I tried a google search for this topic on CC, but came up empty. How many of you are listed with the BBB? Is it worth it? I am really quite small, and am not sure this would be a benefit. Its also a nice chunk of change, that they call an "investment." I know its by "invitation only blah blah blah," but really, are they trying to sell a product, and is that product worth $400 per year?
No disrespect to the BBB, I know that they do offer a good service to consumers and businesses, but with someone like me, being so small, is it worth it?

I ignore the "by invitation only" thing because I'm pretty dang sure if I called them up and offered them a check, they'd take me!

There's an article coming up in Cake Central magazine that I wrote about networking and one vendor I talked to said affiliations with orgz's such as the BBB were VERY important to her when making recommendations to her brides. (Sorry ... read the articles for more details! )

When my husband ran for public office, someone asked him if yard signs really worked in getting votes. He replied, "I don't think they GET you votes ..... but I think if you don't have them, you will definitely lose votes."

Membership in some orgz's can be like that in an opposite way. Not having the BBB logo on your website may not cause someone to click out and move on ..... but it may make a positive impact on them when they see it on your website.

It is a lot of money to invest, especially if you don't have it to spare, so it becomes a decision each business makes based on their goals, resources and long term plan. (gee, that was anything but helpful, huh? )

BTW, yes I was a member of the BBB.

It's a good concept and the BBB does a great service for consumers, but it isn't worth becoming a member. The only thing you'll get is to be able to use their logo if you choose to... that's pretty much it.

People rarely utilize the BBB's service before doing business with a company, just after the fact when they've had a problem. If people would research beforehand, they'd choose to never do business with the biggest competitor of one of my corporations (within another industry) and we'd then be the biggest by far!

Also, every time they bug us to join, we tell them to stop calling because we will never become a member. When that didn't work and they continued to call, we asked if there was another organization that we could call to complain about the BBB's harrassmentthat one worked quite well and they finally got the hint to stop calling!

Thanks! Even ambiguous answers are sometimes helpful.
If figured it was kind of like "sure, you can have an invitation to my Mary Kay Party, if you buy something."

I think it may be a good thing to be a part of, but at this point, it will be pretty unnecessary considering my small size and their big price tag.
Kind of like those big Premiere Bride magazines. Great for business if you are big enough, but if you are doing fine without it, probably just stick with what works.