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Helen M.

6
Level 6 Contributor
California City, United States

Contributor Level

Total Points
14,820

About Me

Love shopping online and giving my opinion of websites. Also review and rate survivalist, farmer, homesteader, and off-the-grid tools and gadgets online.

How I Can Help

Like to compare and read biographical and non-fiction books.

Interests

Writing, art journaling, reading.

95 Reviews by Helen

  • Nexo

10/4/20

This crypto banking firm has ridiculously high minimums that are out of reach of the typical investor, and if you are not investing in crypto you must be an accredited investor to earn interest on USD. I found no mention of the accredited requirement anywhere on the main page of the website, except when I contacted support after I signed up to use this option. I think it is unfair and dishonest that they do not make clear that one must be an accredited investor or have tons of crypto laying around in order to join this banking firm. Stay away.

Tip for consumers:
Only if you have a large amount of crypto laying around can you use this site. Dishonest people.

Products used:
USD interest investing.

  • GotFreeFax

5/12/20

I tried faxing someone through this site and realized that it is superior to most free fax services and sites for the U.S. and Canada. They have international options but the US and Canada is their primary focus. I love it and just wish I had known about it sooner. They have paid options for bigger faxes as well. I recommend this as the best free option out there and urge everyone to try it instead of keeping a fax machine.

Products used:
I faxed someone using the free service.

Value
Quality
  • Royalneighbors.org

4/29/20

This company relies on the services of multi-level, commissions based, 1099 type scams to promote its policies. I find this truly egregious as many of those employees are not paid fairly, and in keeping with their status as a scheme these marketing organizations often mislead potential employees about commuting there, hourly compensation, what training is required for the job, etc. Also, a cursory search on policy genius quoting tool reveals that Royal Neighbor's policies are twice that of the nearest competitor, without any justification for their high premiums. Often companies like this prey upon the elderly and high income individuals, using Long Term Insurance and Annuity misrepresentations that are just designed to make revenue for the company, not help the investor or premium paying individual. Avoid at all costs.

Tip for consumers:
Just avoid them at all costs and don't be fooled by the fact that they are over a century old. Some cons are as old as time.

  • Mutual of Omaha

4/29/20

Don't ever buy life insurance it is a predatory scheme upon those with high incomes and the elderly. They also charge twice as much in premiums as their competitor for a comparable policy as a quick search on policygenius.com will reveal. The sheer extremeness of their premium prices means that no one could possibly be saving a single cent from taxes, despite what salespeople at Mutual of Omaha may claim. There exist several multi-level, 1099 contractor, work-from-home style schemes that defraud their employees, and create false listings on the job search websites promising things to the employees that they never deliver. I personally stopped searching for a job online simply because of how aggressively these schemers promote their marketing fraud. There are reviews under the site name www.mutualofomahalife.com for this company, but I think they slyly changed the domain name of the site in order to avoid the bad reviews. Also, don't be fooled by the fact that they are a 100 plus year old company and make claims of reputability based on this. Some scams and schemes are as old as time, this is one of them.

Tip for consumers:
Its not a true tax savings idea and don't be taken in by the fact that they have been in business for so long.

  • Foresters

4/29/20

This company relies upon 3rd party life insurance sales organizations to vend its insurance policies, which are often multi-level 1099 type contractor schemes. I heartily disagree with this business practice, and believe that life insurance sales licenses should no longer be issued by the government, given just how egregiously inappropriate the business practices used by insurance companies that sell life insurance like Foresters are. A cursory search through policygenius.com also reveals that they charge twice as much in premiums as their competitor, probably to monetize and fund superfluousness caused by their way of doing business. There is no way that anyone would save any appreciable money on taxes given just how steep their premiums are. All one really needs is probably health, cyber crime and property insurance, no more. A win-lose scenario where the premiums payer loses for sure.

Tip for consumers:
Just avoid it and don't ever buy life insurance or anything else from this company.

Products used:
Compared premiums on policy genius quoting tool.

  • Indeed

4/9/20

I found 4+ jobs on indeed that don't have a job posting individual who answers potential employee's questions on this site, and includes a work-at-home scam that I am currently struggling to rectify. Despite this, the customer support assures me that it is all right and that they were able to "verify" (read disclaim job seekers concerns about) potential employers and listings. I would definitely avoid this site.

Tip for consumers:
Don't apply for any work from home job offers. Its just a baited hook to extortionists and con artists.

Service
Value
Quality
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Indeed-Support S. – Indeed Rep

Hi Helen, we are very sorry to hear about your poor experience with Indeed. We have sent you a private message to further assist.

