Ted’s Woodworking Scam Alert and How to Get Your Money Back
I'm very much into woodworking as I like to build stuff myself. I also sell blueprints of my projects directly to my subscribers who want to build them. They are 100% my original work and are not expensive in relation to the time saved if someone wants to build an exact copy of one of my projects.
I'm also an affiliate marketer, which means I make small commissions if you buy something from one of my links. (YouTube doesn't pay much so you should assume every YouTuber is also an affiliate marketer.)
Many people have tried posting comments on my videos with links to a collection of woodworking plans called “Ted's Woodworking”. YouTube flags any comments with URLs for review, and I always delete those comments which are blatant advertisements trying to sponge off my work.
Then, last week, someone offered to pay me to post their link in my video descriptions. Can you guess where that link took me? You guessed it: Ted's Woodworking.
So I decided to do a deeper investigation of this “product” and here's what I found:
Propelled by Affiliates
Affiliate Marketing is when a company is willing to pay a commission to virtually anyone who drives traffic that causes a person to purchase a product online. Most companies have affiliate programs these days – whether they are purely online companies like Amazon, Ebay and GoDaddy, or bricks-and-mortar companies with an online presence like Walmart, Nordstrom and Home Depot.
Most of the products you see in my videos have product links in the video descriptions, and those links earn me a small commission if they generate a sale. Typical commissions are 2-4% on most goods, but they can go much higher on specialty products like health aids and weight loss items that may or may not provide any direct benefit to the consumer.
Ted's Woodworking attracts affiliates with projections of 75% commissions per sale with 11% conversion rates. This is a huge commission compared to most other retailers, so it gets a lot of greedy attention and that's the only reason the product gets any traffic.
Ted's Woodworking is not a Product
The logo suggests the consumer is buying a DVD filled with blueprints and videos for over 16,000 projects. A DVD would be a one-time purchase that can be referenced far into the future. In reality, the buyer only gets access to projects on Ted's website for a limited amount of time unless they upsell to a monthly subscription. I've seen other complaints stating there are nowhere near 16,000 projects on the site, and all the plans and videos could be found elsewhere on the Internet for free or for purchase.
You read that right. People have accused Ted of stealing plans from other copyrighted sources.
Perhaps there is some value having Ted's be a directory of woodworking plans, but it's being marketed as if Ted himself created them from scratch.
Ted's Woodworking is not a Real Company
Ted “Woody” McGrath is a stock photo
Ted's site shows his name as Ted “Woody” McGrath and a business address in Slater, Iowa. That name and address are both bogus. The Post Office confirmed this address never actually existed! His picture in the logo is just a stock photo as well!
The Better Business Bureau has a file on Ted's, but it's all bad news. The website received 31 complaints, failed to respond to those complaints, and as a result received an “F” (worst grade according to the BBB Review).
YouTube woodworker, Steve Ramsey, did an expose of Ted's Woodworking in 2010. And yet, suckers are still being born every minute.
Sadly, there are a plethora of blog posts like mine questioning if Ted's is a scam. Unfortunately, they are just clickbait and actually try to convince unsuspecting buyers to purchase the product. Notice the similarity between “Clickbank” and “Clickbait”?? Well, I'm not falling for it.
I'm not here to rip you off.
Ted's Woodworking Scam – How To Get Your Money Back
If you already bought this “product”, don't bother trying to contact “Ted” or his support because they will not respond.
But all is not lost! I've got your back and you should be able to get a 100% refund.
You need to contact Clickbank, the affiliate gateway that handles Ted's transactions.
Here's what you do:
- Go to https://www.clkbank.com/clkbank.htm
- Input your order information and click Submit
- Click on Click here to get support on the top left corner
- Click on More Options and write your refund request
In most cases, Clickbank will refund your money. Note that you have to request the refund within 60 days of purchase.
youtube support this scam, I’ve been trapped today on youtube ads…try to get my money back from clickbank….should have check first…
YouTube doesn’t “support” any specific advertiser or product. They are an open platform that allows anyone to advertise anything. They can’t know something is a scam UNLESS people like you complain about the ads or videos that promote the scam.
