It’s likely that you have come across Global Domains International through an email list, on social media or got it recommended by a friend or family member.
Is Global Domains International A Scam? You’re probably thinking this because how notoriously overhyped MLM companies seem to be right? I honestly can’t blame you for thinking in that way as this could very easily be the case with this MLM as well…
First and foremost I must commend you for actually doing a bit of extra research before committing to purchasing Youngevity. For all you could have known, Global Domains International may very well be a scam and rob you of your money so this review could help you suss out anything peculiar about it
To be totally transparent with you I haven’t used Global Domains International so I can assure you that I will not attempt to sell you on it unless of course it’s worth investing in.
What I will aim to do is provide you with an unbiased 3rd party review of Global Domains International that will hopefully help you to make the correct decision in the end.
PRODUCT NAME: Global Domains International (GDI)
OWNER/S: Michael Starr and Alan Ezeir
TYPE OF PRODUCT: Domain registry MLM
PRICE: 7 day free trial then $10/month
SUMMARY: GDI is not a pyramid scheme nor a scam, in fact I think it’s a pretty good and affordable MLM to join if that’s what you want to do. For the most part the domain and hosting services they provide are good and the prices for them aren’t too bad either. It’s a pretty credible MLM too being around 23 or so years old.
However, the commissions provided aren’t the greatest at only $1 per refferal which means you’ll need to do a lot of recruitment to succeed. If you do decide to go further with this MLM you will need to get some good training on how to increase the amount of traffic you can get to the affiliate offer or you could just promote affiliate programs with much more potential than GDI using the training in my #1 Recommendation. It’s up to you which route you take.
FINAL RATING: 3/5
RECOMMENDED: NO
WHAT IS GLOBAL DOMAINS INTERNATIONAL?
GDI is a domain registry MLM founded by Michael Starr and Alan Ezeir in 1996. So essentially what they do is provide domain hosting packages to clients similar to the likes of bluehost, godaddy and so on.
In fact they were once featured as a #37 out of 500 businesses in the world by entrepreneur magazine and because of their notoriety per se, they’ve worked with some huge clients which include the likes of :
- BMW
- Yahoo
- AT&T
- eBay
- Cisco Systems
- Charles Schwab
- UPS
- Kodak
- KMart
- Bose
So GDI is no small fry in the network marketing sector or just among other businesses in general. The owners believe that “You can have everything you want in life, If you will just help enough other people to get what they want.”
This is actually their company’s mission so whether or not they’re achieving these goals depends on your perspective however, I can’t deny in saying that it’s quite an ambitious and admirable goal to have.
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GLOBAL DOMAINS INTERNATIONAL’S PRODUCT LINE
GDI only sell a .ws domain extension for the $10 pricetag which is a bit underwhelming but, it is what it is I guess. This just means that the brand name of any domain registered won’t be easily recognisable like a .com website.
Another thing to note is that the ws domain extension is only really usable through GDI as far as I could find. No other domain registry or hosting service provide the extension so, if for some reason you really want .ws domain, GDI is the only place to find them.
Anyways, within the $10/month package you’ll be provided with the following :
- .WS domain registration
- Web hosting
- 10 email addresses
- URL forwarding
- Easy-to-use online WebSite builder in which it allows them to build a professional-looking website fast.
This is pretty much all that’s offered from GDI and from the looks of it, it seems as if there shouldn’t be too many problems if any but, I can say for sure as I haven’t bought the package from GDI so I guess I should see what others think of it instead.
DOES THE PRODUCT ACTUALLY WORK?
There’s not too much that I could find out about GDI but on bbb I did find that someone did think it worked well and how there’s not really been any issues with hosting services and domain registry.
This person is also someone who’s been using the company for 8 years and although the person is a member, the fact it still works is testament to the quality of GDI I guess.
So in short it seems as if the hosting and the other service are pretty good, if it wasn’t it’s unlikely that they’ll still be in the market or even have won an award in being one of the top 500 best companies right?
However, there is still a minor issue in regards to the domains being offered only being .ws which isn’t really the most ideal way to brand your website nevertheless, at 10 bucks a month, it’s definetly not the end of the world.
