Scam Alert: Global Teacher Exchange, Teaching Companion, English Unit Plans
Today I learned about two “new” companies, called GlobalTeacherExchange.com and TeachingCompanion.com, which sell the same exact products as EnglishUnitPlans.com. All appear to be scams!
GlobalTeacherExchange.com says it’s a “teacher marketplace,” where classroom teachers can sell lesson-plan resources that they’ve created — but I’m not sure that’s really true, since 22 of the 23 products it offers for sale appear to be from the same unethical seller.
English Unit Plans identifies the author of its lesson plans as “Susan Anderson,” which is apparently a pseudonym. Multiple teachers report that these lesson plans are unauthorized copies of other authors’ resources.
The previews for Teaching Companion products at Global Teacher Exchange show that they are the exact same lesson-plans that are sold by EnglishUnitPlans.com, except that a different template was used, the company name was changed, and the TeachingCompanion.com previews and web site omit any authorship information. (No author or seller name is shown in the product listing, but on a search results page, “Dan Anderson” is listed as the seller.)
All these sites use “domain privacy” services which conceal their ownership and management, as well as their actual location. There are no individual names, nor any valid address or phone number for the company. I can’t find any indications that there is a credible, legitimate company behind any of these domains. All emails to EnglishUnitPlans.com and TeachingCompanion.com are ignored.
Added: I found another domain, TheHungerGamesUnitPlan.com, operated by the same folks, but using the name “Melissa McCallum.”
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Added: I was actually surprised to receive a prompt email reply from Global Teacher Exchange; see the comment below. Unfortunately, I can’t evaluate the legitimacy of the comment, signed “Jennifer Matthews,” nor the email sent by “Jenn” from a pseudonymous gmail account (mindcleared@gmail.com). Despite my repeated references to the lack of credible information, the person who emailed me did not provide any new information, except for a name which is nearly as common as “Susan Anderson.” (There are three persons named “Jennifer Matthews” holding teaching credentials in British Columbia.)
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Added (August 31): Last night, “Jennifer Matthews” posted a coment (below), claiming to have a business partner, and a half-hour later, another comment was posted (from the same IP address) from “Scott Killin,” claiming to be that business partner. The “about us” and “contact us” pages at GlobalTeacherExchange.com were also updated, adding that name, as well as a street address and telephone number. He claims to be “a Canadian teacher who has worked across Canada and abroad.”
A few quick internet searches turned up some interesting information. I found that the phone number listed (250-686-6262) appears online only in a series of classified ads offering used luxury cars for sale in June and July 2011. I wasn’t able to verify the address.
But when I searched for a teaching credential in British Columbia, I found only one Scott Killin: “Scott Matthew Killin,” whose teaching credential was cancelled after he lied about his inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
I called and spoke with Mr. Killin by telephone for 20 minutes. He acknowledged that he had originally chosen not to use his name in this business because of the effect his disciplinary history had on his credibility (but claimed that there really is a business partner named Jennifer Matthews). He denied being the same person as “Dan Anderson” and said that all of the plans offered for sale on his site were uploaded by third-party sellers. I don’t believe this.
The most favorable conclusion I could possibly draw from these facts is that GlobalTeachersExchange is an unstable e-commerce startup created by an unethical person who is utterly ignorant about running a business. As bad as that is, I also believe that this is actually the same “enterprise” that also operates under the names TeachingCompanion.com, EnglishUnitPlans.com, Dan Anderson, and Susan Anderson.
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Update Sept. 9, 2011: I notice that Scott Matthew Killin’s name has now been removed from the GlobalTeachersExchange.com web site. The pseudonym “Jennifer Matthews” now appears on the home page, while the “Refund Policy” page is signed “Jennifer Matthew.”
Today I learned about two “new” companies, called GlobalTeacherExchange.com and TeachingCompanion.com, which sell the same exact products as EnglishUnitPlans.com. All appear to be scams!
