Have you been tempted by offers to make money on the Internet? If so, how do you know they're for real?

Last week, I was busily writing my latest book when I received a call from a gentleman, who informed me that a REALTOR friend of mine had given him my name (he was also a REALTOR). He enthusiastically extolled the virtues of a Brand New Internet Virtual Mall Opportunity That Will Revolutionize The Way The World Does Business. Upon asking details, I was informed it would take at least an hour to explain, and might he and his wife come by the following Tuesday to reveal this opportunity?

Because my latest book is entitled The Internet Marketing Edge, my ears always perk up whenever I hear the words "internet, money, incredible business." I've discovered there are so many scams and impossible dreams being peddled that one must approach Internet opportunities with great care. Thus, I agreed to the meeting.

Before the call ended, I learned the company was called Quixtar. And good researcher than I am, I decided to investigate everything I could find.

The results were interesting, to say the least.

Quixtar is Amway's sister company, coming to the Internet in September.

When Tuesday rolled around, I was told some rather fascinating things that basically boiled down to: people can now buy products from a catalog via a web site, and the sellers (or upline) will receive residual commissions. Lifetime Residual Commissions! And if you show this plan before 6 people, you'll receive commissions from what they sell! And Very Large Computer Companies Are Involved!

Notice the fact that showing to six people isn't the same thing as recruiting 6 people.

In a word, it's network marketing, this time just on the Internet.

However, there are some things which weren't quite conveniently mentioned.

For a representative to receive commissions from purchases made on the Internet requires the buyers to enter their distributor ID. In essence, there's another separate step for consumers! And one can never underestimate how lazy consumers can be on the Internet - the chances of always typing in whatever number was given is pretty slim.

The next key point is that if you've seen one Internet Mall, you've basically seen them all. The glory of the Internet is it allows consumers to price-compare all over the place - they can go to Realtor.com for houses, Etoys for their children's playthings, Cars.com to research car prices, and many other individual vendors for key items. The probability you'll make tons on money based solely upon customer purchases is rather small.

Next, I was told that Bill Gates has embraced this concept completely! And a Fortune article with Bill Gates on the cover was given to me.

But there was no mention of Amway or Quixtar in that article at all....

Nevertheless, some people are successful in network marketing. And quite often, this is how they do it.

A good portion of income from network marketing comes not from selling the actual product! It's derived from marketing the system itself.

For example, Amway distributors are highly recommened to buy a motivation tape every week at $6 each. And that's only the beginning! There's the initial startup kit cost, informational packs and the like. Functions? Motiviational seminars? Symposiums? Continuing education tapes?

Books on how to make money on the Internet later on, perhaps?

Being exposed to motivation, day in and day out, can be very effective for a positive state of mind, and a healthy chunk of change to those folks who are higher up in the upline.

Whenever you are approached by a way to make money on the Internet, research it first! Trust me, there will be plenty of folks who post information about it. Visit your friendly neighborhood search engine at altavista.com, for example, and search on +business +comments or + business + experiences like +quixtar +experiences

In addition, check out the following valuable resources. FriendsInBusiness Scams 101. A complete story of one woman's journey who tried 'em all. MMF Hall Of Shame. Most amusing. Internet Fraud Watch ScamBusters.org. Lots of great resources that demystify many of the popular scams and chain letters.

Remember, there certainly are opportunities to make a second income via the Internet, but they require time, passion, a product/service you can believe in, and dedication. There are no short-cuts to Internet wealth.

Realtors, who are particularly vulnerable to income ebb and flow, need to ask themselves why they are interested in a second job anyway. Why would you want to take on the expense, education, and learning curve and risk of a second occupation, while still trying to make a success of your first? Realtors who work second jobs are taking valuable underpinnings away from their first occupation - real estate.

On a rather thoughtful note, while writing this column, I received the following email. I had posted earlier today on my local community forum:

Subject: I'm a "recovering" distributor BARB thank you for the LINK to the info.... I wanted to e-mail the author and add my 2 cents... but could not find their e-mail address.. sorry to bother you for it ( if you have it)...also .what was the outcome of the 3 1/2 HOURS wow!! with the people??? "They" ( my upline) were such good 'friends & family' while I was in the 'biz'....but after I started asking plain and simple questions ( with runaround answers) and after I would not renew my 'membership' ...I became a 'loser' and a 'nobody'.... they wouldn't even return my calls.... enough of that ... it was an experience, to say the least... thanks in advance .

Always explore with great care any opportunity that requires the parting of your hard-earned cash.