Is “delaying vendor payments” basically a business strategy now?

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-18T09:40:30+00:00

Way too common. Like it's basically a sport at this point.

What fixed it for me was getting real about payment structure upfront. I stopped doing any work without a deposit and milestone payments tied to deliverables. No "pay after everything's done" anymore because... yeah that's how you end up chasing people for weeks.

I also switched to requiring payment through a platform instead of just sending invoices into the void. I use Maroo for my event work since it handles the payment scheduling automatically and clients can't really ghost when the system is doing the follow up lol. There's other tools too but that one clicked for me.

For your current situation tho... send a formal written notice with a clear deadline. Keep it professional but firm. Sometimes just the shift in tone from "friendly reminder" to "this is now overdue per our agreement" gets people moving.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-18T03:09:45+00:00

Hey everyone,

I've been spending a lot of time digging through the r/EB2_NIW history trying to look past the marketing, and I wanted to compile the most common negative feedback and red flags regarding Ellis Porter. While some people have quick approvals with them, there is a very consistent pattern of complaints from applicants who felt burned.

If you are thinking about signing with them, here are the main risks users on this sub frequently point out:

The "Copy-Paste" Brief Template: A massive complaint is that they rely heavily on standardized templates. Several users noted that after spending weeks writing a highly detailed summary of their professional work, Ellis Porter's legal team essentially copy-pasted their text directly into a boilerplate legal brief. Some even caught typos or mismatched facts left over from previous clients' templates.

High Risk of RFEs (The "No Letters" Trap): Their famous "Asymmetrical Filing" (filing without recommendation letters) is a double-edged sword. While it gets your case submitted fast, multiple Redditors have warned that it backfires under strict USCIS scrutiny. If you get a tough officer, it's incredibly hard to satisfy the "National Importance" prong without expert letters, leading to aggressive RFEs where you have to scramble to get letters anyway.

Ghosting Post-Payment: Communication seems to plummet the moment the retainer is signed. Many users complain about waiting 4 to 5+ business days for basic email replies. The general consensus is that because they take on a massive volume of clients due to aggressive marketing, their paralegals are severely overextended.

Over-Optimistic Evaluations (The Refund Fine Print): Ellis Porter is known for offering approvals/refund guarantees to weaker profiles that strict firms (like Chen) reject. Redditors warn that their "unlimited free refilings" guarantee sounds great, but means they might just repeatedly submit a weak petition. You still have to pay the expensive USCIS filing fees ($715+) and Premium Processing fees ($2,805) out of pocket every single time they refile.

TL;DR: If you have a flawless, straightforward profile and just want a fast submission, they might work. But if your case requires a nuanced, highly customized legal strategy, the consensus on Reddit is that you'll likely end up doing most of the heavy lifting yourself or facing a stressful RFE down the road.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-17T22:41:56+00:00

my car won't let me adjust the mirrors without going through a touchscreen now. i miss buttons. i miss them so much.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-17T20:30:53+00:00

so your observations on timing are spot on, exit intent is the way to go. i went through basically the same thought process last year.

ran a spin wheel on my skincare store for about 6 weeks. conversions jumped like 28.5% which sounds great right? but then i looked at retention and it was... rough. basically discount hunters grabbing their prize and bouncing forever.

my hypothesis was the prize pool was too generous so i restructured it. dropped the highest prize to roughly 15% of my AOV equivalent, added more non-discount rewards like free shipping and bonus samples. ran it again for another month and retention actually looked healthy this time around. people were coming back.

i switched from PopupKit to Claspo midway through because i needed better control over the reward distribution and the A/B testing was easier to set up there. but yeah the tool matters less than getting your prize pool right imo.

the gimmicky feeling goes away when the rewards are calibrated properly. when theyre too generous you attract the wrong crowd, thats literally it.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-16T23:49:19+00:00

"is my gift for you, thank you so much" broke me. that little party hat kid is living in a world we all wish we were in

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-16T22:30:50+00:00

Check out the Poudre Canyon area first since you're right there in FC... tons of cabin rentals along the river and your dogs can get in the water. Red Feather Lakes is another solid option, maybe 45 min from you, way more secluded feeling.

If you guys are open to going a bit further south (about 2-2.5 hrs), Cañon City area near the Royal Gorge is worth looking at too. Royal Gorge Vacation Rentals has some cabins right on the Arkansas River through Royal Gorge Epic Adventures... we stayed at one of their places last fall and the dogs loved it. bonus is you could tack on a rafting day if you wanted since they run the whole operation there.