GlobalTeacherExchange.com says it’s a “teacher marketplace,” where classroom teachers can sell lesson-plan resources that they’ve created — but I’m not sure that’s really true, since 22 of the 23 products it offers for sale appear to be from the same unethical seller.
English Unit Plans identifies the author of its lesson plans as “Susan Anderson,” which is apparently a pseudonym. Multiple teachers report that these lesson plans are unauthorized copies of other authors’ resources.
The previews for Teaching Companion products at Global Teacher Exchange show that they are the exact same lesson-plans that are sold by EnglishUnitPlans.com, except that a different template was used, the company name was changed, and the TeachingCompanion.com previews and web site omit any authorship information. (No author or seller name is shown in the product listing, but on a search results page, “Dan Anderson” is listed as the seller.)
All these sites use “domain privacy” services which conceal their ownership and management, as well as their actual location. There are no individual names, nor any valid address or phone number for the company. I can’t find any indications that there is a credible, legitimate company behind any of these domains. All emails to EnglishUnitPlans.com and TeachingCompanion.com are ignored.
Added: I found another domain, TheHungerGamesUnitPlan.com, operated by the same folks, but using the name “Melissa McCallum.”
______
Added: I was actually surprised to receive a prompt email reply from Global Teacher Exchange; see the comment below. Unfortunately, I can’t evaluate the legitimacy of the comment, signed “Jennifer Matthews,” nor the email sent by “Jenn” from a pseudonymous gmail account (mindcleared@gmail.com). Despite my repeated references to the lack of credible information, the person who emailed me did not provide any new information, except for a name which is nearly as common as “Susan Anderson.” (There are three persons named “Jennifer Matthews” holding teaching credentials in British Columbia.)
________
Added (August 31): Last night, “Jennifer Matthews” posted a coment (below), claiming to have a business partner, and a half-hour later, another comment was posted (from the same IP address) from “Scott Killin,” claiming to be that business partner. The “about us” and “contact us” pages at GlobalTeacherExchange.com were also updated, adding that name, as well as a street address and telephone number. He claims to be “a Canadian teacher who has worked across Canada and abroad.”
A few quick internet searches turned up some interesting information. I found that the phone number listed (250-686-6262) appears online only in a series of classified ads offering used luxury cars for sale in June and July 2011. I wasn’t able to verify the address.
But when I searched for a teaching credential in British Columbia, I found only one Scott Killin: “Scott Matthew Killin,” whose teaching credential was cancelled after he lied about his inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.
I called and spoke with Mr. Killin by telephone for 20 minutes. He acknowledged that he had originally chosen not to use his name in this business because of the effect his disciplinary history had on his credibility (but claimed that there really is a business partner named Jennifer Matthews). He denied being the same person as “Dan Anderson” and said that all of the plans offered for sale on his site were uploaded by third-party sellers. I don’t believe this.
The most favorable conclusion I could possibly draw from these facts is that GlobalTeachersExchange is an unstable e-commerce startup created by an unethical person who is utterly ignorant about running a business. As bad as that is, I also believe that this is actually the same “enterprise” that also operates under the names TeachingCompanion.com, EnglishUnitPlans.com, Dan Anderson, and Susan Anderson.
________
Update June 18, 2012: Today I learned that the GlobalTeacherExchange.com web site is no longer responding. The other two sites are still active.
Dear Mark,
I’m surprised and disappointed in this blog post. I have recently started an online marketplace for teachers and can’t help but wonder why you would write such a blog post.
You make accusations towards me without providing any proof to back up any of them. I have about a dozen teachers posting resources to my site so far and expect all of the to be posting original content. If there is an issue with anything the proper forum of complaint would be to contact me with proof so that I can contact the teacher who posted the material and if there is indeed an issue, remove the offending material and close the offenders account. If you have such evidence it would be mature and honest of you to contact me so that it can be dealt with rather than making attempts to slander my business.
The second accusation that you make concerning a conspiracy ring of sites is troubling. I can assure you that I am my own person, and have one online business that I am trying to start up, yet you accuse me of having three? Perhaps you would be so kind as to provide your readers with some evidence to support that claim. The problem is that you can’t because it is a lie, shame on you.
