Posted by Jennifer Rundall on 8/28/04 7:18pm
Msg #6921

Annie Mae Org

Hi Everyone, I am sure some of you have heard of the new organization that just officially launched 30 days ago online called AnnieMae.org. I am pleased and quite excited to announce that I just got off a conference call with the founder of the Annie Mae organization, Gary Drury and other new notary members of Annie Mae.
This company/website is going to revolutionize the notary industry. I joined aprox. 1.5 weeks ago and the tools that are available to you as a member are astounding! I encourage all notaries who read this and who take there business seriously to join. It is only $19 per month! This website is like a virtual office, many marketing tools, e-scheduling, personal web page to direct companies to about yourself. You can also store a copy of your w-9, commission cert., Bond and E&O insurance for title and or signing companies to log on and obtain your information so you don't have to fax it to each individual company! This is only a small part of what Annie Mae has to offer. I am honored to a part of this in the beginning stages and I also believe that I will still be just excited about this 2-3 years down the road. I encourage you to go to the below link and check it out! Copy the following link to your web browser.

http://www.anniemae.org/Port.cfm?ID=10463&P=AM747

Reply by Jennifer Rundall on 8/28/04 7:42pm
Msg #6923

I just thought about something after I posted this post regarding Annie Mae. I believe I am unable to advertise anything on the message boards. Or its against policy. If that is the case, I sincerely apologize in advance. If the post needs to be erased I will understand. I was just so excited to tell you all about it, I did not even think about that, until just now.

Thank you, and again I apologize,

Jennifer Rundall
Arizona

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 8/28/04 7:55pm
Msg #6925

Ms. Jennifer Rundall, please allow me to ask some questions that you may be able to answer. If not, if possible, please let me know who to ask.

First you said, "This company/website is going to revolutionize the notary industry." This battle cry unfortunately sounds like nothing more than the hype and empty promises we hear all the time with almost every worthless product. Hopefully, this won't be the case. We'll see.

"This website is like a virtual office, many marketing tools, e-scheduling, personal web page to direct companies to about yourself. " ... "It is only $19 per month."

For $19 per month (actually less), I have in my personal possession, many marketing tools, real time and paper scheduling that I can take with me on the road, a business oriented web page. So far, there is nothing that will "revolutionize" our industry.

I visited the website and, to be quite honest, I don't see anything that would make this worth more than $225 per year!! I don't see a notary locater, I don't see a company list. (Companies that have access to the members information.)

Further, why in the world would I want to post my client data, fees etc., on a public website? Who has access to this data? Do you really expect title companies and lenders to spend the time to go on-line, access someones calendar to see if they are available and book a signing? I seriously doubt it.

I wish you well, but personally and professionally, I don't see anything here for a professional Notary Signing Agent.

And, finally, the association that this site has with Victoria Ring, has made me much more skeptical than before. Ms. Ring does not stand tall in my book, and her endorsement of this venture indeed makes Anniemae all the more suspect as a "bilk the notary" scheme.

Reply by Jennifer Rundall on 8/29/04 12:52am
Msg #6945

Because I am new to the Annie Mae site. I would say you should talk to the founder Gary. You may email him at [e-mail address] I am sure he would be glad to answer all of your questions. Some of the things that you mentioned, for example about pricing, you as the member are the only one who can see it. There is a search mechanism in place so when a company logs on to find a notary in your area and have a minimum you will only take, your name will not come up. Lets say if you are only willing to take $65 as your minimum and they are only open to paying $60. Then your name would not come up in your seach because you placed the $65 minimum in your profile/preferences. That is just one of the many features they offer. I can also tell you that Gary is holding a conference call Sunday August 29th at 3pm Colorado time to discuss all of the features of the site. If you contact him via email first thing in the morning and request to be a part of the conference call, I am sure he would not mind. I encourage you to listen to what he has to say, I am sure you will see why I am so excited about this.
I honestly feel quite attacked by some of the things you said. I shared this information to the site because I felt it would be of help to the members. I did not mean to offend anyone.

Jennifer

Reply by HisHughness on 8/29/04 1:30am
Msg #6946

Jennifer...
If you already have a web site, as I do, one of your major inducements to join is eliminated. Also, there are some occasions where a filter tied to the SA's fee alone will work against the SA. In my case, even if someone is looking for $50 SAs, I want them to see my listing and my qualifications. At some point in the future, they may well want an SA with my credentials.

Reply by Roger/OH on 8/29/04 2:26pm
Msg #6971

Re: Annie Mae Org/Victoria Ring

Agree with Paul - Victoria Ring has a history of making inaccurate statements, and any venture that she is part of has little credibility in my book. As Paul also mentioned previously, why would NNA endorse another notary directory when they have their own?

Reply by BrendaTX on 8/28/04 8:04pm
Msg #6927

Jennifer,
It is good to hear from you! I was just thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you were doing because you have not posted lately.

I took a look at this when it was advertised through Victoria's newsletter. I agree that the tools have some viability. And, they are probably not a bad deal at the price of $19 per month if you do not have a website already, or do not have an interest in doing some of it yourself on your own website.

