BadPenny's Choice

Offer more payment options to your visitors

2007-11-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

Those of us doing business on the Internet know the importance of offering as many payment choices as possible in order to offer our customers the best options, regardless of their location or financial status. Especially when doing business online, it is crucial to offer as many payment options as some visitors may not have PayPal, or may love in an area where PayPal isn't readily available. Still others of us have businesses that aren't serviced by PayPal because of their rigid terms of service. A few of us have past credit issues that prevent us from getting a conventional credit card processor.
I believe I have found a company that addresses some of these issues for us. Ms Merchant Account offers banking and payment solutions for International companies and their clients, online and offline retail establishments and even adult concerns.
Ms Merchant Account offers very affordable rates, and may prove to be a leading payment processor for travel agencies, dating services, gambling sites and other similar high risk internet businesses. Whether you do business online, offline or both, Ms Merchant Account offers a plan that may be perfect for you.

An amazing new free income source

2007-10-31T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just came across a new marketing campaign that Michael Badger has put together, and I have to say it is one of the most innovative campaigns I have seen in a very long time. I have a feeling that this thing is going to take off and turn into a huge viral explosion - one that we will all remember for a long time!

What works about it is that there is a very compelling hook - he is offering to GIVE you a free monthly income with no buying, selling or recruiting. At first I thought that it was just another hyped up website, but after I read only a few lines of the copy on the main page, I realized that this one might actually be different.

Michael very quickly gets into the nuts and bolts of exactly how he is going to accomplish the task of giving so many people a monthly income. It is basically a profit sharing model. He is going to be launching a new membership site offering small business owners and marketers a service in a few months. It is from that service that he will allocate funds to be divided among a pool of people. All you have to do to be part of the pool is sign up now to receive his newsletter and announcements about the upcoming service.

And that's it - you just sign up and you will receive part of his profits.

It's a pretty cool idea really. In essence what he has done is taken the portion of his budget that would have gone into advertising and put it into getting the word out about his service in a big way.

It's an interesting campaign that you may as well sign up for - it's free after all. Or, just take a look for the innovative marketing idea Michael has put together.

Go sign up now because this is going to be huge!

Get Your Business Started Right with Corporations 101

2007-10-18T06:51:00.000-05:00

When starting a new business, whether online or offline, there are many things that need to be done that many of us find too complicated to do on our own. From adopting bylaws to appointing company officers, these tasks can be downright frightening, but in the US, so very necessary. Board meetings and record keeping can seem to be impossible for some to grasp. Simply applying for a tax id can cause some to give up on the whole idea. Sound familiar?

Inc Paradise can help you with all of that. They not only provide free llc forms, but also will provide the whole set of completed documents starting at $25. Also available are forms to apply for a tax id for your company, the lowest prices on complete corporate kits, and they will help you decide whether starting your business as a corporation or LLC is right for you with their extensive FAQ section.

So before you start your business, pay Inc Paradise a visit. You have nothing to lose, and your business has everything to gain.

Start Earning Today with Your Own Online Store with Ashop Commerce Shopping Cart Software

2007-10-18T06:22:00.000-05:00

Many of us have considered opening an online store and been stopped by the sheer complexity of it all. Simply setting up inventory can be discouraging, and combined with choosing and installing a payment processor, the task can prove to be too much for some. Ashop Commerce has simplified all that for you. As a leading provider of ecommerce software, they not only streamline the payment process, but provide an easy to use hosted shopping cart that links to all the major payment processing providers, including major credit cards and PayPal. They provide free customer and tech support, and their shopping cart software is fully hosted. You can use your own domain, and features include an easy inventory organizer, a WYSIWYG editor, and a user friendly control panel to manage your online store. They even give you a free 10 day trial period to test drive the system and see if it's for you. Although only currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Austrailia,Ashop Commerce is sure to be a true International solution for ecommerce software in the not so distant future.

How do you dress for success?