I tried, but clkbank says I only had 60 days to request a refund. A scam is a scam, no matter that I didn’t learn that til too late to qualify.
I just got my money back, thanks you for your information. I got it all done within half an hour after purchase.
I feel so stupid that I was scammed, but even did a google search beforehand and didn’t see your review. All I saw were ones that said how great these plans were, even some links suggesting “Ted’s” plans over the one that offered 12,000 plans. Thank you so much for the info. I paid yesterday and have requested a refund today. Fingers crossed that clickbank will give me my money back. I should have known when the website went on forever and constantly tried to upsell me that it would be a scam.
A similar scam is “Ryan’s Shed Plans,” which I believe is run by the same guy/company as “Ted.” “Ryan” offers to give you over 12,000 shed plans, and uses the same bait-and-switch detailed drawings in his ads and the “popular plans” he emails you for free if you subscribe (without paying; this is the hook. After you get ten free plans, which are detailed and well-done, you’re cut off and given an ad to buy the whole collection. Of course, you think they’re all going to be as well-done as the free ones…and what you get is the exact same mess of stolen plans, blurry sketches, the same (incomplete) plan five or six times under different names, plans found elsewhere online for free, scans of articles from magazines, fliers from stores that are basically instructional ads (i.e. “How to use our widget to do X,” offered under file names like, “How to wire for electricity,” outdated plans, barely-relevant plans (do you buy a collection of shed plans if you’re interested in building a 60-foot pole barn?) etc. Some of the sheds pictured in the ads are not in the collection, either.
I immediately requested (and got) my money back. I found the same proliferation of fake reviews for the set, too–ironically, I found a few that said, “Ryan’s Shed Plans are a scam, but Ted’s Woodworking Plans are the real deal! Get those instead–there are even some sheds in there!” Which is why I decided to Google Ted’s Woodworking plans (I’d already seen, and, I’m embarrassed to admit, been tempted by the ads for TW) and look further than the paid “reviews” which abound.
Thanks for the tip!
none of this is real! but the scam is back but getting money back? 100% a scam
I was looking today for woodworking plans, this did look like it was perfect in the way he talked. I guess I should have picked up on it being a huge sales pitch, but I fell for it. After looking through a few of the folders I was very unimpressed in the drawings that were not written properly.
I asked for my money back just a little bit ago and hope it is returned to me
I don’t remember how I ended up on the website. I was looking for bunk bed tutorials on YouTube, and I think I somehow came across the link to Ted’s Woodworking.
It all looked and sounded good. 16,000 projects with detailed plans for one-time purchase of $67? Why the hell not?
Once I spent the money and accessed the content, I began to regret my decision.
I look at about 5 different folders before I finally had enough. ALL of the projects such as desks, chairs, tables, beds, you name it, all looked like they were from the 60’s and 70’s. Totally outdated and ugly furniture. These were NOT what was shown on the advertising page.
The “plans” which were advertised as being very detailed and 3D, were fucking pencil drawings and shit. I couldn’t believe it.
Thanks for this blog post.
I just had the same exact experience!
I am now awaiting my clkbank refund. Let’s see how that goes.
Sorry to say I was scammed as well – cant believe it.
I contacted them and they tried to upsell me the DVD in lieu of a refund!
Thanks, that just saved me about $150… I can’t believe I got taken, I guess it just shows how easy we humans are to spoof. I just got confirmation from CLICKBANK that I will be getting it back. I am looking forward to seeing it in my account again. This took less than 24 hours. Again thanks.
Thanks for this!! Your review should go viral and flood over the fake TW reviews all over the internet! The fake reviews have strange verbiage and typos, and they always lead to the same conclusion – valuable product, hurry to buy, here is the link. There are so many of these automatically generated websites that most people finally just give up questioning and pay to try it. As everyone says here, TW is a scam. Youtube and other hosts should kick them off, but alas that will never happen.
