click-prime-8-logoClick Prime 8 launched in early 2014 and operate in the advertising MLM niche.

A Click Prime 8 website domain (“clickprime8team.com”) was registered on the 13th of February and lists an “Inovative Group”, operating out of the US state of Massachusetts as the owner.

The email address used to register the domain is also the same that appears on an abandoned trademark application dating back to 2006:

click-prime-8-email-address-abroad-world-telecom-corporation

The trademark was a “service mark” for the “Abroad World Telecom Corporation”, who described themselves on the application as being

Retail stores featuring telecommunication products; Wholesale stores featuring telecommunication products.

Abroad World Telecom Corporation’s trademark lasted a year, being classified as abandoned in 2007 after the owner could not be contacted.

I couldn’t find any specific information revealing the owner(s) of Abroad World Telecom, so I’m not sure who was behind it.

 

Update 9th May 2014 – Upset at being called out in the comments of this review as the owner of the above email address, Marcio Alves has had his lawyers write in.

The domain “clickprime8team.com” is not the official Click Prime 8 website, but rather that of an affiliate (Marcio Alves). Alves’ lawyers advise:

(Alves) has received inquiries about the post that are negative, and newspapers are threatening to post articles linking Mr. Alves (sic) current businesses with Click Prime 8.

Mr. Alves was registered only as an affiliate of Click Prime 8, and has since cancelled his subscription and affiliation with the company.

Indeed, if one visits the domain “clickprime8team.com” today, the website is down. Alves’ lawyers failed to mention who the owners of ClickPrime8 team are, or why Alves suddenly abandoned ship (regulatory heat?). /end update

 

On the Click Prime 8 website, Lui Shau Shing is identified as the company’s CEO.

lui-shau-shing-ceo-founder-click-prime-8On his Click Prime 8 corporate bio, Shau Shing (right) is described as being

a successful investor, investment specialist with low cost.

He obtained 70% of its equity only seeking partnerships with great offers and fascinating projects. He has interests in over eight companies among them an ad that merged with three other companies to launch the project, he is always in touch with their employees and promotes constant motivational speaking and corporate training.

Aims by 2015 to have the largest advertising company in the world. Graduated in Economics, Master in Marketing Management is a successful businessman who began his career at 19 years, where he was already helping his father with the family business.

Why Shau Shing himself appears to be currently for sale is not clarified.

Outside of Click Prime 8, I was unable to find any further links between Shau Shing and the MLM industry, indicating that Click Prime 8 is likely to be his first MLM venture. There was also no information tying Shau Shing to Abroad World Telecom, so that appears to be a dead-end too.

A quick search on YouTube revealed that, despite the Massachusetts address provided, Click Prime 8 appears to be operating out of China (Hong Kong?).

click-prime-8-chinese-office-youtube

As per the screenshot above, South American affiliates film an office space purportedly in China, claiming it is the office of Click Prime 8. The basis for this claim appears to be one room in the office having a Click Prime 8 branded canvas stuck up on the wall (pictured above).

No mention of a Chinese office or address appears on the Click Prime 8 website. From the video above it appears Shau Shing is running things from China, with the question of who or what is at the four US office addresses (three in Massachusetts, one in Florida), as provided on the Click Prime 8 website, going unanswered.

Read on for a full review of the Click Prime 8 MLM business opportunity.

The Click Prime 8 Product Line

Click Prime 8 appears to have no retailable products or services. The company mentions a whole bunch of internet marketing terminology on their “products” page, however no specific prices are provided.

Various third-party companies are also featured, with whom Click Prime 8 appear to have affiliate membership to (I’m aware of at least one company featured, Deal Extreme, having an open affiliate program).

At the time of publication, there is no retail offering of any kind of the Click Prime 8 website.

The Click Prime 8 Compensation Plan

The Click Prime 8 compensation plan is poorly written and fails to adequately explain how affiliates are paid. Despite it being full of broken English and non-standard industry terminology (degrees for pay-period? really?), I’ve done my best to summarize the plan as it is presented below.

Start-Click Replicated Store Commissions

For a fee of $50, Click Prime 8 affiliates gain access to a replicated storefront, stocked with third-parry merchant company products.

Click Prime 8 pay affiliates 30% of the commission they receive from the third-party merchant companies, whenever a product is sold through the replicated storefront.

Note that the $50 “Start-Click” fee appears to be tri-monthly.

Investment ROIs

Click Prime 8 offer affiliates investment positions ranging from $150 to $4000.

  • Ruby -$150
  • Sapphire – $350
  • Emerald – $900
  • Diamond – $1480
  • Diamond 8 – $4000

Advertised annual ROIs are advertised as follows:

  • Ruby – $45 monthly ROI ($540 annual)
  • Sapphire – $105 monthly ROI ($1260 annual)
  • Emerald – $270 monthly ROI ($3240 annual)
  • Diamond – $440 monthly ROI ($5280 annual)
  • Diamond 8 – $1200 monthly ROI ($14,400 annual)

Note that some of the advertised annual ROIs are off. The figures quoted above include corrections.