2007-09-21T07:39:00.000-05:00

When I first started marketing on the Internet, the Dotcom boom was in full swing, and everyone was wanting to jump on the bandwagon. Marketers promoted their affiliate programs by telling newcomers things like: "It's simple to make a living from your kitchen table." and (my favorite) "Work from home in your pajamas!" This morning, as I got dressed for my day, I was reflecting upon this. Now, I, personally, never bought into the working in my pajamas thing, mainly because it was ingrained in me that you got up in the morning and got dressed, but I do have a routine that some may or may not follow. I actually get dressed just like I am going to a "real job" every morning. I won't bore you with the details, so just suffice it to say that I have imposed a dress code on myself. Since I have no face-to-face contact with the public, so to speak, it is a business casual environment, and I allow myself to wear shorts and a T-shirt on Fridays. But I still shower, put on make-up and do up my hair, because it makes me feel like a professional.

So how do you dress for success? Do you really work from your home in your PJ's? Or do you, like me, make the effort to dress for the occasion?

More about building relationships

2007-09-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

You may remember my post recently about marketing and building a personal relationship with your list. I was reminded of that today simply because it's my birthday.

There's nothing that really makes my birthday any more or less special than anyone else's, but today, between all the cards and letters I got from friends and colleagues, I was made to feel that it was. What made it different from any other year were the number of ecards and emails I got from fellow marketers whose lists I had signed up for.

So how do a few birthday wishes relate to the business world? Well, I may not be an expert marketer, but I am an expert consumer, and I can tell you this. Every birthday wish from every list owner told me something. Each one of them has gone the extra mile to make me feel like a VIP. It doesn't matter whether they pre-programmed the auto-responder to send out a birthday email or if they checked a calendar and sent it themselves, they still took the time to add the personal touch to their marketing campaign. I may not have been personally from them, but it was personally to me.

It was so refreshing, too. Not one of those ecards or emails had a sales presentation. Just a "Happy Birthday, Sheri. We hope you have a great one.", and many variations on that theme. So, who do you think I will buy my next script or software package from? Obviously it will be one of those astute marketers that sent me birthday wishes today. The only difficult part for me will be choosing between them all.

Search Engine Marketing Doesn't Have To Be Difficult

2007-09-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

Many Internet marketers operate on a limited budget, cutting corners where they can. The problem with this is that often the needs of the business aren't met by these budgeting tactics. DiscountClick can help change this trend by providing many of the services that some Internet marketers feel are too expensive or complicated. Search engine marketing, in particular, is daunting to most Internet marketing professionals, and only the seasoned veteran can decipher the intricate concepts to correctly set up a successful Search Engine promotion.

By providing affordable solutions and assisting their clients to implement them, they have provided a wide range of Online Marketing Services to improve not only overall sales, but the all so important page ranking of the average Internet business. With their exclusive SEO Marketing services, webmasters have access to the best strategies to build link popularity increase overall web site traffic and optimize Pay-per-click advertising for a better conversion rate.

With their expert services and affordable rates, any webmaster or affiliate marketer that has struggled with the intricacies of Search Engine Optimization will benefit from the expert advice of a DiscountClick Internet Marketing Consultant

Brought to you by my friends at:
DiscountClick Online Marketing Services

Is your list successful?

2007-09-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

It's been said dozens of times in dozens of ways: "The money's in the list". What is rarely said is how to build this list and how to make this list work once it's been developed. There has to be another piece of the puzzle to complete this picture, doesn't there?

Certain so-called "Gurus" will probably disagree with my take on this, but isn't there more to it that just building a list of contacts and sending mass emailings to them? Isn't doing business this way a little impersonal? Doesn't it put you off to receive the same ads from all the lists you've signed up for?

Whether you answered yes to any or all of the previous questions, you have to agree that it does merit some thought. What if a prospect list was treated like a customer database, which is what it was originally designed for, anyway? What if an affiliate prospect list was used as a team communication system, rather than one more venue to send out sales letters? Could it possibly make a difference?

It's time that marketing got back to customer care. It's time that growing an organization meant building a team, not a "list". It all boils down to that missing puzzle piece. Personal relationships hold more credence with most people. "Word of mouth" is still the best form of advertising, and this only works if a relationship has been built, regardless of whether you are building a list of customer contacts or affiliate contacts.

Most people are going to listen to the advice of a friend or relative before a stranger's. So it is important to become a friend, someone that instills trust with your market audience. How can this be accomplished? It just makes sense that this can easily be achieved by getting back to basics. By all means, use the automated tools that are available thanks to the advent of the Internet, but take the time to build relationships with these people that took a risk and signed up for more information. The important thing to remember is to learn to rely on these tools in conjunctionwith good old-fashioned personal correspondence.

