates into another third-party opportunity. It’s just not professional.
Managing director is Lyndon Farrington. He’s a networker and not the person you would like to see on this position. He ‘worked’ at Banners Broker, Karatgold, Amway and (very) recent at Flekom. Google on Flexkom and his name and you will still find some Flekom vids of him.
Still not an answer on question:who are the founders / owners / investors of Beep.
As there are ex Flexkom members involved in this Beep story you better watch out….
@Marc O
That’s because Flexkom charges £1500 plus just for signing in. What do you think happens when people sees another opportunity with the same business model but FREE to sign up…
GO figure…
Is it time *already* to start raising red flags ?
These people do *not* communicate. There’s hardly any activity from them on their FB Page. Questions asked are not being answered.
Exactly 1 Tweet since they started. The same goes for questions to Support. Not even a support ticket, let alone an answer.. twice.
Integrations for ePOS systems can now be ordered. Nice, but for *what* ePOS systems ?… No explanation…
If they’re serious in rolling out this concept, with Flexkom and Lyoness still in mind I hope they realize they have to thread very carefully if they want to build any credibility. This is definitely *not* the way to build it.
Don’t tell me this is simply a way to scam people out of their money by selling them cheap chinese tablets with a markup?
The compenstation plan of Beepxtra is ridiculous. They intend to pay people a percentage of the turnover of all the shops they’ve signed up FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
Newton already exposed this theory ages ago in his 3rd law. You can’t expect to receive lifetime commissions for a one time action e.g. the single signup of a store.
Should Beepxtra proceed with this compensation plan, then they’re an easy prey for competitors. A competitor could copy the system of Beepxtra, cut out the unnecessary middle man (being the thousnands of distributors receiving money for nothing) and sell its system for a fraction of the costs of Beepxtra.
I received the following additional information on BeepXtra via email:
1000 cards for $100 or 5000 cards for $500, and tablets are $230 to $395 + $250 “integration fee”.
Board of Directors is listed as:
-Lyndon Farington (Managing Director)
-Angelos Hadjiphilippou (IT Director) and
-Michael Wilstrop (Commercial Director)
The Karatbars stuff is gone, not sure what was going on there.
Additional information:
Factual information works a lot better than “You simply don’t understand our business!”. 🙂
To be precise,
There’s no + $250,= integration fee with the tablets. They’re supplied and delivered with the service already installed.
F.Y.I
Going off memory here, wasn’t the integration getting them to work with an existing system? (ie. integration)?
If I understand correctly, [someone correct me if I’m wrong] you can the order the complete ePOS system and use it separately on a tablet or laptop you already own, and it can also be integrated in existing ePOS systems (in cooperation with Beep tech support) if they are compatible..with Beep included of course.
The tablets are for “basic” transactions, adding discounts and making payments with discounts saved.
To complete my former post..
As of today 2 API’s for integration in a 3d Party ePos and for integration in webstores are offered on beepmarket.com
Surprise! Beepxtra now offering a members only “Profit Share Program”.
For only £600 initial fee and £100 per month x 30 you too can own a share of this “company” which is heavily promoted by former Flexkom reps.
So the idea that merchants would fund commissions flopped… and now it’s a 600 EUR buy-in Ponzi?
Oh dear.
From the Beep website..
I wonder what happens when management blow through the funds raised by the virtual shares…
I think they said founding investors received shares and they held back 300 for members. I could see those other shares becoming miraculously available to sell for some reason.
Also, I don’t understand securities but, shouldn’t there be some official documents filed somewhere. Exactly how many shares were initially issued etc.?
Scratch that last paragraph, I see the difference with privately held companies. Actually I think they planted the seed mentioning those other “shares”. No doubt they will come available if the scheme lasts that long and if they find enough suckers to buy the 300. But then again, who is keeping count and monitoring that the count is accurate. They could sell 3000 and call it 300!! Sure hope the owners are trustworthy. I’d check their background and make sure they weren’t involved with other schemes like say….Banners Broker or Flexkom for example. Oh wait.
Oz, there appears to be some activity on Beep recently.
Now have an App and a BeepXCoin and there is a BeepMarket too, I have seen on their updated website. all with dot com suffix.
No idea how many reps or users.
I was first approached about it in 2013, and rejected it.
See their main company house record still shows them as Dormant with increasing debt.
And out of the blue, I have been approached again today.
Answer remains no.
Bored covid-19 scammers? Beep Xtra’s website Alexa ranking is over 8 mill.