Good review Brett! Too many questions with this software. And yes, it seems to be skirting issues that will probably eventually make this software dead useless.

And the price at $67 is way too much for a scraper that may not last long enough to be worth it.

FE prices this high require for me a feeling that the value and longevity of the tool will be worthwhile. I’m not so sure with this one.

A non-approved third party app automatically compliant with TOS just because it uses their API? Absolutely not! Robert Mercado is famous for cutting corners (I’ve had experience with him before) and this is a classic example. This gray area is really a black area, at least to me. Just sayin…

Your name should henceforth be Brett ” Let The Truth Be Told ” Rutecky… great review
technique that we can use in our own evaluation of products in the future …

Hello Brett,
Thank you for always looking after your supporters, and for being cautious.
At $60 the price for what may be a non-compliant ID scraper app is kinda ridiculous.

My comments concerning your software and reflections of the market…

“I personally think, having a twitter bot is good, because automation helps alot of manual labor. Restriction the bots by twitter, is kinda bad, because we have a lack of business start ups across the world. The aim of Twitter should be not to restrict, but provide freedom to start businesses faster. The more businesses there are the greater it is for everyone. To restrict is to hold the air, not good to have a social network like volchures, fighting for business. Automation, opens the doors to freedom and more of it.

I am wondering whether Robert is an avid user of twitter? Is it that difficult to communicate with twitter about any application one intends to create to sell connected to their platform?

or for Robert, its all about making a buck as quickly as possible before its too late?

why would he want to risk being shut down or banned from using twitter?

Great Review, Thanks for the honesty

Thanks for pointing out the potential pitfalls, Brett.

The obvious next question is whether one can obtain a similar service from an authorized/approved twitter partner.

Twitter recently announced a new Marketplace for approved Partners, which I searched, and came up with this for ad targeting and audience creation:

{links not allowed in comments}

One of their services:
“Supported approaches to audience creation: The web approach. Connecting with users on Twitter based on their off-Twitter web browsing behavior.”

I have been looking for a service which would help me target people who have visited websites in the same niche market.

This looks like it might do the job…but I have no idea how expensive it will be.

If anybody knows of any other service/product which would help me cultivate a list of people who have visited certain specific websites, I would appreciate you passing on that information

I have to agree Brett, wasn’t worth the risk to me to possibly lose my twitter accounts.

So what are the alternatives out there?

Good honest review Brett, it would prevent me from buying
and I think it’s the right decision.

Thanks Brett

Another great review that is uncovering the things that need to look at. I agree it’s not worth lose a twitter account over a piece of software.

Frankly, I saw this and it screamed of something that would have a very short shelf life, for many of the reasons outlined here. But I’ve also been teaching myself Twitter ads over the past few weeks, and there is a great deal of what the front-end product claims to do which is already built in to the Twitter ad platform. Glad I came to the same conclusion as Brett did on this one.

Brett, mate you’re just great,,thanks for the honest review,,,and agree 100%, an app cannot be automatically compliant with Twitters TOS just because it uses their API….thanks for the review Mr Brett…

SLF (Social Lead Freak) was an extremely popular service a couple years ago scraping facebook ids. It was against the terms of service for FaceBook then and the developer/promoter continued to advise their subscriber base that it was perfectly legal because they were using FB’s api. The rationale behind this is as idiotic as saying because my mail service allows me to upload an email list I should be able to spam. As we all know FB put the kibosh on that and the same will be true of scraping twitter ids. To me the value proposition of getting involved with software like this is so low, it screams runaway fast!

What was this guy thinking asking you to review this?

The risk and price is just to high. It takes guts, but thanks for honesty.

Brett, everything you said is acurate. How quickly we ALL FORGET! Robert decided to “get-into-bed” with Precious and pitch a very similar product which spammed Google Circles. This product was quickly ban + people had their accounts frozen.

I highly doubt that Robert would make this mistake twice by accident… I suggest he is very aware of this issue and has pushed on regardless – This is why Anyone who promotes Precious or Robert or their products gets instand deletion/unsubscribe from me.

In my opinion these guys are the dodgey used-car dealers of the IM world. Any honest, ethical operator would be wise to steer well-clear of these characters.

Brett you are fast becoming the CLEAR go-to-guy for people online – Your a true Champion of the people!

I reckon you should create a “Bretts-seal-of approval”… If it don’t got it, its too risky.
Cheers, MattA.

Thank you for the review Brett! Robert I’d somewhat smart, BUT he does cut corners and manipulate people. I’ve been dealing with him for a loonngg time. He is a good person AT FIRST, but sits on that line of “There is something odd about him”

In regards to Twitter TOS… Ask Robert while his personal Facebook was banned

I’m in agreement with most of you. When I first reviewed Follower Grabber with anticipation, my thoughts were…gotta have…Then when it became available at $67, I peeked a little closer because of the price point.

As you know, most Bots will be duplicated and perfected if there is a market. So, I went searching in my own blast from the past ‘hard drive’. I had so many older Facebook software that made similar promises that are now useless.