Take the time to send a personal welcome letter to new contacts. Do not send a sales letter with this personal message. Make it a getting-to-know-you experience. Give new contacts an easy way to contact you. If available, make at least one phone call to address questions and make yourself more than just a faceless entity. Add an invitation to contact you either by phone or email for questions and suggestions to the footer of every auto responder message, rather that another ad for something.

The more successful marketers do just that. They ask for phone numbers when on the sign up page. They make that initial phone call within days. They make follow up calls, just to check in and see if the contact has questions. They ask for feedback, either by phone or by email.

Using these additional techniques to your next list building campaign will probably make it more successful. Adding them to existing campaigns may improve them. One thing is sure, practicing these things can do nothing but help your business, and can even lead to better sales.

Getting the credit you need, simplified

2007-08-26T02:20:00.000-05:00

Getting or repairing credit can be a daunting task, often confusing, and always a chore. Being a person with extremely bad credit, I was under the impression that I couldn't get a loan for anything. Like many others, I have had rough times in the past that gave me several black marks on my credit history. Since I need additional funding in order to run a successful business, these black marks were a source of much stress and and were very discouraging to me.

Recently, I paid a visit to a website called 600.net. There I was able to read several articles explaining how the credit and financing arena works, and I found good advice I could use in applying for financing for my business endeavors. I was also able to learn how to avoid being scammed by unscrupulous websites that run scams designed to steal my hard earned money.
Just reading these articles simplified things for me and eliminated almost all of the confusion and disillusionment I had been experiencing.

There are articles on 600.net that cover:

These articles offer information about a wide range of topics on each subject, and were able to answer many of my questions and allay most of my fears. Anyone that is considering getting a new credit card or financing for any reason would do well by visiting 600.net and reading the articles, or inquiring about their services.

You can help eradicate Alzheimer's Disease

2007-08-24T05:29:00.000-05:00

In just a few short weeks, all over the country, people from all walks of life will be getting together to walk in the 2007 Alzheimer's Memory Walk, designed to help raise funds for research to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. In North Texas alone, there are over 45,000 individuals that are suffering with Alzheimer's, and I for one have decided to help. I signed up for my local chapter's Memory Walk scheduled for November 3, 2007. Although I have some difficulty walking myself, I feel it is my duty to help those that cannot help themselves, so I will be taking three mile journey along with hundreds of others to help this worthy cause.

The Memory Walk has taken place every year since 1989, and over $225 million has been raised to help in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. There are many ways to help this year's event be as successful as those in previous years. You can sign up to walk yourself, sponsor a walker, or you can start your own walking team as a Team Captain. It's simple to do and takes only a few minutes of your time. You can even make it a family project, or get your whole company involved. The possibilities are endless.

It was so simple to sign up as a walker. I only had to go to the Memory Walk homepage and enter my zip code. Since I live in the Greater Dallas area, I had four choices, and I chose the closest one to my home. I filled out a quick form, made a donation of my own, and I was all set up. I got all the tools I needed to help me with fundraising, too, including a really nice website.

So won't you help us help wipe out Alzheimer's disease in our lifetime? The millions of sufferers will appreciate it and you will get a nice warm fuzzy feeling from it, too. It will only take you a few minutes to get started.

Thank you to my Sponsor Alzheimer's Memory Walk

Have you heard about Texty?

2007-08-22T22:24:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about Texty! It makes editing commonly used text content a breeze. By using a process called simple content management syndication - SCMS, all you have to do is create your block of text, called a texty, and save it. Then you cut and paste the code for your texty into your web pages. When you want to modify them, just log in to Texty and edit, and your changes are automatically applied to every web page that has that texty on it. Make one texty, or make several. The choice is yours.
You 've have to try it out for yourself to believe it.

texty.com

The best place to make your travel plans

2007-08-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

Summer's winding down, and many of us are getting the kids ready for school. Still others of us are planning holiday trips for later in the year, or business trips for various company functions. Some business professionals may be planning to attend seminars or conventions. Regardless of one's travel needs, the same questions are brought to mind. Where do we start when planning that all important business trip or that holiday for the Christmas break? Where will we stay, and how much should we budget for it? What's the best airline to use, and when are the best flight times? Are there interesting places to visit there? What about entertainment? What is there to do? What's the best place to eat there? What amenities are available? You can find these answers and more at Hotel Reservations.com. Their wide selection and ease of navigation makes planning any trip a snap. With worldwide coverage, anyone can plan a successful trip. They even have a convenient 800 number for times when you can't access the Internet.