Since I already have a website and a method of online delivery for my marketing documents, creating an invoice, etc., plus I have some of my marketing and invoicing functions already automated, I cannot justify the additional expense of another $228 per year for anniemae.org. And, to be honest, I was a little peeved that the ad in Victoria's newsletter said something to the effect of "try it for only $19" when the reality is that the tool is $19 per month.

You may not realize it, however, with a paid membership (and maybe without one, I do not know because I have always had a paid membership) to NotaryRotary.com, NotRotters have the ability to create work orders online here to do some of the same things that AnnieMae.org does.

In all seriousness, I would hope that you will continue to report back to us, or at least to me personally, at the email I have on my profile, and let us/me know what you find to be your experience with AnnieMae. I sincerely wish you good will in this new investment and hope the best for you in your experience.

Brenda

Reply by Jennifer Rundall on 8/29/04 12:41am
Msg #6944

Brenda: I appreciate your kindness. I still plan to post on here and still check in. I just have not posted a lot since I have been so busy. Thank you..and I will be in touch.

Reply by Lawrence Goodwin on 8/29/04 8:59am
Msg #6951

Now I have done signings with FannieMea & FreddieMax, but never heard of AnnieMea.

Reply by Gary Drury from AnnieMae on 8/29/04 9:02am
Msg #6952

AnnieMae is dedicated to improving the process to improve the standards, since that is where our background is based. This open forum approach is very important.

I will revisit how "Try it for only $19" is displayed, since I've had very few comments on it. Because there is no contract, no obligation, and you can receive your money back for the first month, we think it is accurate to say "TRY IT" . We aren't offering a free 30 day evaluation, because we people should start out more committed. What does everyone else think?

There are some good tools out there and we encourage you to use them. We have a 'many to many' concept, which will unfold over time. Briefly, we are building a platform program, which services as a real-time network for notaries to share opportunity, similar to what you are doing here. Please don't feel pressured to use AnnieMae until you're comfortable.

Lastly, there are many independent web sites out there. We even link our business web site to others, however, we again, we building a community network, which provides a universal tool set to both sides of the table, the notaries and originating companies for collaboration. Please offer us new ideas and we will strive to improve the system.

Reply by Brenda J Khan on 8/29/04 10:36am
Msg #6955

In responce to Gary's post, I did go to your website, AnnieMae, and I did sign up for your free white page listing, however my concerns are:
1. I can not see my free listing, where am I?
2. How do you search for notaries? Free or not?
3. How do companies search for Notaries?
Also you should recheck your whole site for the MANY spelling errors on almost every page. I am not a Notary siginging agent as your site states!
In conclusion your site is missing what I would consider "basic" features of any good notary website. You should do some more research on this site and several other usefull site to Notaries and you wil see what is available to us Notaries already at Free or little cost to us. Much work is still needed on your site. I am sorry if these comments offend you but I do not sugar coat things! I tell it like it is to me, afterall this is my profession and my success depends on it. Going above and beyond to provide the highest quality of service to all whom you work with is a quality of every successful business person, this is my motto.
Brenda Khan- FL

Reply by Lawrence Goodwin on 8/29/04 10:56am
Msg #6957

I too have just looked at the page. I have been in the profession for many years now and to be quit frank, I wont be back.

Reply by HAPPY IN Fl on 8/29/04 11:34am
Msg #6960

I also signed up a couple of weeks ago- and I believe the potential is there! I do not have a web-site yet-- there are many things I do not yet have- which perhaps Annie Mae will-- also this is in an on-going developement stage- As Gary said-- he would welcome suggestions to consider "upgrading" to be of good benefit to all users. Jennifer Rundall , I thankyou for your thoughfullness in sharing - you worded it well- and thankyou Gary for coming on and offering explanation- it may not fit everyones bill- but I'm giving it a shot. "Nothing ventured- nothing gained".

Reply by Gary at AnnieMae.org on 8/29/04 1:20pm
Msg #6965

I also think the web design sucks. We have been diligently working on functionality first. But now that it scrawning looking cat is out of the bag, it will put pressure on the other geeks in our organization about web design and spelling.

I 'thnak' you very much.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/29/04 11:27am
Msg #6959

Brenda advised:

***Also you should recheck your whole site for the MANY spelling errors on almost every page. I am not a Notary siginging agent as your site states!***

I have not been to the AnnieMae site, but I can predict with a high level of certainty that if Victoria Ring had anything to do with the creation of it, it will be replete with spelling errors, grammatical errors, and punctuation errors. Ms. Ring must be one of the most energetic people in the whole country involved in the signing agent business; at least, her visible production would so indicate. I just wish at some point she would devote some of that energy to learning how to write the language. Or, at the very least, have someone who does have some facility in written English vet her written endeavors.

