Of all the possible methods to make money online, one that gets the most hype for bringing large amounts of cash is the use of Private Label Rights (PLR) and Master Resale Rights (MRR) products. This article will explain just what they are and whether they meet the promises of their marketers.
Just What Are PLR and MRR products
In a nutshell, a PLR product is one that you are allowed to brand as your own (your Private Label) and resell as if it were your own. With some PLR products, you actually get a source file (usually in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format) that you can edit to make it more your own, though most sellers do not provide these, because because. MRR products typically allow you to resell them to others, or to sell the resale rights to others. They in turn have the same options. However, contrary to what you might initially expect, when you purchase resale rights from someone else, they STILL sell them to others with the same rights … Does this seem right to you?
Are PLR and MRR products good or bad?
Almost without exception, they are BAD, for quite a number of reasons, a few of which are presented here.
First, they are typically old products that are no longer selling in their original markets. This may be due to changes in the way business is currently done, or advances in the field, or just because everyone seems to have heard the message. Sometimes it is because they were poor products to begin with. Sometimes they are even blatant rip-offs of somebody else's product. They rarely have any true value, but the sellers of these products have some very convincing ad copy that can excite even the most jaded online marketer.
Second, they primarily prey on the new people coming into internet marketing, selling the IDEA that they can make a fortune near overnight with little or no effort. While they may not actually make any statements that are wholly untrue, they make it seem as if by buying their product, then reselling it, you can be rich tomorrow, or the day later at the least. In truth, the only people that seem to make any money with PLR products are the initial sellers, not the people that buy these products with the intent of reselling them under their own label.
Third, they are not original material, and many of them are blatant ripoffs of other copyrighted items. Some of this is unintentional, because the people selling these may have bought the package from some else, added a few more items and are trying to sell it to you. The possibility of you being the third, fourth, fifth or even higher generation so muddies the copyright situation as to be near untraceable. Furthermore, their proliferation makes it even more difficult to determine who the original author was, and whether the rights to the original were actually sold.
Fourth, assuming you can find a product and can determine it can be legally sold is the issue of dilution. There are so many others trying to sell the same (old) thing as to make the product essentially worthless.
Is not PLR the same as "white box" or "house branding" of regular products?
Proponents of PLR and MRR will argue that what they are selling is especially like white box or house branded products in a grocery, specialty or department store. A white box product is one sold without manufacturer identification, that a wholesaler or seller can add a sleeve or over print the box with their own product name. House branded products are similar, but come from the manufacturer with the house brand already incorporated. While some of the basic concept is intact with PLR, that of passing the product on to the next level in the supply chain for branding, nothing else fits the model. For one thing, with physical products, once the re-labeled product is sold, it stops there. Tons of copies of the product are not sold to the next level down, because you just can not copy them like you can digital products. Furthermore, with physical products, the original manufacturer still gains income from its development and production of the product. Because you can not trace the ownership of a PLR product, you can not be sure you are marketing a legal product.
But what about MRR products?
MRR products are not a lot different from PLR, though the idea with them is that you can sell the right to resell them to others. (PLR products typically do not carry MRR with them). Master Resale Rights simply you have the same rights as the original owner and can not only sell the product to someone else, you can also sell the rights for him to resell the product to others. Unfortunately, the same difficulties are arise here in being able to trace the ownership of the product to determine if you can legally resell the product. If you could be sure you were dealing with an undiluted legal product, true MRR might not be so bad, if you could be sure you were the only buyer (exclusive rights). If, however, MRR to a product is being sold to many others, you are back at the same problem as PLR, too many sellers of the same item reduces the value.
There have to be legal ones out there, Should I sell those?
I'm sure there has to be a PLR or MRR product out there that can be traced to a legal owner and verified as being OK to sell, but probably not as I'm just not willing to put in the intensive time it takes for the research at this point.
Let's suppose for a moment that you did end up with a PLR or MRR product with legal rights to sell it. Even with a new name on it, it is still the same old product it was, unless you significantly revamp it before you pass it on. With most of the products out there, by the time you have them in shape to be saleable today at a reasonable price, you could have written your own eBook or report on a current topic for the same amount of effort and time. And, it would be unique in the market and you could be proud to sell it. With even the revamped PLR or MRR product, you are trying to sell the same item as hundreds of other people, so the competition is fierce, and the prices are so low as to be ridiculous. I recently saw a couple of PLR books for sale on eBay that were not even getting bids with a $ 0.99 starting price. Given that eBay seems to attract people that will literally bid on anything, this is a sad situation for those sellers.
Summary
Although the idea of PLR and MRR was a reasonable concept, once it got to mass marketing, it fell apart and became a place to sell dreams to the uninitiated. Once upon a time, when someone bought Private Label or Master Resale Rights for a product, they were either the only one or one of a select few (typically 5 or less) that bought the rights. The current method of selling the same rights to hundreds if not more people has taken the concept to the point of being reprehensible behavior that takes advantage of the people that may need the money the most.
As PT Barnum was known to say, "There's a sucker born every minute."
If I were considering the purchase of PLR or MRR products, I'd think long and hard first, and then only buy them as "research stock" and not with the intention to resell them. I would hope you proceed with similar forethought and deliberation before purchase of these kind of products.
Source by Rick Dayle
