It was never my original intention to sell a product on the open market for Cookie Stuffing when I created SauceKit.  My intent was to use it as a way to keep checks and balances in controlling a small network that would be providing me with traffic to the links my system generated.  I had imagined that I could make a ton of cash and minimize risk of what people feared in the documents I found online about Cookie Stuffing.

Being the cheap bastard that I was/am, I didn’t want to pay fixed income to anyone. Growing up I always had a passion to be a business owner of some kind.  Clients and peers taught me that fixed incomes can make or break a business.  I took these ideas I learned from business owners I’ve met in the past and implemented a performance based profit sharing platform.  No new concept in business, but no system designed on the open market for what I was getting into.

The only way that I could do this is by having some controlled centralized system that I could provide people with links.  In return, they would share their profits with me.  Because of the dynamics in business partnerships, I set fourth in implementing for different variables of turning things on/off, being able to build different types of partnerships, and just having the ability to maintain control.  Partnerships could be established with with access to the affiliate accounts turning profit, or links could be rotated on an agreed ratio.

Due to the nature of the business and what was involved, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone online.  This motivated me to seek people that lacked much knowledge online and that could easily be molded without them having their own experiences online.  I also wanted them to be excited and motivated to learn something new.  In my mind, it was perfect.

Unfortunately, my findings proved that there was a lot more managing than I personally desired, and the interface needed to be even more cookie cutter than it already was.  As I got feedback from the beta testers that had no internet marketing knowledge, I consistently found myself tweaking things to make it easier and easier.  By being drained from the efforts training people on it, I felt like it’d be better to abandon my original game plan and make a new one.

What was I to do with this system I built that I discovered I might no longer use?  I started searching for people that seemed to be able to give knowledgable input.  For me, it was easy to break the wall of fear down to communicate online and get what I desired just because of what I was already sitting on.  I found a group of people that had seemed to be knowledgable at what they did and showed a common interest in something I did.  It revealed signs of immediate success.

At this time it was the turning point of SauceKit.  I offered free accounts to people that were able to actually make sense of what I created with minimal questions.  I could only do one thing with the amount of positive feedback came back and the common response, “I want to buy this, how much? GIVE ME!”  I turned it into a service based utility that Cookie Stuffers could use to make their life easier in organizing campaigns.

It was too easy for me.  I was able to make profit with a utility I was almost ready to completely discard by becoming the backbone for some serious players in the Cookie Stuffing game.  The incentive to me was I never even had to bother with tasks I shuttered about when thinking about Cookie Stuffing- finding traffic.  I just had to make sure the codes worked, logical decisions were made, and redirects kept on truckin’ along.

There were signs here and there that I should have paid more attention to.  I was constantly finding myself being asked uncomfortable questions by customers, potential leads, members of the communities, and my own conscious.  Questions that made me feel really discouraged and afraid of the consequences I might face.  But the recognition I received for my efforts and the financial compensation kept me going.

Then there was the infamous Cease and Desist.  The day I received this letter I was instantly afraid of what kind of impact my hard work did.  At some point it was said that I “mocked” this letter.  I don’t recall ever mocking this letter intentionally.  As a matter of fact, my first reaction at my mailbox was literally, “oh shit, what have I gotten myself into now.”  I sat in my car for a good half hour thinking of all the ways I could reinvent SauceKit.

I raced home, and I quickly contacted every customer that I could that would potentially dig the hole deeper.  At the time and simply put, it was ideal for me to request that they stop using their accounts with the network that sent me the Cease and Desist.  They all agreed and responded with, “no problem, cancel my account because I rarely use it anymore.”  Here’s the kicker: I allowed other customers to abuse other networks.

Of course, this all seemed logical at the time.  I went about my business and worked my way to get back into replacing the accounts I lost.  When customers asked if it worked with XYZ network, I normally responded with, “Yes, but I recommend you don’t target it.  Do your homework and when you decide on anything but XYZ network, then contact me”  Things seemed natural and like they were going to be ok.

After a while, I started losing more accounts because I was being forced to take away everyone’s gold mine that wanted to sign up with me.  I even tried my best to replenish my income by diversifying the energy and desire to work.  There were a ton of people I had met that almost all felt they had a “million dollar idea.”  I tried some of them out, and the new just developed way to slow for me to keep up with the bills.

At some point, I just became desperate.  So desperate that I somehow justified in my mind that I would allow for the network that sent me the Cease and Desist to be exploited again.  I saw a boundary created in my mind that my product was able to create after one of the major features that had evolved to show great success.

These new features that SauceKit evolved into took me out of the line of site, and I became mostly a backbone for just decision making service.  My API would decide from a number of variables controlled by my customers whether the viewer should be Cookie Stuffed or not.  Reports were built to give my customers success and failure rates.  Yes, at the time, this was logical enough for me to keep going.

Somehow, I  was establishing contact with people that could make use of my product with another one found on the market.  Deals were worked out that both would work together as a great combination.  Sales boomed again, and I found a weird comfort between knowing it was wrong and the financial situation I was in.

Then the inevitable happened- the knock at my front door by U.S. Secret Service.  At this time, I had just woken up out of the mild coma I was in to answer the door.  My mind was so disoriented by their visit that I couldn’t think what would possibly bring them to my door.  It’s insane to think I had some perfect mental image in my mind that everything was ok.

What do you do when Secret Service comes to your door?  Well that has been answered now with all the feedback that I received from legal counseling I’ve had to go through.  If you really want to know specifics, go Google it and find legal counseling about it.  At the time though, I remember thinking in my mind who did what and why am I being questioned?  My common sense (maybe it was wrong) said stay positive, remain calm, answer their questions, and don’t give them any reason to question character.

At the present time of me writing this up, I’m faced with an indictment.  The indictment outlines a maximum fine that I cannot afford and possible imprisonment.  My reputation and credibility to possible future employers will be ruined by the charges I’m facing.  Chances are, I probably lost a lot trust and now am back to having questionable intentions in the internet marketing communities.  A small group of people that were around during SauceKit’s fall keep in touch and still believe in future success from my undeniable passion for what I do.

Let’s squash the high school gossip- there is a rumor that I made a ridiculous amounts of money and my consequences are worth it.  It’s important to me to say that this is beyond false.  I did not make a fortune from SauceKit.  I will not deny that I made good money from it, but I also do not sit here on a huge stack of cash in the bank.

For what it’s worth, I want to apologize to any damages that my efforts may have caused to anyone.  If I would have gone into SauceKit knowing it’s outcome, I would have (obviously) not pursued it.  Between my ignorance and the lack of respect I had for the policies outlined by the networks, I would agree that I was due for this spanking.

With my mind being clear and the ability to look back at my logic used to carry forward in every stepping stone of SauceKit’s existence, none of it was right.  It’s actually very embarrassing.  The only thing that I am proud of is it opened the door with being able to work with some really unique individuals on the net having nothing to do with Cookie Stuffing.  Beyond that, I’d take it all back if it were possible.  In times of desperation, you can make some really weird decisions that make you function out of character.

My advice to anyone considering to defraud any affiliate network (or even company for that matter) would be not to do it.  There are plenty of affiliates out there making legitimate money.  Spend your efforts on the methods that networks allow.  You will not find fortune over night when you first start, but there will be a turning point of success if you stay committed and disciplined to carrying out a plan.