Reply by Gary on 8/29/04 1:44pm
Msg #6968

I've go an idea. Who's up for a personal live tour? I will personally give up to 5 people a live netmeeting tour on Thursday 7pm (MST). For better or worse, I will tell you our vision and run through the site funtions. Obviously, we are still in development, however the potential should show through.

If you are interested, especially 'hishughness', email me at [e-mail address]. Put in subject line "AnnieMae Evaluation". I have State eNotarization presentations for three days, so you must respond by Tuesday night, in order for me to send you instructions and prepare.
Thanks.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/29/04 2:30pm
Msg #6972

Thanks for the invitation. I have two suggestions:

1) I won't be able to participate if I get a closing at that time, and the same may apply to others selected. Consequently, you may wish to have several alternates in case some drop out.

2) The most knowledgeable and most influential -- and apparently most skeptical -- participant in this board is PAW (Paul Williamson). You should attempt to obtain his participation. Bribe him if necessary -- but it probably won't be. Just tell him how smart, handsome, personable, witty, honorable, literate, industrious, open-minded, brave, truthful, faithful, kind and cootie-free he is, and he'll probably be willing to play Sancho Panza to your Don Quixote.

Reply by Gary on 8/29/04 3:45pm
Msg #6976

...that making AnnieMae the 'windmill'? :-) Will PAW simply take a cash bribe? My ego pre-empts other forms of me scooting to my knees.

Reply by Jennifer Rundall on 8/29/04 4:05pm
Msg #6977

Gary, you are too much!! LOL

Reply by Gracie/PA on 8/30/04 10:27am
Msg #7004

Re: Annie Mae Org/NNA?Victoria?

Gary, what, exactly, is Annie Mae's affiliation with the NNA, Victoria Ring, and Jennifer Rundall?

Reply by kathyk on 3/15/05 8:38am
Msg #25493

gary, saw you had time to post on here but not respond to my four requests for my money back ... double billing in november and never credited back, cancelled my membership and you charged me 2x, 2 months after that ... my credit card company keeps charging you back and you keep billing me after i cancelled months ago ... what's the problem, not enough money coming in?

Reply by BrendaTX on 8/29/04 9:11pm
Msg #6988

Re: Annie Mae Org- Correct My Posting Above

Let me correct myself about something I said above.

"And, to be honest, I was a little peeved that the ad in Victoria's newsletter said something to the effect of "try it for only $19" when the reality is that the tool is $19 per month."
------
Sorry--It was the information provided by AnnieMae.org, and it appeared on the page sponsored by, or owned by Victoria Ring at AnnieMae.org. I did not follow Jennifer's link until just now and realized that this was the case .

I think perhaps that the way the AnnieMae.org portal is set up is so that the link that you visit it through creates a webpage which will display information about the referring member.

Just wanted to set the record straight about it being derived directly from VR's newsletter.

And, as far as I know, there is not a contract on joining as Mr. Drury's post states, so there is not a legal problem by advertising it as it is currently advertised.

Nonetheless, from a purely subjective position, I was peeved as I originally stated because I felt I did waste time on reviewing it from my quick interpretation of "try it for $19" as opposed to considering the situation through to realize that it was "try it for $19.00 per month--no contract required" or "try it for $228 per year."

Reply by sue on 8/30/04 5:02pm
Msg #7028

here's my problem with all this.

I don't want ANYBODY but me setting my schedule. A client can't 'guess' when I can fit in an appt. My appts. change several times a day and we are MOBILE notaries unable to sit at the computer updating a calendar. I came out of an appt. at 4:55 today and returned a call to one of my favorite title companies. He had an order for 3 tomorrow. I told him I couldn't do it because I had a purchase at 4 and that was just too close since the 3 is 45 minutes away. So, he said, "What about 2 since they said between 1 & 5?" Naturally I took the order. BUT, when I got back to the office at 5:30 he had sent me an e-mail moving it to Wedneseday at 2:00. Oh, in the meantime, my 4:00 purchase called and it's now moved to Thursday at 4:30. I also took, somewhere in that small time frame travelling back to the office, a 5:00 tomorrow. Does that always happen? Of course not, but when it does, no one but us knows what's going on and sometimes that's pretty tough to do.

What if I don't want a company's work? (and there are a lot of those) What if I'll take someone's work tomorrow but wouldn't have taken it last Thursday because I like to hold month end for my best clients?

If I've got a 5 and a 7, maybe I can squeeze a quick little HELOC in at 6 because it's in the vicinity of one of the others but I can't take a full refi at 6.

I asked these same questions of Monica at AMR when she came up with this same type program and I never got a reply other than a snippy comment something like 'it's not for everyone'. But, who is it for if not for mobile notaries? Just perplexed, as usual over all this stuff being sold - seeminly every week something new.

Reply by kathyk on 3/15/05 7:58am
Msg #25488

jennifer, i joined annie mae months ago (yes, this is the same company you say launched 30 days ago) ... just a different website ... and was a member for months and was on many, many conference calls. what gary offers is "you" do the work, you input your leads into his database, you make the calls to the attornies and title companies, he collects your money and their money every month .... good luck to you ...