One stop shopping gives visitors instant access to everything from flight information to hotel reservations. If you are planning a road trip, you can get all the information you need to make it run smoothly, from maps to suggested points of interest along the way. You can even set up a family vacation or a cruise all from the same web page. If you are planning a long stay, you can arrange for condo or house rentals for your stay, too.

This is the site to use, whether you are planning a short business trip, or a long term stay anywhere in the world. From cruises to vacation packages, this is the site to turn to for all your travel needs. With guaranteed lowest prices and packages to fit any need or budget, you just can't go wrong.
Hotel Reservations

Special thanks to my sponsor:
Hotel Reservations

Have you covered all the legal issues in setting up your business?

2007-08-22T17:28:00.001-05:00

Most of us think that all you have to do to set up an Intenet business is put up a website, arrange some payment processing, and advertise everywhere. Although it is true that these are key points to consider when setting up your Internet business, there are legal issues as well that many of us neglect. IncParadise.com offers services to cover all the legal issues that we may overlook when setting up our Internet businesses. They aren't lawyers, but they are experienced in helping business owners take care of all the paperwork necessary to correctly set up a business. They offer incorporation services for all fifty states, and they also have virtual office services, too.
Their incorporation services have a dedicated page for each state, as these mattters often vary from state to state. Some of the most popular are:

Arizona incorporations
Florida incorporations
Nevada incorporations
Tennessee incorporations
Texas incorporations

Their home office is in Las Vegas, Nevada, but they recently opened a new branch in
Memphis, Tennessee, as well. For the specific services available in your state, just visit their primary website IncParadise.com

Are You leaving Your links The Right Way ? On APSense

2007-08-22T17:28:00.000-05:00

When adding a link to a website, do you just add your affiliate url without adding any identifying information about it? If you do, you are robbing yourself of some great traffic opportunities.
Confused? This article on Apsense explains it all much better than I ever could.

Are You leaving Your links The Right Way ? On APSense

After reading this entry, I realized I don't always format my links correctly. IOn the future, i will take the authors advice and hopefully my marketing can be more effective. Will it work for you? Read the artice and find out.

A Social Network That Pays Lifetime Commissions!

2007-08-18T04:13:00.000-05:00

Kanggie marks the start of a new Internet Marketing era, where people of all walks of life, who are interested in Internet Marketing can hop into a single site which gives them access to top Internet Marketing materials and tactics.

This social networking community specially dedicated to Internet Marketers, is meant to make life as an Internet Marketer less lonely and more fun.

First, let me tell you what is in store for you.

Coupled with the fact that social networking websites are fun and viral, Kanggie covers and shares a huge range of internet marketing topics (such as SEO, copywriting, traffic generation, blogging, affiliate marketing etc.) through its Internet Marketing Vault which houses 100 over step-by-step video tutorials.

It's Internet Marketing (IM) Vault stores many more internet marketing resources such as PLR products, special offers and also fresh interviews with other internet marketers. So you can expect to learn all you need to know about internet marketing.

Kanggie is going to be a community of Internet Marketers who are opened minded and ready to learn and share information on how to make money online. And Internet Marketers can interact with each other and eventually help in the process of finding Joint Venture (JV) partners all around the world.

But how is it different from an IM forum?

Actually, there is nothing comparable to it! Kanggie pays you lifetime commissions once you register! And you will be allowed to add your contact information, websites and products in your profile page and the marketplace.

Yes, that's right. It has a buzzing marketplace whereby you can put up your products to be sold and benefit from Kanggie's rabid pool of hungry customers.

Here's the most exciting part. You stand to earn lifetime comissions for referring others to join Kangige. Firstly, you receive 200 Kanggie credits for every member you refer to the website. Secondly, you stand to earn a whopping 50% commissions on the one time offer if your referrals purchase.
Here's the best part: You also earn 20% commissions on your referrals spending on Kanggie for their entire lifetime! So you just have to refer a person once, and you can expect to earn commissions from the same person on complete autopilot mode for the rest of your life!

There's also the monthly referral contest where attractive prizes will be given to the top 10 members who refer the most people to Kanggie.

In short, you can earn while you learning about the ways to make money online!