The third accusation regarding failure to respond to e-mails is also false as i have replied to each message you have sent me, yet you have failed to respond directly to anything I have sent you.
The only reason I can think of that you would target my business so maliciously is that you are in some way affiliated with another similar business and are attempting to be subversive.
You should be ashamed of yourself for your lies and slander.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Matthews
First, you are absolutely correct that I received a prompt reply to the contact form submission and each email which I’d I sent to GlobalTeacherExchange.com. I have edited the article to make this clear.
Second, I’m reporting what I’ve been told by multiple credible sources, regarding the literature unit plan products discussed; I’m also sharing my opinions and conclusions based on the facts I have. Several teachers have struggled to keep up with the person who is distributing the unit plans which you’re now offering for sale. They report that each time they act, the same person launches a new operation under a new account or domain name. I have informed them that Global Teacher Exchange is offering these same products for sale; they’ll decide how to follow up. Since you’ve intentionally concealed the ownership and management of GlobalTeacherExchange.com, they will likely assume (as I did) that this is just another scam operation by the same folks they’ve been chasing. If you aren’t Dan Anderson (the person who posted the TeachingCompanion items through your site), then I’m sure you’ve attempted to contact him.
Third, LessonIndex.com is a directory which includes links to both commercial and free products, and some of the links to commercial products are paid advertising (http://blog.lessonindex.com/2011/01/advertising-on-lessonindex-com/). That’s the only way that I’m “affiliated” with any business which competes with GlobalTeacherExchange. As I informed you in my first email, I include links to nearly any relevant teaching resources I can find; I have even maintained links to EnglishUnitPlans.com (with an aggressive warning). As I also mentioned, I seek to provide complete and accurate information about products, and this is quite difficult since your site does not identify the author or publishers of materials you’re offering for sale (which is, of course, another “red flag”).
I certainly would welcome another legitimate marketplace for teacher resources. I hope that you’ll push aside the veil you’ve built to conceal the ownership and management of your company, and its location and contact information.
I tried to find you through internet searches using your name and email address, assuming that you’re located in or nearVancouver Victoria, BC, as your site claims — but I found no references to your email address, and as I’m sure you’re aware, “Jennifer Matthews” is a very common name (unfortunately, this was reminiscent of efforts to find “Susan Anderson”).
I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you; feel free to call me at (925) 462-8483 (California).
Dear Mark,
I appreciate your response to my letter. I hope that you can understand why I am upset with what you have written, regardless of whether the intentions were well meant, however, I apologize for my response being terse, having just launched my business I am a little sensitive and protective.
I don’t like that you posted my private e-mail address like that, I chose to respond personally to you due to the nature of our correspondence, I’m not really certain how else to be proven a real person on the internet.
I notice that you continue to use negatively connotated words such as “veil”, and “conceal” when describing me, yet, as far as contact information goes, I’m not sure what more you expect. My business is run from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, as it says on the ‘contact us’ page of my site, the contact e-mail comes directly to me, and I respond to each message personally. I am a teacher here in British Columbia and Jennifer Matthews is my name, I can’t help that it isn’t a less common name (you must blame my parents for that).
As for why my website is privately listed, I spoke to my web provider and voiced concerns about a single mother having her name, full address, and phone number readily available to anyone who wanted to look for it. Protecting my family and having piece of mind is far more important to me. Honestly, I didn’t think that it was a big deal as far as anyone else was concerned, as apparently many people opt for the service. It’s not anonymity I seek but rather rather reasonable expectations of privacy (I don’t know any businesses that provide the private addresses and phone numbers of their owners and employees to the general public.)
I always respond promptly to e-mail enquiries and am trying to provide a service for Canadian and international teachers as well as trying to gain a second income to help support my family. I am not in the business of scamming anyone, I am providing what I hope is a valuable service for teachers everywhere. The resources on the site have been uploaded by several teachers to date (and growing!) My job is to administer the site to make sure no one gets scammed! Remember, my site is a service and as such customer satisfaction is the top priority.