  • Freelancer

4/5/20

These professionals have been thoroughly trained and vetted, and payment is carefully arranged so that individuals that work for the website get paid properly. Forget Fiverr and Insolvo. This is a much better option.

  • Hollander's

4/1/20

Prompt shipping of requested goods and prompt delivery of the requested items with fair prices. They are geared less towards the novice and more towards intermediate students of bookbinding who know their craft. They are based out of Ann Arbor in Michigan and have helpful staff and a wide-ranging selection. Another recommended bookbinding and conservation vendor is TALAS bookbinding.

Products used:
I used the 2-ply linen cord and the curved sewing needles.

  • Hashrapid.io

3/15/20

I can't recommend doing business with these people without a a background check and perhaps a contact person one can verify the bitcoin assignments with, maybe old blockchain addresses they used in the past or something. Foreign site, I wouldn't place much trust in it. I say this because their website is registered in Panama, not in the United States, and there is really no way of knowing who or what is behind this site especially since there is no registrant listed in domain entries about the website. I can't find any people's names or e-mail addresses in domain research on the website, so users who enter personal information or accept gigs for this website are pretty much on their own. Domain expiration is in 2020 and there is not a lot of history about the website. Buyer/future employee beware.

Tip for consumers:
Registered in Panama, no info for USA users.

Products used:
None, I wouldn't advise others to do so either.

Shipping
Quality
  • Udemy

3/9/20

I have become a habitual user of Udemy for all my basic educational and informational needs. Other than perhaps Amazon.com Kindle books, I tend towards Udemy's instructors for a recent drawing course, finance course, etc. Some information given here tends to be too generic to be dependable and useful, but overall I like Udemy's course offerings and panel of instructors. The only concern I have with this site is the low prices they charge which may or may not be as scrupulous treatment of instructors as one can give a person who is educating others. The customer service here has improved significantly in terms of delay in response times to a support ticket and resolution of student issues in the last 2 years (since 2018), though I haven't utilized Udemy as an instructor so I cannot comment on the level of customer support shown for them. If you are an instructor I recommend you not give out much information and that you use caution unless you are not expecting high return on investment for giving the instruction to others.

Products used:
Drawing course, finance course, derivatives trading course.

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
  • Harland Clarke

3/9/20

I think that this business offers good financial check printing. A lot of banks offer their check printing through Harland and Clarke. However, since checks are an increasingly scarce commodity that is not as heavily used in the world of online commerce and banking, I think this is soon to be a disappearing feature of banking and the financial industry. They are also behind many check fraud protection procedures such as VeriScan, mobile security features, and updated packaging like CheckFolio from various banks. A selection of their checks are available through Costco and Walmart, not other sites like Checks Unlimited, Extra Value checks, etc., they don't offer them through many other online retailers.

Tip for consumers:
Refer to https://www.walmartchecks.com/ for their products or go to Costco.

Products used:
Checks. They don't apparently offer printable business checks.

  • Facebook

2/25/20

This review is not of Facebook as a social media platform but as a business tool for advertising and reaching new customers. I think that Facebook really is one of the best platforms for reaching a new audience as far as business goes. Their prices for promoting links and call now buttons are very fair, and they reach a wide number of people. People are generally favorably disposed towards advertisers on Facebook, not too much negativity or derogatory remarks. The one criticism I have is it can be difficult to reach people if your personal Facebook profile is not very filled out or well developed, because people don't know who they are transacting with. Otherwise it is an ally in the advertising world.

Tip for consumers:
They require people to host their own advertisements after a certain number of them have been launched, any VPS provider is a good choice.

Products used:
Call button, get more leads promotions. No others yet.

Value
Quality
  • Patreon

2/23/20

This site helps pay for content on YouTube and other similar viewer and patronage sites. They don't offer merchandise in exchange for a crowdfunder's support, unlike Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms. I sort of like it because it affords an opportunity to give content a person admires on YouTube and self-published books, magazines and other work a chance to evince their appreciation. However, it means that some of the more mature content or compensated content that is intended to remunerate the producer doesn't leave cyberspace or get marked as such. I think other crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, Fundly, etc. are a bit better. Unless there isn't another way, I would use an alternate platform.

  • Smartwomenschoice

1/30/20

No need for the pills or the patch or anything other than the gel that the inventor of the gel sells without a prescription on this website. If you have a belligerent or very meddlesome gynecologist or obstetrician or can't get birth control for any reason, I would highly recommend this site. The only caveat I have is that they strongly recommend against taking the hormonal birth control pills as being harmful for the female body. I am not sure of the evidence to substantiate this opinion but the solution is surely promoted as a thoughtful offering to the community. Overall I recommend this site after struggling to find MD approval for taking pills myself.

