iPage.com got my attention the other day when I decided I was off topic once again with this site. That topic being that review sites are not honest, and want you to buy who they recommend so they can get a payout. What do you expect I suffer ADD (attention deficient disorder). Shiny things like the new iPad or even as simple as a shiny pebble can easily get me off topic. Seriously I have a lot of rocks I have picked up over the years. So I figured while I wait on new tablet accessories I would do what I used to do and actually look at search engine results, and try and stay focused.
This time around I looked at “host reviews” on Goggle, what caught my eye was what appeared at the top in a paid position was an ad by iPage.com titled ‘ 5 hosts that don’t suck”.
I had to do a double take, was I reading this right? Was this a sub-d0main off of iPage.com. Yes it was.
Wait a second, iPage.com is one host. But for those that do not know like I did not 2 years ago, iPage.com and around 40 or more hosts belong to a company called Endurance International Group.
Didn’t they send out FTC compliance emails to their affiliates about disclosing affiliate relations to them?
https://hosting-reviews-exposed.com/endurance-international-group/ipage-com.html
Well they do disclose, but not very clearly you have to click on the link labeled:
About top5hosts.ipage.com
http://top5hosts.ipage.com/disclaimer.html
Where iPage.com states:
“Top5Hosts.ipage.com is presented by iPage to provide information about hosting solutions offered by iPage and other hosting brands our company operates. We wholly own and operate all sites listed on top5hosts.ipage.com.
In compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, we want to be sure our visitors understand that this site is a promotional vehicle, and the opinions expressed are those of our company.
We operate this site because we believe that our brands offer an outstanding value, and we want to give customers an opportunity to compare our brands to each other.”
To bad they can’t do some disclosure on how they are 100 % windpowered. Not to mention some explanation on what separates them from Justhost.com which for all intents and purposes seems nothing more than a clone of fatcow.com and justhost.com.
So in short EIG (short for Endurance International Group) threw together a subdomain that lists 5 of many of their sites who are part of the iPage family on to what is called a “promotional vehicle“. I can’t say I find any of what Endurance International Group did impresses me. They seem more interested in buying hosts than actually working on owning and maintaining existing companies. This is really a cheap attempt at marketing that amounts to a fancy tinfoil wrapping.
Is Bluehost a part of their group?
Hello Khaled,
Yes Bluehost.com is part of their group. I think it was last year.
Regards,
Benjamin
FOUND THIS ON THE BBB SITE:
Additional Information
top
BBB file opened: July 13, 1999 Business started: 01/01/1997 in MA Business incorporated: 01/01/1997 in DE
Type of Entity
Corporation
Business Management
Mr. Gary R. Engel, Vice President
Contact Information
Principal: Mr. Gary R. Engel, Vice President
Number of Employees
60
Business Category
INTERNET SERVICES
Service Area
Worldwide
Alternate Business Names:
Spry VPSLink Netfirms Easy CGI YourWebHosting AccountSupport Ipage BizLand BlueDomino DomainHost Dot5Hosting EasyCGI eHost EntryHost FatCow FreeYellow HostCentric HostYourSite HyperMart IMOutdoorsHosting Ipower IPowerWeb Networkshosting PowWeb PureHost ReadyHosting StartLogic USANetHosting VirtualAvenue Webstrikesolutions Xeran Globat ApolloHosting WebHost4Life
Sorry, hit reply too quickly…
they have a TON of complaints! Thank you for your reviews Benjamin!!
————————————————
Customer Complaints Summary Read complaint details
388 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 176 closed in last 12 months
Complaint Type
Total Closed Complaints
Advertising/Sales Issues
63
Billing/Collection Issues
119
Delivery Issues
11
Guarantee/Warranty Issues
13
Problems with Product/Service
182
Total Closed Complaints
388
Additional Complaint Information
BBB has received approximately 345 complaints filed by consumers against The Endurance International Group, Inc.
These complaints are currently being processed by BBB and will be added the Business Review once the complaints are processed and closed.
Hello Harrison,
That is rather interesting 45% of those complaints were with in the last year. It does not appear the list has changed much since I first reviewed their bbb page, other than the addition of Netfirms.
Regards,
Benjamin