HOW DO YOU MAKE MONEY THROUGH GLOBAL DOMAINS INTERNATIONAL?
As is the case with pretty much all MLM businesses there are 2 ways to make money with them, Global Domains International being no exception.
1. The first method is by directly selling the product to other individuals and in return make a commission for the sales
2. You make money through your recruits and downline, by getting residual income by following and meeting certain criteria as well as make money through bonuses and incentives due to meeting company set goals.
HOW TO GET STARTED
If you want to join GDI and become a member you’ll need to do a few things first. First you’ll need to sign up to them and secondly you’ll have a 7 day free trail. After that you will need to pay for their $10 a month package and then you should be good to go.
Compared to the likes of Lularoe, Usana, Youngevity, Forever Living, Kyani etc. GDI is a helluva lot cheaper and therefore easier to to get into.
I think it’s amongst the better MLM’s to join purely because of how cheap it is, it’s technically not free but, 10 bucks a month to remain a member, I honestly can’t say it’s too bad a compromise.
COMPENSATION STRUCTURE
GDI uses a layer based compensation plan which spans down to 5 layers or levels if you want to call it that. Of course any referral below the 5th level will mean you won’t make anything from them but that’s just what you’ll have to deal with within GDI’s unilevel structure.
As there is really only one product in the form of the $10 package, all commissions you receive will be deduced from that but, the amount of commissions you receive will be dependant on what layer your refferals are on.
This is an example of the potential you’ll have with the program :
- Layer 1 10% x $10/month x 5 customers = $5/month
- Layer 2 10% x $10/month x 25 (5×5) customers = $25/month
- Layer 3 10% x $10/month x 125 (25×5) customers = $125/month
- Layer 4 10% x $10/month x 325 (125×5) customers = $625/month
- Layer 5 10% x $10/month x 3125 (325×5) customers = $3125/month
This is showing how if every one of your referrals and your refferals referral were to sign up 5 people on the $10/month package, at the 10% commission rate you’ll be making $3905 every month in residual income as long as they remain active purchasers of the package.
To me, this system is pretty much an affiliate program, you don’t really need to do much work, you just need to somehow promote or recommend GDI and as long as you can get people to join, you should be good to go. The fact that it’s a residual based MLM that doesn’t even cost too much to run is pretty good in my eyes too.
The only downside you could argue is that you only really make $1 per customer and it only goes 5 layers deep (this basically means GDI always pockets atleast $5) may seem like the monetary potential is limited but, as it is a unilevel MLM structure, technically speaking the potential is infinite as you can always recruit more members horizontally in the layers, there’s no limit.
Check out the video below for info on GDI’s compensation plan
THE NOT SO GOOD THINGS
Small Commissions
The commission on offer are definitely small which means that you’ll really need to work hard to get to a level where you’re making as much as discussed above.
Theoretically it’s possible to make $2k with GDI but, with the small commissions at only $1 per refferal you’ll need to have atleast 2000 active people in your 5 layer downline to achieve that
They Don’t Really Offer A Very Brand Like Domain Name
The domain name only being a .ws domain isn’t really the best kind of domain, in my opinion, to have your website be based on.
Ideally you’d want a com, net, org or even co.uk kind of domain name as thery are a lot more effective when it comes to branding you website.
The ws domain does work and as far as I know there aren’t really any issues per se with it but, the fact you can’t choose anything besides that may prove to be somewhat of a problem. I don’t thinks it’s the biggest of problems but definitely worth noting if you want your website to be more brand like in the future.
You Will Need To Recruit A Lot To Succeed
GDI is afterall an MLM therefore the best way to succeed through it is by recruiting. Moreover, because of the smaller commissions you’ll need to recruit a lot more aggressively than any other MLM company out there.
The good thing about GDI is that it’s not necessarily requiring you to sell things face to face ot recruit face to face, it’s a website /hosting service after all however, this doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to make good money with GDI.
You will need to find ways to recruit online which will likely cost you a bit of money on training to study how to do so. This MLM definitely isn’t as aggressive as other MLM’s in constantly wanting you to recruit but, it’s a core component so, if you can’t do that it’s probably not worth joining.