For all we know, TW could be a giant money laundering operation.
It really is a shame that unsuspecting people are getting suckered everyday. Thanks for the feedback.
Signed up for this program a few years ago. It looked like a pretty offer with a wide assortment of plans available. I left it on my computer as I really did not have the time to use it as I wanted. Well that changed recently as I retired. You would think once you down loaded the program it would be saved. NOT QUITE! The windows for four different files are there but none of them will open .Now I can not even get in to the program. My e-mail does not register. The “forgot my password” will not even recognize my account. They provide no e-mail so you can contact them. If you are lucky enough to read this prior to buying the program “DONOT DO IT”! As the old Steve Miller song says, Go on take the money and run. That is evidently what happed tome.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry it happened to you, but hopefully someone will see this and heed your advice. Congrats on retirement!!
Robert don’t feel to bad or alone the exact same thing happened to me. Our stories can be considered twins. Sounds like a class action suite to me at some point.
Dan
I have tried to get my money back but no luck. I think we should have a class action law suite. Have Ted go to jail.
I don’t understand something. If Ted’s Woodworking really is a scam why does it continue to appear on Clickbank? If people have been asking for refunds and/or complaining about it then surely it would have been removed as a product? Or am I being especially naive about the whole thing?
Confused, would appreciate some insights.
All Clinkbank products are electronic, meaning they are completely profit. They are fueled by huge affiliate commissions (like 50-75 percent). Only a small percentage of people admit their mistake and actually seek a refund, and then the refund process is hard to find. So it’s just a cash machine for them.
Greedy people suck.
I wanted to give affiliate marketing a go but to be honest I don’t think this is for me. And there were just too many nagging doubts starting to creep in not only about the specific product mentioned here but also in general with other Clickbank products.
The Teds WoodworkinG website does not provide a solution on their website for refunds. Thank you for the refund link. I submitted my refund request. Now waiting to see how the refunding process proceeds. Thankfully, I did not order the discs. Who knows how long that would have taken to receive – 61 days? I downloaded and scrutinized every file from the site – all 711 of them. I was sorely disappointed with the quality and age of these. Most plans are labeled:
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS
STATE OF TENNESSEE
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
AND
U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATING
The labeling made me suspicious, and after viewing all the files, I will agree that no one should invest in this “product.”
Again, Thank you for the refund link.
Thanks for the heads up. It felt like a scam through the whole order process, and yet I still went through with it because I somehow imagined something that felt so utterly scamy could just be an out of touch moron. Nope. I am that moron. Just requested a refund. Hopefully I’ll get my money back.
Sorry to hear. They should give your money back. I haven’t heard anyone denied. I think they survive on the suckers who are too embarrassed or lazy to ask for their money back.
My credit card was charged $96.12 clkbank*tedsplans. I was not sent an order number.
Contact Clickbank anyway.
Your statement has the order # on it
They just took money off my credit card. No transaction number given. Clkbanktedsplans. Charged my credit card. No email was received
I actually found this website trying to get to the Member’s section of the website. THANKS! The pictures they use to grab your attention are not even close to what the plans are. A large chunk of the plans were for outdated pieces of furniture as well. Just requested my refund now. Hopefully it comes through.
I fell for the scam, I am thinking I knew better than this. It was just scans of books and old information. I was so suckered.
I just recently fell for this, but fortunately I found your website. I was able to get a refund in a couple of days after making my request through ClickBank. Thank you for this information!
Glad I could help!
Thank you it work
Awesome!
I followed your instructions with clickbank, It worked! They refunded within a day. Those plans were garbage and the pictures were all pixelated
Glad to hear it! Also avoid anything that mentions Woodprix. Pass the word. People don’t need to feel stupid because they got suckered by fancy advertising.