As I have said before, I am not interested in having any illegal, or inappropriate information on my site, and will welcome any complaints and information concerning any of the posters’s resources. It is part of my responsibility as the administrator of GlobalTeacherExchange to ensure that both buyers’ and sellers’ rights are being protected. If you or anyone else have any issues, please contact me directly so that we can take care of this.
As far as seller profiles are concerned, I would expect that a little leeway can be granted here. Setting up site like this is quite expensive and has been what I hope is a great investment, however, to have a site up and running with every option ready to go is unrealistic if you are working on a budget. Having customer profile and the ability to rank and comment on products is in the works for the next phase of growth for certain. At this stage, I have all of the contact information people have submitted upon setting up a profile and all issues regarding the quality of the resources come directly to me.
Buyers, as well as sellers are welcome to lodge complaint to me, and all necessary refunds are easily accommodated, though there haven’t been any issues to date.
I would appreciate a more innocent-until-proven-guilty attitude as I have done nothing wrong, nor have I been anything less than forthcoming and available to any who have taken the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jenn
I apologize for confusing Victoria with Vancouver; your domain registration uses a Vancouver address (which is a privacy service), but your “Contact Us” page does say Victoria, BC.
But I still can’t verify anything you’re saying, and apparently you’re not going to call me.
I found only 23 products offered for sale through GlobalTeacherExchange.com, and all but one appear to be from the same seller.
Although seller names aren’t listed on product pages, they are listed on search-results pages, so I was able to identify all the sellers on the site. They are “DanAnderson,” “Sean,” and “MisterKindergarten.”
DanAnderson is clearly the same person as TeachingCompanion.com (aka Susan Anderson aka EnglishUnitPlans.com aka TheHungerGamesUnitPlan.com)
Sean’s products use the same template found in products sold by EnglishUnitPlans.com, leading me to conclude that Sean is probably another alias of DanAnderson (though it’s possible that it’s a standard template that I’m not familiar with).
So, 22 of the 23 products offered for sale through GlobalTeacherExchange.com appear to be from the same unethical seller.
MisterKindergarten’s single product description is identical to a product description at MisterKindergarten.com, which appears to be a distinct seller, offering only one product through your site so far.
I got sucked into English unit plans. It was not a total loss, i did get some good packages, however i only asked for the $1 pack – and then found a regular subscription was being extracted. This has been hard to stop, and none of the contacts for the organisation exist so there is no money back.
Dear Mark,
From your investigation of my site I’m still at a loss about what it is that you are expecting. From an outsider I am seeing a slew of unsubstantiated claims, and conspiracy theories. In response I have continually asked you to provide me with some evidence so that I can act in good conscience.
What is it that you are asking of me? There are several profile set up on my site 3 have posted already and a few are waiting for my review. Are they all the same person? I have no idea, but I doubt it. I have access to their sign-up information and they are all different. I suppose it could be some convoluted plan to have multiple aliases, but as far as I can see, there is no way for me to be sure of that, or for that matter that you are Mark Welch, or whether that person even exists. If these are aliases, how can I prove it? And to what end? If the resources are good does it mater what the teacher put their name down as? Now if they are bad or stolen, I’m right there with you.
You are right though all of the resources do have a similar look, they look like they have all been created in a Word document. I think almost everyone creates their teaching materials in Word.
Whether a person has their own site to sell their teaching resources is not my concern or business. Everyone has the right to have their own website, much like you and I have, so again, what is it that you are wanting from me?
If there is an issue with a resource please let me know, bring the evidence that has swayed your opinion so that I can deal with them as it concerns my marketplace. These unnamed people that are following “Dan Anderson” around, have them contact me with evidence of theft and plagiarism and I will check the resources and remove them and the offending account.
I’ll say it again; I’m not sure what else you are expecting from me, if you have a personal axe to grind with “Dan Anderson/Susan Anderson”, that is between them and you, as far as my business is concerned, I am going to continue to run it with integrity, and within the boundaries of business ethics, and the law.