No Transparency In Terms Of How Much Their Members Make
The lack of transparency here is, to me, kind of telling on how unlikely it is that most people are actually succeeding through GDI.
From my experience with other MLM’s such as max International, ariix, Xyngular etc. that actually do show income disclosure statements, most of the time less than 5% of members are making $1k+ a month, which is a figure I consider to be pretty good, whilst usually less than 1% make full time incomes.
These odds aren’t really that appealing now are they?
Now don’t get me wrong it’s definetly possible to succeed through GDI but, in order to do so you’ve got to do a lot of learning and grinding, you’ve got to learn through your own experience how things work or even spend some extra cash on training to learn the most ideal methods.
Of course if you’ve already got an audience or leads to promote GDI to it’ll probably be a lot easier to succeed however, if you don’t, you’ve got to work really hard if you want to make it work so, if you’re not up for putting in the hard work you should probably pass on it.
THE GOOD THINGS
Was Labelled One Of The Best Companies
It’s been labelled as #37 out of 500 for the best companies in 2002 which is a pretty nice accolade to have for any company so I do think this achievement adds a bit more credibility on whether you should join GDI or not.
Cheap To Start Up
With a 7 day trail and then only another 10 bucks a month to keep active as member isn’t too bad a price to pay in order to promote the package GDI offer. The only gripe really is that you can’t promote the program for free but, only paying $10 isn’t all too bad anyways.
It’s Been Around A While
It’s been around since 1996 meaning it’s a 23 year old company which, to me, gives this MLM quite a lot of credibility and this isn’t without the “awards” per se it won from the entrepreneur magazine for being amongst the top 500 best companies.
The Service Provided Is Solid
The service that GDI provides in terms of hosting and domain purchasing for ws domains is pretty solid, there’s really nothing to complain about here. I’m sure it’s had a couple of problems in its 23 year life span but it’s probably not something to put down the overall experience GDI offer.
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IS GLOBAL DOMAINS INTERNATIONAL A PYRAMID SCHEME/SCAM?
GDI is neither a pyramid scheme nor a scam as far as I can tell, in fact I’d say it’s a pretty legitimate MLM business and I’d argue is a pretty decent MLM at that.
It has solid products, it has a very cheap startup and upkeep compared to other MLM’s and it’s got a fair bit of credibility to back it up, mainly because of it’s age and being one of the best companies back in 2002.
However, it still does have a few problems, the commissions on offer are small, you need to purchase other training in order to learn how to recruit members to make you money, there’s no transparency on GDI’s part on showing you how much other members are making and probably the hardest pill to swallow, you need to recruit a lot in order to succeed.
For other MLM’s, I’d probably say that the problems with GDI are probably a big enough reason to avoid the company however, because GDI is so cheap to actually start up, I personally don’t think it’s the worst thing you could join.
Of course if you’d rather learn of how you can make more than just $1 in commissions, my #1 recommended product should prove useful. It’ll probably also help you on learning how to generate traffic for GDI too if that’s the path you want to take.
MY PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION
I personally will always recommend against using a MLM business model to make money, not because you can’t make money through it (you totally can) but, the system has always seemed shady to myself and is kinda synonymous with the likes of a pyramid scheme or scams (MOBE and Digital altitude).
Instead I prefer working with something created through ones own means and is ultimately dependent on yourself and your work ethic alone.
This method I’m talking about is affiliate marketing.
The reasons as to why I recommend it over MLM based structures are because
– there is no need to recruit constantly
– it is a legitimate method that has been working consistently and continues to grow as more businesses want individuals to promote products
– and because it is free to start up, no unnecessarily large start up funds needed.
The service I recommend is Wealthy Affiliate. It’s free to sign up to and will get you set up and ready to start your affiliate marketing journey within minutes, as it did for me when I begun my journey.
If you have any questions that you would like to ask me regarding Global Domains International , feel free to do so in the comments section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can. If you have your own thoughts about Global Domains International and would like to talk about it, again feel free to do so in the comments.
Thanks
Amhil