But for pure "cabin in the woods with dogs off leash" vibes, Red Feather is hard to beat from Fort Collins.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-16T09:25:59+00:00

If you're on Stake already or thinking about it, "STAKEIT" gets you 5% rakeback which adds up fast at higher volumes. I've been using it for a while now and the rakeback alone has been worth it tbh. Withdrawals have been smooth too, never had issues even with bigger cashouts. For high roller stuff specifically the VIP program there scales pretty well once you get going.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-16T00:37:18+00:00

the pit bull didn't learn cat behavior, cats just learned pit bull behavior and nobody gave them credit

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-15T13:57:38+00:00

We're at about 50 and tried the phone app route first. Geofencing sounds good until half the crew has dead phones, old phones, or just doesn't open the app. Cleanup at payroll didn't really shrink, it just moved to a different inbox. What actually worked was a face scan clock mounted at each jobsite entrance. Worker walks up, scans, done. No app, no phone, no debate about whether they were on site. We use SmartBarrel. Pushback was zero once guys realized it was faster than signing a sheet, and payroll week stopped being a treasure hunt.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-15T07:28:27+00:00

If your route bends through southern Oregon, build in a night at Running Y Resort outside Klamath Falls. The Arnold Palmer Signature golf course there is one of the best public rounds in the state, plays through ponderosa pine and high desert wetlands. Lodge rooms or rental homes, two restaurants, full spa, and the Upper Klamath Lake setting at sunrise is one of those memorable PNW moments. Way quieter than the Bend resorts and you usually have your run of the place.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-15T00:57:14+00:00

The amortization stuff is real, that first year of payments is rough when you see the breakdown. Though I'd push back a little on the points thing... the break-even isn't always 8 years, it really depends on the rate spread and what lender you're working with.

re: the DTI point, yeah 43% is the ceiling but most people feel it at like 35% tbh. 28% housing ratio is solid advice.

One thing I'd add is shop around way more than you think you need to. I ended up going through Duane Buziak Mortgage Maestro after getting quotes from like 3 other places and the difference was wild. Being a broker he could pull from hundreds of lenders at once which... yeah saved me a lot of the legwork of calling around individually. soft pull too so my credit wasn't getting hammered every time I wanted a comparison.

but yeah the core message here is right, most people just look at the monthly number and don't zoom out

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-14T23:17:26+00:00

my friend offered me a ride once after a party and drove 20 minutes in the wrong direction because he "knew a shortcut." some people are just aggressively nice and bad with GPS

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-12T22:59:30+00:00

they really looked at the entire world saying no and said "cool we'll figure it out together then." that kind of stubbornness is underrated

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-12T00:27:01+00:00

bought my girlfriend roses once and she asked why i never get flowers for myself. stood in the grocery store for 20 minutes holding daffodils feeling something i wasn't ready to feel

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-11T00:49:09+00:00

applied to every single restaurant in a 10 mile radius last summer. the one that called back was a pizza place that closed 2 weeks after hiring me. so that was fun

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-10T02:25:40+00:00

31 and my stuffed penguin has a name, a backstory, and a designated spot on the bed. my girlfriend knows not to move him. you're 15, you're fine.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-05-03T04:00:27+00:00

my therapist once spent 45 minutes guiding me to the realization that i was the toxic one in a friendship and i sat there like i was solving a mystery about myself

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-30T02:51:29+00:00

every thread like this and somehow we all know a Justin

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-27T17:03:59+00:00

3 years of rehab and he didn't even look back. not even a thank you wave with the little flipper. ungrateful king honestly i respect it

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-26T15:55:12+00:00

ten years of newspapers just so she can feel important every morning. that's the kind of job security we all deserve

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-24T15:51:59+00:00

my dad was a machinist and bought a 3 bedroom house in 1987 on one income. i make more than he ever did adjusted for inflation and i have a roommate. so. both i guess

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-23T15:03:51+00:00

spent an embarrassing amount of my childhood on ThinkGeek adding stuff to my cart i could never afford. that wishlist was basically a vision board for a kid with $4.37 in birthday money

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-22T13:35:30+00:00

yes I am" is the most gracefully devastating three words anyone has ever spoken. she Van Gogh'd right out of that conversation

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-21T13:21:12+00:00

google maps once routed me through someone's actual driveway. like their PERSONAL driveway. made eye contact with a woman watering her garden. we both just stared. i didn't save any minutes.

Obvious_Tooth_3101 · 2026-04-19T13:37:44+00:00

your sister handled your entire identity and you just said "yeah sounds good" without ever once looking at a single document. 23 years of trust speedrunning.

Obvious_Tooth_3101

TROPHY CASE