Have your warnings concerning whatever teachers you want, that is your right of course, but there is no reason to include my site in your condemnation.
Sincerely,
Jenn
Dear Mark,
You are confused about the issue, it is not for you to verify me, my business provides a service for other teachers I am not, nor have ever been accused of any questionable business practices.
The issue, I thought, was that you thought that some of the resources posted were questionable, So I have repeatedly asked you to provide me details. Since you label these sites as scams and accuse the poster of theft I can only assume that you have some evidence for me so that I can protect buyers and sellers using my business.
Asking me call you to prove myself is not only insulting (I don’t make a habit of calling strangers in other countries to try and plead my case as to who I am), but also neatly side-steps what I assumed was the real issue here: whether or not some of the resources posted on my site are questionable.
This discussion doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. I have tried to be open, honest, and forthcoming with you in an open forum, but it seems to no avail.
And as for only having 23 items for sale, I’m proud of that, my site is brand new and it has been hard work to go from having nothing on the site to having even one person post things. I’m sure you know better than I do how long it takes for google to bring your site up in the listings. I hope to have many more items in the near future. Your flagging of my site is not helpful, but I have tried my best to reason with you.
Take care,
Jenn
You wrote: “The issue, I thought, was that you thought that some of the resources posted were questionable.”
Nope, that’s not my responsibility or right, absent evidence that someone has infringed my copyrights. I’ve raised the issue, but it’s up to the copyright owners to follow up.
For me, the first issue is whether you are the same person as “Dan Anderson,” and whether this web site is just another alias — perhaps intended to capture and poach more resources that belong to others.
And no, you haven’t “tried your best to reason with” me. You’ve simply pretended that nobody should want to look behind the curtain.
Right now, I believe that it is “much more likely than not” that you are the same person as Dan Anderson, and this is a scam.
Hey mark,
I’ve spoken with Jenn, and read through the comments here. This is all a shame I figure. Jenn and I started working on this site about six months ago, and it has only recently gotten a little traction. We certainly don’t want to be labelled as a scam by anyone, especially by someone who seems to know the ins and outs of online business.
Anyways, Jenn doesn’t feel comfortable putting her information in the public domain, and we really didn’t think it was an issue until hearing from you. I don’t mind being the face and name of our business and have made some important changes to the website.
I have included my full name (Scott Killin) on all of the letters, and I have included my complete mailing address and phone number. I am also the admin of the business facebook page and twitter page so you can check me out there as well to see that I am indeed a real person (and that is a real elephant too!). I suppose you could also give me a call if you wanted.
I hope this will clear up any misunderstandings about who is, and who isn’t Dan Anderson et al.
Thanks for your time,
Scott
Following our telephone conversation, I’ve updated the original article (above).
What I expect from every e-commerce retailer is some credible information about the company.
I created LessonIndex.com to help teachers quickly find useful resources; I don’t want to refer teachers to dishonest or unethical sellers. And when possible, I offer advice for merchants, to make the process easier for teachers.
Once I see “red flags,” I apply some common-sense scrutiny to evaluate whether the company appears to be dishonest and unethical, or merely ignorant about online-retailing “best practices.”
Turn this around: imagine that you’ve found a web site that offers products you realize would be ideal for your classroom, at fair prices. You know that there are crooks and con artists, and I’m sure you’re reluctant to share your credit-card data or even send funds with PayPal, unless you feel confident that you’re doing business with a legitimate company. What steps would you take?
Before I pull out my credit card, I look for some basic information: the company’s actual name, address, and telephone number. I’ll feel more reassured if I find “about us” information for some people who work there. I’ll check to see if there’s a privacy policy, and if I can’t find credible contact information anywhere else, I’ll hope to find it in the privacy policy. (In your case, I found an email address which I hadn’t found elsewhere, since you direct people to your contact form).