There have been very little in regards to Twitter bots available and even lesser ones that stick. A couple of Twitter monthly varieties have stood the test of time. I’m sure for good reasons already outlined. I might have grabbed Follower Grabber at $17-$27 without thinking twice….

Always think long term, no matter the cost….it all adds up. I’m sure many of you agree from your hard-gut-drive feelings. 😉

It’s the first thing I thought of before I even read your review: just like all the FB ID scrapers which got all those accounts banned. I’m sorry but Mercado has always seemed a little shady to me anyway. And naturally the ever present Ricky “How you’s doin’?” Mataka is there to add his two cents and collect his affiliate commission. I’ll pass.

Thanks for validating that for me. I was on the webinar and Robert was asked at least two dozen times about this, 3 times by myself. I was ready to purchase this if I got the right answer. I also sent him a message on Skype and used that same #3 rule in asking my question about if it was cleared with Twitter. I got NO reply to my question. Needless to say I kept my money in my bank account and moved on. Got 10 new followers on Twitter in less than two hours the other day by posting a simple post for a free report for an opt in that sent them to my blog site. Didn’t set up and ad or promote the post at all. That is more than double what I started out with three days ago. No unauthorized scraper software needed, and I can spend a few more minutes on the ad and get 10 times that, I am sure.

except those automated means expressly made available by us or authorized by us in advance in writing (e.g., third-party tools/APIs approved by us)“

It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Is this expressly made available by Twitter? or authorized by Twitter
in advance in writing? (e.g.,third-party tools/APIs approved by twitter? No, No, No, and No.

The first two lines are pasted and copied from their tos–what’s to talk about? Too bad–yes,
it really DID look good. Too bad you, Brett, were the only one to do your due diligence!

Robert Mercado..

That’s all I needed to know about your review!

Can’t stand the guy…and this type of software, at the price point it’s being sold at…just goes to show how far some people will go to try and deceive someone and while they’re at it, steal their money!

Great review man…keep it up!

Hey Brett, thanks for this honest and detailed review. You saved me $67 and a lot of time…One cannot be too careful these days of all the marketing gizmos that are coming out. Human nature propels us to always be looking for a shortcut to get us closer to our goals with as little effort as possible. This looked to be one, but I am glad I have read your review!

Brett,

I very much appreciate that you research and vet the products you promote (or decide not to promote). This type of review lets us make an informed decision.

For this product, the Risk/Reward is not viable, in my mind and echoed by many of the comments here.

Good review. Thx

to be honest , i dont know much about twitter.. but i was reading and checking out ( my homework) to advertise it will cost around 0.50 – 4.00 everytime someone click or share your tweet.. i dont know if that is real or not… but it sounds little high for me at least…

Hey Brett, I actually appreciate the review. You always speak your mind and how you feel about something without holding anything back. Glad you really like the user experience as well the speed of the software. My team and I have put so much time, effort, and energy, Oh..and money into creating this to make it much easier for marketers to promote their services and products on Twitter™. Especially when Facebook™ shuts down accounts for misspelling something in their Ads, LOL.

As far as the Terms Of Service (TOS) of Twitter™, they are A LOT more lenient than Facebook™. They actually WANT a bigger audience utilizing their Ad Platform obviously to bring in more business for them. In addition to that, Follower Grabber is using their API 100% so their is no scraping being done. It is just providing the user the same information that is publicly available to the world, just in a more simplified and organized way.

Also, I noticed you said $67 is too much…but keep in mind, you are basing your review solely on the software and not the training course that comes with it. With someone wants to purchase the software by itself, it’s only 47 dollars. With Follower Grabber, you also the option to get both the software PLUS a 20+ Training Course Module that my partner Christian Bolling and myself put together for the 67 dollars. Also, it’s not training only on using the software. It’s training for any marketer to dive in, and learn core principles as well as some advanced training to market their products/services on Twitter™ the right way, including Ads Training.

In addition to that, we offer a 30 day money back guarantee so we took away all the risk on your part. In fact, ONLY for those that are a part of Bretts following here, we’ll offer a 60 DAY guarantee. Again this is ONLY for Bretts following and those that read this blog, we’ll offer a 60 DAY Money Back Guarantee. This product (as well as all my products) are backed by a top notch support team, and we always make it right for our customers.

So with that said, of course at the end of the day…it’s up to each person to purchase Follower Grabber and take full advantage of the options it allows you to do.

If you have any further questions or concerns, you can reach me via email at RobertMercado@RobertMercado.net or you can skype message me at: Ceoofceos23.

awesome review… brought the product. but after reading your review refunded the same.. thanks Brett..

Well Brett,

After Robert’s public comment and assurance, what do you think now ? Any reconsiderations on this product ? Do please let us know.

I can totally understand your point of view, since a lot of automated software does have risks. I’ve definitely seen some of them shut down before.

However, I’ve actually used some 3rd party software before on Twitter and they aren’t quite like Facebook. Facebook is pretty strict and a lot of automated tools and auto submitters have been shut down; but Twitter seems to be pretty passive about that, from my experience.

I think there’s pretty low risk of them finding out about the software.

Hi Brett,

I’m with most others here – so glad I found your review before I went ahead and bought FG!