It's going to be a network "For The Rest Of Us" – from Internet Marketing beginners to professionals. And members who share information abundantly and are hungry for more knowledge can benefit greatly.

Now, You too can be a part of the next BIG thing in the IM world!

Oh, did I mention it's also completely FREE to join?

So what are you waiting for?!

Just hop into this bandwagon and have fun now!

To your success,

Sheri Stuart

Earn money just by posting to your blog

2007-08-16T06:07:00.000-05:00

Blog marketing has become increasingly popular recently, for various reasons. Many use their blogs to promote various products, some promote affiliate websites, and still others use their blogs to monetize with pay-per-click advertising. These methods work well for some, and extraordinarily well for others. I have often done the same, with varying levels of success as I learn more about how to properly design and compose my posts.

One such way to make a blog a profitable website is to write posts or reviews for others. There are as many ways to do this as there are products on the web. The money made can be paid directly from the Internet company being reviewed, or by a separate website that contracts for them.

I recently signed up for a website called PayPerPost at the suggestion of one of my acquaintances at another website. Since I blog at least semi-regularly, and I consider myself to be creative and verbally astute, I decided to give it a try. I have written reviews of other websites and I'm not averse to stating my opinion, so this opportunity seemed to be right up my alley.

PayPerPost is a very nicely designed site. They pay bloggers like you and I to post articles to their blogs, and from what I understand, they will pay well for most of the articles written for them. They also have a very active community, and I anticipate making many new friends there.

Especially since blog marketing has become so popular in recent months, I expect to make a little pocket money. I know I won't get rich and famous or anything like that, but a girl can always dream. I know that with a little diligence and imagination, I can make some decent pocket change, at least enough to pay some of the overhead for my Internet marketing endeavors, such as advertising and web hosting. This in itself is incentive enough for me to post to my blog more regularly, so expect to read more from me in the coming weeks. I'll keep everyone apprised of my progress now and then, so that you can make your own decision whether to come on board and get paid for writing articles for your blog.

If you haven't joined StartXchange, you're missing out on a lot!

2007-08-10T14:17:00.000-05:00

I have been marketing on the web since 2001, and I have yet to find a traffic exchange that compares to StartXchange. Although I didn't join until 2004, StartXchange has been around since 2001. Very few traffic exchanges can make this claim, and even fewer have been as successful as StartXchange has been. I like to believe this is because Tim Linden, the owner of StartXchange, is always looking for new ways to improve this site for the members.

From the advent of Team Surfing, to the addition of TE Toolbox to the StartXchange family of marketing tools, Tim has managed to give his members countless ways to improve their marketing endeavors.

StartXchange is the only traffic exchange to offer customizable personalized banners, each with the members picture on it. You can not only customize your StartXchange referral banners, but you can also build your own banners for any program you choose. The number of banners available for personal use varies depending on membership level, starting with three for free members and going up from there.

Another thing that Tim offers to all his members is the activity level system. This system levels the playing field for free and upgraded members alike, because it is based on your activity within StartXchange. You receive activity points for surfing, reading the newsletter, referrals, and even for posting on the forum. Even a free member can make it to the top ten, or even to the number 1 spot, just by surfing regularly and being active.

The surfing bonus for StartXchange is topnotch. It starts with fulfilling 5 separate criteria, which if completed, gives you an additional 12% toward your regular surfing ratio. If you have surfed a minimum of 20 sites the previous day, an additional 10% is added. Many times there are additional surfing bonuses added from the StartXchange newsletter, too. You may have seen the splash page in other exchanges telling you about a 20% surfing bonus if you click the link and start surfing. When you do, it adds 20% to your earning rate! The possibilities are endless, and you never know when Tim will decide to add a surprise surfing bonus out of the blue. Only newsletter subscribers will ever know, so be sure to subscribe as soon as you sign up.

Every month there is a team contest, well, actually three contests, one for surfing, one for referrals, and one for overall purchases. Each and every team member, no matter what their ranking or membership level, shares in all team winnings.

One last thing I think it important to mention is Tim's creation Traffic Exchange Toolbox. I love this tool! I use it almost daily, and although the free package is great, the pro upgrade will pay for itself in days! I love being able to build a splash page in minutes, and then being able to add it to my TE Toolbox rotator with a click of my mouse. I can check the effectiveness of each and every page in my TE Toolbox rotator, and I do this daily.