I invite you to glance at my (draft) checklist for online retailers, at http://www.markwelchblog.com/2007/12/11/web-site-checklist-for-merchants-draft/
Also see my article at http://blog.lessonindex.com/2011/08/mistakes-sellers-make-on-tpt-and-elsewhere/ — this is a list of specific issues that I believe affect teachers’ confidence when buying from an online “marketplace.”
Finally, I recognize that my name is also somewhat common (I’m not the DJ, or the agricultural economist, or the banking guy, or the Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson, all of whom share my name). But it should take very little effort to locate my full name, address, and telephone number — plus my resume, my profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, and articles, posts, comments, and other stuff that I’ve written online over the past 15 years. And if you search for “Mark Welch teacher” or “Mark Welch lesson plan,” you’ll quickly find relevant information about me.
But there’s also another critical difference between us: I’m not asking people to give me their money or credit-card information without ever meeting or even talking with me.
P.S. Regarding the copyright-infringement issue, I have made my own observations, but I can’t give you legal advice, nor speak for the actual authors of those resources.
Either way, thank you for the links, there is some good information there to pass on to sellers.
Jenn
Dear Mark,
I’ve thought about some of your input, especially from a buyers standpoint, and while I don’t feel comfortable giving out my own personal information on the internet I shall discuss this with my partner and see if he would be willing to put his name and information in the public domain. I will get back to you when we have discussed this.
I just really don’t want any flags on my new business and would appreciate it on your site.
As for the copy-write issues, I will contact my sellers and discuss the allegations and see where that leads.
Sincerely,
Jenn
Hi “Jenn” –
Did you really think the teachers you ripped off are going to stand here and allow YOU to take credit for their hard work? You are seriously warped. We will continue to spread the word that your “products” and websites (yes, all of them that you put out there, “Jenn” or shall we call you “Dan”??) are ALL scams. Every single one of “your” lessons are COPYRIGHTED by other teachers. And let’s see…I have not received a note from you, and I’m guessing my friend Tracey hasn’t, either, on the Hunger Games unit you claim as your own. So your promise up there to contact the other teachers is pretty bogus.
And your website is going to have red flags all over it if you continue in this illegal practice.
Dear Mark et al.
So now someone named Tracee Orman posts here making accusations, and then refers to her friend Tracee in her message, talk about multiple personalities. A rival internet seller making unsubstantiated claims against their presumed competition; also shocking!
It is starting to become quite clear, especially given the post by this teaching resource seller from a rival market place, that you are indeed running a smear campaign as I suspected all along (a quick browse of your index site shows that almost all of your resources listed are from TPT, except of course the few you post for the purpose of smearing them as scams.
You continue to make claims that I have multiple personalities, and that there are unethical resources posted on my site, but continue to offer NO EVIDENCE to support such claims other that mentioning what a third party (this “credible” competing business) may or may not have said to you. I have asked you on multiple occasions to provide some evidence to support your claims, and each time you have been extremely evasive, responded by attacking me personally, and my credibility. This is the classic response of someone who knows that they have no evidence, and thus creates straw man arguments to distract from the main issue, and going on the offensive rather than providing any answers themselves.
I have been open and civil with you, yet you have continued to avoid facing the pertinent issues at hand (the continued unsubstantiated claims of scamming and stolen resources, which if you remember is the basis for your condemnation of my site). Obviously you are not in the business of balancing your opinions, nor doing due diligence before making claims (which I imagine is why you are a blogger and not a credible journalist); Very FOX NEWS-like.
You have been harassing me by attempting to spread libel on my social media as well as in your own blog, and judging by an e-mail I received this morning; by e-mail as well. I have reported you to Facebook, and if you continue to make unsubstantiated and libellous claims about me or my business I will be forced to take legal action against you.
Sincerely,
Scott
LessonIndex.com lists every relevant product that I learn about — and I don’t “smear” any products.
I’ve included negative “warning language” for just 15 products, all from one company: EnglishUnitPlans.com. With my next update, I’ll indicate that TeachingCompanion.com is an alias of EnglishUnitPlans.com, and that GlobalTeacherExchange.com also sells the same products.