Tip for consumers:
Great staff, may occasionally send you product feedback surveys but not intrusive otherwise.

Products used:
Smart Women's Choice hypoallergenic USA only gel.

  • MoodFabrics

9/29/18

Those glossy photos of fabric and dresses can engross people into buying material that they don't really need and the sizes in terms of the width of the fabric given are not even or standard 3 yard wide sizes. Look for a local factory retail outlet or bargain warehouse that can give you good service. Denim is often cheaply available at these places. Mood fabric also does not have coupons despite what the external websites and discount code autofill sections of their checkout page might imply. Be a prudent skinflint.

Tip for consumers:
Insist upon dye-fast properly loom woven cloth if you should choose to shop with these people. A linen-checker or magnifier/tester is invaluable. The dye of this retailer's selection often runs in the laundry washing machine.

Quality
  • Mydiyuniversity

9/29/18

All the classes offered on here are of home repair, maintenance, and new house construction skill starters are in the 'Quick Classes' section and it progresses to 'Premium Courses' from there. One takes the shorter lessons on their own and then immerses in 1-2 week long premium courses afterwards. Written by the former 'Family Handyman' authors and editors of the eponymous magazine. Contains home hints and tips around the garden and backyard, although outdoor landscaping care is not their specialty. Worth a cursory glance.

Tip for consumers:
Call their number at *******977 if any issues should arise.

Quality
  • Silver Clay And All Metal Clay

9/29/18

Bargain silver clay prices and copper clay for only $15.20 or so no carbon particles or firing tray needed. Mostly sells PMC+ and Metal Adventures not Art Clay or any other brands. Shipping is a bit slow but it seems they send each order to the manufacturer (headquartered in Japan) who then ships the order out. Worth investigating.

Tip for consumers:
Call them at *******529 should there be any problems.

Service
Value
Shipping
  • Mint

9/29/18

I can't recommend this app because it displays only 1 credit score from 1 credit bureau, persistently tracks payments and debits in one's account up to a point but does not keep accurate records of which bank account and which card, in the case of multiple cards and accounts. On occasion, they also display unsolicited offers for loans and supposedly "free" money which likely are scams or lead to trouble. I would use Personal Capital instead though they do not have an app, they have a resident financial advisor who helps with retirement planning and investment decisions. Intuit owns and collects information using the Mint website and app, so Intuit could assert nearly anything to the IRS using the collected data. Be careful.

Tip for consumers:
Block access to apps from your logged in webpage in the bank website after using and removing this app from your phone.

Service
Quality
  • Ptreyesbooks

6/12/18

I was recently on a trip to Pt. Reyes and happened upon this lovely bookstore. The store owner is very friendly and very willing to help out the customers or give suggestions and recommendations of books. There are both childrens' and adults' books here. But books are not the only items to peruse here, there are also maps, journals, planners, trail guides, and brochures from the Pt. Reyes National Seashore a few miles away. There is a bench outside where one can sit, with ample room for a few friends. I enjoyed it here and would definitely recommend it to anyone staying in the west Marin county area for a couple of days.

  • Oeis.org

6/12/18

This is an online database of whole number sequences which lists all known sequences and explains briefly the relationships between them. They also list academic papers on the sequence, computer programs that can generate the sequence, and alphanumeric entries for all similar sequences or those that are part of the same mathematical phenomenon. I highly recommend it for college research as well as to those with a general fascination for numbers.

Tip for consumers:
Use the index at the bottom of the home page if you do not know the numbers contained in a sequence or its specific name. However, the index is not an exhoustive list of every single list in the database.

Quality

Helen Has Earned 168 Votes

Helen M.'s review of Patreon earned a Very Helpful vote

Helen M.'s review of Khan Academy earned 20 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Mother Earth News earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Star Seed Hotline earned a Very Helpful vote

Helen M.'s review of Indeed earned 15 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Crate & Barrel earned 4 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of CashStar earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Green Dot earned 2 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Encyclopedia Britannica earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Spotify earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Wikipedia earned 4 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of GoodReads earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Shipwreck Beads earned a Very Helpful vote

Helen M.'s review of Blick Art Materials earned 5 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of MoodFabrics earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Nexo earned a Very Helpful vote

Helen M.'s review of wealthyaffiliate.com earned 2 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Venmo earned a Very Helpful vote

Helen M.'s review of MetaTrader earned 3 Very Helpful votes

Helen M.'s review of Penzeys Spices earned 4 Very Helpful votes

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