So, have you joined StartXchange yet? If not, here's the sign up link. You owe it to yourself and to your business to do it right now!

Click here to join StartXchange

record your message

2007-07-28T14:51:00.001-05:00

Get your own at Gizmoz.com

Pictures of my family and friends

2007-07-25T09:52:00.001-05:00

Newbie Secrets Launches Tuesday July 24, 2007

2007-07-23T07:28:00.000-05:00

My good friend and one of my partners, Codrut
Turcanu from CodrutTurcanu.com just gave us a
sneak peek of his upcoming launch -

"The Newbie Secret"

I am really impressed with what he's put
together. If you're interested to learn about a system
that can generate residual *profits month after month,
this is definitely the program to look at.

The best part is that AdWords, AdSense, Clickbank
and Affiliate Programs AREN'T involved. This is *your*
business. It doesn't get much better than that.

The learning platform is loaded with
audio & video tutorials, so you can absorb
and apply the information in record speed.

This is much better than the 'old' eBooks
or other marketing programs.

The product is quite affordable, and when
it comes about the pre-launch (preview)...

It doesn't cost a single penny. How's that for a bargain?

Go ahead and sign-up below to get *free* insider access
to "The Newbie Secret" pre-launch. You won't regret it.

All the best,
Sheri Stuart

P.S. Did I mention you can get a *FREE eBook
in PDF format that comes loaded with 11
NEWBIE stories?

You haven't looked yet?

Click here now!

Code4Gold, a unique place to discuss making money online

2007-07-16T22:58:00.001-05:00

This is one of the most unique forums I've seen in awhile. It has everything you need to learn about and discuss money making strategies and programs, both online and off. It is a nice clean forum, with friendly staff and great members. Best of all, they even pay you to post in select forums within the forum. Not only do you have a place to advertise your favorite money making programs, you can find answers to all the questions you may have about anything from HYIP programs to the most popular network marketing sites. Membership is International, and they have even set up a specific forum section for International members to have discussions with others in their own languages. This forum truly has something for everyone that needs information about making money online. To enroll, or simply to get more information about this excellent forum, please visit

http://www.code4gold.com/forums/

Outsource Code

2007-07-05T06:30:00.001-05:00

Russell Brunson is one of the leading Internet Marketers today, and he really tells it like is. He is an expert on affiliate marketing and is always happy to pass on his knowledge to others. His article on The Outsource Code is informative and will give you a reason to check out the book. He is also the creator of LinkBrander, The Second Tier, the Conquer Your Niche Forum and The Lost Pages. I recommend that anyone wanting to know more about starting and running an Internet business should read this entry as well as his others.

read more | digg story

Ponzi Schemes and Bubble Scam Investment Frauds

2007-07-02T21:33:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been tempted to join that HYIP program or a randomizer? Are you wondering if you should sign up for a "bubble" site? Before you make your final decision, you should read this article I found on the web:

Ponzi Schemes and Bubble Scam Investment Frauds

What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing?

2007-07-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

Have you considered joining a multi-level marketing program and didn't because you just were not sure whether it was right for you? Maybe you're confused about just what MLM is. Have you heard bad things about MLM in general and distrust the whole concept? You're not alone, I assure you. I have had misgivings and questions about it myself. Want to know more about it? I found this informative article by one of the members at Apsense.com, and it covers all the bases and should answer many of the questions we all might have about multi-level marketing and what it entails.

What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing?

Judge's Pants Suit Backfires

2007-06-25T17:35:00.000-05:00

On the news today they told us that the Washington D.C. judge that sued the dry cleaners over the loss of a pair of pants lost his case. With the ruling in favor of the defendants, the plaintiff was ordered to pay the court costs and attorney fees. After their earlier offer to settle for roughly $12,000, I'm sure they are relieved that their offer was rejected.

I really think he got off lightly. He should have known better than to file such a frivolous lawsuit over a pair of lost pants. His request for over $54 million in damages was outrageous, and as a judge, he surely knew this. In my opinion, he should have had further consequences simply for filing an obviously frivolous suit.

This case should serve to show us that as business owners, we should be aware of the local laws concerning customer satisfaction. And if we feel we are in the right, let the disgruntled customer take us to court. Don't be intimidated by the consumer's status. It doesn't change the law one bit.