LessonIndex.com includes:
“Scott” –
You obviously do not know how to spell or read. My name is Tracee and my friend’s name is Tracey. We both sell two very different Hunger Games Unit plans, which I am sure you are familiar with since your site has ripped them off.
So before you threaten Mark with libel, perhaps you need to look at the products you are selling. If they are, indeed, legit, why all the secrecy about the authors of them? Who wrote them? Who published them? Where can I contact these people for testimonials?
You see, the difference between your “enterprise” and TpT is that we do not hide behind fake identities. We are real people, real teachers.
So tell me, please, who authored each of the lesson plans your site sells? Where do these people teach? I’d like to know the names of the schools, as well. You need to give more information if you expect anyone to believe a word you say.
OK, Tracee, you’re going a bit far, in your last paragraph. Many sellers on “marketplace” sites, including TPT, don’t disclose their full legal names or where they teach, for a variety of reasons. Instead, most sellers in most “marketplace” sites use nicknames which are displayed on the site, and buyers rate the quality of the products and other aspects of the transaction.
Most sellers on “teacher marketplace” sites also provide a “preview” of several pages of each product offered. TPT has an unusual requirement, in that they requires each seller to offer at least one free product so prospective buyers can evaluate the quality of their work.
Keep in mind that in addition to a number of “teacher marketplace” web sites (some serving as transaction intermediaries, and some not), teacher resources are also sold through general marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.
All I am asking for is proof that their materials were uploaded by the authors. If it is too difficult to even show the person’s nickname, store name, user name, whatever, then they are obviously hiding something.
What proof are they offering to us that they are legit?
I just noticed that in “Jennifer’s” comments, “she” clearly wrote as the sole owner of the business, until it became clear that a phone conversation was needed. “Jennifer” used singular first-person pronouns (I, me, my) in every reference to the business. “She” used plural first-person pronouns (we, our) only in contexts that explicitly include someone other than “her” company.
Then, apparently after reflecting on the necessity of a phone conversation happening, “she” wrote:
Scott Killin’s first post (7:38 p.m.) used plural first-person (“Jenn and I … We … our business …”), but his next post reverted to singular only — and made clear that my criticism (which “Jenn” took personally) was now personal criticism of him:
It seems clear that all these posts were written by the same person, the sole owner, who used a different name to conceal his highly-embarrassing history.
Dear Mark,
I Just thought I’d check back in here to see if there has been any evidence to back up claims made about copyright infringement, scams, and theft. None, just more of the same evasive internet bullying… what a surprise.
After rereading your comments Mark, it becomes clear that you really are a second-rate hack. Round and round you go with pointless arguments that do nothing but serve to cloud that fact that you are nothing but a presenter of unsubstantiated third-hand information.
As this dialogue has progressed your stance has become weaker and weaker, which is no surprise given that you lack the ability to follow a logical argument, preferring to attempt to muddy the waters with rookie argumental fallacies,. Your website looks like a 10 year old made it, and your internet investigations required the ability to use google and press buttons on a telephone, also within the realm of a small child. The only information you have presented concerning me, shared under the guise of some skill on your part of course, is what I decided to give you, in the spirit of honesty and openness. Should anyone be surprised that you have used this information to further insult me and my business? You sir are nothing but a two-bit hack.
Imagine a grown man claiming some sort of intellectual victory based on his eventual (self claimed) discovery that a part owner of a business has referred to the business interchangeably as his and ours. What a show of intellectual prowess Mark! I It’s time for you to bow out of the discussion, you bring nothing to the table save to repeatedly embarrass yourself. The one productive thing you did do was allow for the presence of Tracee.
Sincerely,
Scott
Dear Tracee,
my apologies for any offence given, and yes I should have read your post more carefully. You are actually in the business of creating and selling educational resources, and are clearly doing very well at it. You have raised some very valid points, and asked some good questions. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about my website, it’s structure, future, and how I intend to protect the integrity of both buyers and sellers. Feel free to contact me directly at mindcleared@gmail.com.