I agree that it may be “all right” for those who have bought the software to trust the owner has safeguarded it’s use against TOS on their behalf….and they may even do really well with it! At least…for a while. Personally, I suspect it is not worth the money, but more importantly the time and energy.

With this much hype over a product, it’s only a matter of time before it’s noticed by Twitter – and of course, like you suggested, it will be shut down. I’m convinced it’s not really for me, unless they somehow get full and explicit approval from Twitter.

Brett…above all what I’ve learned here today from your very thorough, thoughtful and conscientious review is that “thank GOD there are truly honest people in IM”!!! I was despairing of ever finding TRUE, intelligent IM reviews, instead of those dime-a-dozen, slap-dash pseudo reviews that every would-be marketer is told is the way to get tons of traffic to their affiliate offers. WHO taught them that??? It’s ridiculous – there is not one word of actual review on those sites, and a lame attempt to offer a completely irrelevant “bonus” in hopes it will lure the unsuspecting newbie to order. I know they’re probably newbies and I hope they have success – but in a more honest way.

I guess I’m of the school of thought that you don’t NEED to use petty tricks and misleading copy to sell something when you truly feel it’s of great value for your customers and subscribers. It could be a top reason why I am still wading around looking for the best method to build a list of TRUSTING subscribers – it’s a bit of a challenge.

So, again, I admire your pure, honest way of handling the customers and potential subscribers who are under your guidance…it is obvious to me that you truly deserve the business. You have one more person you can count as a fan, a follower and a subscriber – and more than likely, a future customer!

Cheers – and God bless you!

Zora

Well, instead of reviewing it, i did a preview. I was going to , but never got myself a copy to try it out. After reading your review on it, I also had a heart of change…and decided to not purchase it. Does UID Scraping on Facebook still work? or is that out of the window as well?

I did make the mistake of buying FG; not only that but I bought the Commercial license. (What was I thinking?!) Wish I’d found this blog first. It’s very rare for me to jump in and buy so fast, but for some reason I did with this product.

I purchased it on Aug 3 after his early morning “big launch” webinar. Then after emailing back and forth with Robert for 4 days, he stopped responding to me so I gave up and opened a Paypal dispute on the evening of the 6th. I spent the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th trying to get the product to work. All I could access was the Follower Manager. I had no access to the Grabber, Scheduler or Mastery modules. I couldn’t even log in to the Mastery course. When I tried to login, it redirected me to his sales page. And about his 100% money back guarantee? HAHAHA.

He told us in the webinar that they “checked with Twitter” and it was completely in compliance with their TOS. Another time he said it was “approved by Twitter”. ???

Robert said in his post above “In addition to that, we offer a 30 day money back guarantee so we took away all the risk on your part.” They also posted on the JVZoo that “The best part is Follower Grabber and Follower Mastery have 100% money back guarantee with 30 days refund policy.” I know that’s not true. I’ve been fighting with him via PayPal for 3 weeks to get a refund and so far it hasn’t happened. (PayPal outsources to India now and they just close cases without even looking at them. Then they send an email saying “we decided your case” with no more information. I have to go to PayPal to see how they decided. then I call to see why they made that decision, tell them my dispute and they reopen it. Then the same thing happens again. I now have an email address of a “higher up’ to use to see if the case will actually get read.) Anyway …

If I need to, I’ll contact Twitter and see if they have approved it, then I’ll fight it through the credit card company. I have no use for deceitful marketers! I want my $147 back. The marketers that I have learned from always, always say to honor your guarantee and refund if someone wants it. It’s not worth having a bad reputation over a few sales. But some marketers don’t care about reputation, and it appears that’s where Robert stands. His 100% money back guarantee is just a sale pitch, from my experience. Buyer beware. I agree with a previous comment, I will delete him and all those that have pushed his products now, I’ve labeled them Untrustworthy.

Brett, I have also got my issues with Follower Grabber resolved.

As you know, I was pretty frustrated with Robert when I posted the above post, and I was sure I was being scammed. The fact that FRank and I both returned to let you know our final results goes to show that Robert won us back over with his sincere efforts to correct things. He didn’t do it because of my post here … it was several days later that he saw it (after I told him about it), and all he said was “please ask Brett if he’ll remove it.” It was never mentioned again. (I assume from FRanks post that you don’t remove them, but I’m asking you to anyway.)

A personal issue needed my immediate attention so, although its working for me now, I have yet to set up FGCommercial. It takes a lot to win me back once I feel scammed, but I now believe Robert is an honest marketer, we just didn’t communicate well in the beginning. I just noticed that Robert emailed me again a few days ago asking if I needed more help, saying he really wants me to succeed.

He explained the reason he wasn’t giving me my refund (it had to be done a certain way because affiliates were involved). But I didn’t trust him by that time, so I wouldn’t do what he was asking me to do. I wanted the refund through Paypal.

In the end, he has worked with me and has gone over-and-above in trying to resolve everything. I trust him again and I would have no problem buying other products from him.

Even more than that, I see now that he has a heart to help others make a successful business online. He goes on my list of trusted marketers (and that’s a very short list!)

Louise

Thank you Brett for a very honest review. $60 is a lot of money for something that may be useless at any given time.