In order to qualify for their ROI, Click Prime 8 affiliates must watch supplied videos on YouTube, and spam the internet with product recommendations and Facebook likes.

Investment Position Referral Commissions

Referral commissions are offered on all investment positions made by recruited affiliates. How much of a commission is paid out depends on how much is invested:

  • Ruby – $15
  • Sapphire – $35
  • Emerald – $90
  • Diamond – $148
  • Diamond 8 – $400

Consumption Bonus

What the “Consumption Bonus” is isn’t clear, however it appears to be a residual percentage commission, paid out on merchant shopping taking place within an affiliate’s downline.

Payable down seven levels of recruitment, the Consumption Bonus percentage paid out depends on how much an affiliate has invested with Click Prime 8:

  • Ruby – 10%
  • Sapphire – 15%
  • Emerald – 20%
  • Diamond – 25%
  • Diamond 8 – 30%

I believe this is a cut of the affiliate commission paid to Click Prime 8 when affiliates purchase products through their affiliate referral code.

Binary Bonus

This appears to be a binary commission paid out monthly and based on the amount of money invested by an affiliate downline.

Click Prime 8 use a binary compensation structure to pay out the Binary Bonus, which means each affiliate has two teams directly under them:

binary-MLM-compensation-plan

Each position in the binary represents a position invested in by an affiliate’s downline. Points are accumulated in each team (left and right), with an affiliate getting paid 30% of the total amount invested on their weaker side each month.

This value is then flushed from both sides, with whatever remains on the stronger side being carried over the next month.

Note that in order to receive their binary commissions, affiliates must maintain their $50 Start-Click fee.

2% Bonus Tripling Prime

If an affiliate has at least 8 Sapphire or higher investment positions made on both sides of their binary, they qualify for a share in 2% of Click Prime 8’s total revenue intake.

The 2 2% Bonus Tripling Prime is paid out every 35 days.

Career Bonuses

Click Prime 8 reward affiliates who encourage their downlines to invest. Once certain investment milestones are achieved, the following bonuses are awarded:

  • Prime Silver ($50,000 invested) – a $5000 prepaid card for a “Maritime cruise”
  • Prime Gold ($100,000 invested) – a $10,000 Rolex watch
  • Prime Platinum ($500,000 invested) – a $15,000 prepaid card for a “Maritime International cruise”
  • Platinum ($2,500,000 invested) – a $30,000 prepaid card for an “international trip”
  • Double Platinum ($7,500,000 invested) – a $50,000 prepaid card for the “purchase of a car”
  • Triple Platinum ($25,000,000 invested) – a $100,000 prepaid card for the “purchase of a luxury car”
  • Ambassador ($50,000,000 invested) – a prepaid card for the purchase of “property”

Joining Click Prime 8

Affiliate membership to Click Prime 8 appears to be $50 every three months.

Investment positions are likely to be a mandatory additional cost for affiliates, raising the defacto Click Prime 8 affiliate membership by $150 to $4000.

The main difference between the amount spent on Click Prime 8 membership is the commissions, investment returns and bonuses an affiliate receives.

Conclusion

I don’t know what it is about the Chinese guy + South American investment stooges + Ponzi scheme formula, but it’s certainly a model that’s persisting in the MLM underbelly.

There’s apparently no shortage of self-professed Chinese business tycoons willing to target South America with investment fraud, and also no shortage of South Americans all too willing to hand over their money.

Quite obviously, Click Prime 8 are simply taking new investments from affiliates and using it to pay out an annual ROI to those who have already invested. In an paper-thin attempt at legitimacy, the company has tacked on a bunch of third-party affiliate programs, which are neither here nor there to the core Ponzi investment scheme.

investment-returns-click-prime-8-compensation-plan

Due to the monthly nature of the ROIs, there’s a good chance of affiliates not seeing the eventual collapse coming. Couple that with the likelihood of offshore banking (Chinese) being used by Click Prime 8 and well, I don’t think any more needs to be said.

For an idea of what to expect with Click Prime 8 later down the track, one can turn to the two pioneers of the Chinese guy ripping off South Americans business model, WCM777 and Better Living Global Marketing.

WCM777 was shut down by the SEC recently for being a Ponzi scheme. Before that they were issued a cease and desist in Massachusetts, where Click Prime 8 claim three of their four US offices rented PO Boxes are located.

Better Living Global Marketing has thus far evaded US regulatory attention, however there’s been widespread reports of the company having failed to pay affiliates for months now (see the comments in the BehindMLM Better Living Global Marketing review).

When Click Prime 8 collapses (or is shut down), expect Lui Shau Shing to disappear without a trace, along with your money.