Thank you for your input,
Scott
HEADS UP, EVERYONE!
I ran across englishunitplans.com while searching for materials on teaching The Scarlet Letter, which our son is reading in high school English.
Not finding any information on the website regarding Better Business Bureau certification, use of PayPal, etc., I searched the BBB website (the company was not listed with BBB) and then searched the internet for complaints about englishunitplans.com.
I never purchase ANYTHING on the internet unless the company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
IF englishunitplans.com is a legitimate business, it should contact the BBB (which I believe includes businesses in Canada as well as the U.S.) to be become certified/accredited.
ALSO, those of you who have done research on englishunitplans.com should contact the BBB to report your findings, complaints, etc. This will help others who are considering making a purchase from this company in evaluating the company’s legitimacy.
My understanding is that the BBB investigates information submitted to it by OR about companies, organizations, etc. The BBB process therefore would provide factual evidence about a company and its legitimacy (names,addresses, phone numbers, other contact info) as well as checking out the legitimacy of complaints about a company. This process can weed out legitimate companies from fraudulent ones, as well as establish the legitimacy of complaints against a company.
Do the world a favor and use the appropriate channels for establishing/refuting the legitimacy of englishunitplans.com.
And if there is evidence of copyright infringement, try contacting the Copyright Clearance Center or the Copyright Office at the U.S. Library of Congress to find out the process for reporting the infringement.
Certainly, any time you’re considering a purchase from a merchant you’re not familiar with, it’s wise to search the BBB web sites — and also to do Google searches for the company name together with negative words like “complaint” or “scam” (and then critically evaluate the results, which often include fake negative information).
But I don’t think your other comments are helpful for this particular situation.
Better Business Bureau: The BBB is a collection of private franchise companies, funded entirely by merchants (most of them very ethical), which can sometimes be very helpful for consumers who take the time to research companies in advance.
A company is only “BBB accredited” if it pays fees to the BBB, which provides very limited dispute-resolution and reporting services for non-member companies. And the BBB can do nothing about unethical or dishonest merchants, other than report information to folks who make a direct inquiry to the correct BBB entity.
Very few small and mid-size internet retailers are even included in any public BBB databases (for example, I can’t find any info through the BBB for CurrClick.com, nor for most education-resource publishers). And it’s somewhat disturbing that the BBB imposes “scoring penalties” on companies with no complaints which choose not to participate in the BBB’s information-gathering activities (see, for example, the BBB listing for Teacher Created Materials).
The Copyright Clearance Center is another private company which represents publishers who wish to license their works for certain types of copying; it doesn’t handle infringement claims.
The Copyright Office (which is a division of the Library of Congress) has no reporting mechanism nor any enforcement authority. As we all know from watching the ominous warnings before loading VHS and DVD movies, there are civil and criminal penalties for copyright infringement — but despite those ominous warnings, the FBI and prosecutors won’t follow up on most infringement reports (as a practical matter, they’ll only pursue large-scale counterfeiters of tangible products).
Private Litigation: The only meaningful solution is for the copyright owners to file private lawsuits against the infringers. But this requires thousands of dollars in legal fees, which can almost never be collected from the fly-by-night con artists who resell other authors’ works as their own, using fake or stolen identities. Pursuing infringers in other countries is even more complex and expensive.
As explained above, these unethical operators use a limitless collection of fake names (individual names, company names, and domain names), and when a copyright owner succeeds (at huge expense) in shutting down an infringing web site, new versions appear with the same products for sale using different company names. (As you can see with TeachingCompanion.com and EnglishUnitPlans.com, the same exact products are offered for sale under different names, with only minor cosmetic changes.)
Most larger publishers hire staff or agencies to monitor, detect, and respond to infringement. Small publishers and individual teachers who sell their lesson plans can’t afford these expenses.
For the authors whose works are illegally copied and resold, there’s no affordable strategy to shut down crooks who copy their works and resell them.
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