The American Mall Model Search review: SCAM! 108

AMMS is at the mall in my town. Last week I asked about the age limits. They told me it starts from two months old and up. Today my 3 1/2 month old did the audition (I obvisiously had to hold her down the runway). They didn't pick her, which was fine. They told me the reasons why they didn't pick her: needs better choreography (what?!), was stiff and needs to relax (she didn't cry, was calm and she's a baby... her body is still pretty limp), and she's too young and isn't ready. I said, "What?! She's too young? But you people told me the age limit starts at two months old?" They didn't say anything to that. On top of this, they picked some idiot guy who messed up his ONE small line 3 times...he wasn't able to say the line at all. I really didn't care that my kid didn't get picked. I only did it for fun. My kid is in the lead with a few other kids for a contest for Parents Magazine. It annoyed me that they told me one thing and then later contradicted that statement. That gave me another red flag about this company.
P.S. Before the auditions started, they told me they wanted to see how well she followed directions from a photographer or director (only one guy acted as the photographer, director, and the one and only judge). I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me? My kid has only been in this world for 3 months. Like other 3 month old babies, all she is really capable of doing is eating and pooping and a few other things." My [censored] radar definately went up when they contradicted themselves and was unable to answer my questions and unable to respond to my comments.

I did this model mall crap and it is a scam i won but my mom had a ut feeling that we shoudnt go on witht he process.I went back for the photo shoot, the pix that were taken were very unprofessional in one shot it got the tore behind us!it was a fun experience but not worth the money!the people that were running it were very unorginized

i dont think everyone on this website has their facts strait paying for the pics is no big deal they come out great and if you dont want to go through you can walk away right then and there with perfectly good photos and do whatever you want to do and of you want you can go to the next round which i did and it is working out perfectly fine for me, , i just got my contract and though i have to pay for a few things its worth it and its not alot of money that i have to pay and i think this is a very good thing for anyone who wants to start out a good career because if you get the photos it can be a great start and the people that work there are very friendly for example at first i wasnt to happy with my photos so they offered to take them again free of charge i think AMMS is a great way to start out a career!

My daughter, who is 12, just finished her taltent and runway part of the AMMS process. I too had to pay for the pictures. But, I have spent just as much at Olan Mills many times in her life for pictures. My daughter has had a great time, learned a lot and has realized that being 12 and 5'9" is not a bad thing. I have been very please with the entire process and all the staff has been extreamly nice and supportive. You do have to finish paying for your pictures before they give you the disc. Her pictures came out excellent. Last night when we finished she cried, not because of contracts or all the other things people are talking about, because it was over and she had such a great time. Will she get a contract out of it? Will she get any work from it? I don't know, but reguardless it was a great learning experience for her. Know what you are getting into before you do it and enjoy the process, you may just have a great time like my family did.

I must respectfully disagree my daughter did this at a mall and I paid 300.00 dollars. I was very concerned about all the things I read but decided to pay it anyway(I mean you can spend that much at walmart if you buy all the extra pictures they try to sell you) and she won a contract immediatly. We have not had to pay out one single more penny for anything. The company that contracted her pays for everything just like a legit company is sopposed to. I can garantee you that I am in no way affiliated with this company I am a widowed mother of 2 and work for my money like everyone else. Dreams do come true and if you read their book they promise nothing you pay for photos like you would anywhere you had them done, then they let you do the runway and talent. If anyone will pay attention to all of these complaints on here calling them a scam they all come from people that DID NOT MAKE IT or did not want to pay ( nothing is free). I can honestly say that I am proud of my child but even if all I would have got was the pics, t-shirt, and oppurtunity of her trying I could not have said anything bad. Due to the fact that I was not promised anything else. I hope this helps anyone. If you have a dream sometimes it takes money to make money or make your dream come true.

Right Now, Im Being Involved With It. & They Said That iWon A Contractt For A Year But We Still Havent Signed It We Have 60 Days...Shuld iDo It...My Uncle/Godfather Is A Lawyer...Hes Going To Look Over It...Shuld iDo It?

Well we are on our way to paying the 300 for my daughter and I think she has a real chance...she is beautiful! and only 15! We'll see though I will defintely blog back after further research. They did indicate that things would be a bit more personable than they have been but for 300 - I think the pictures alone should be worth it! Kristina / Fort Worth Hulen Mall

hello I also paid money for the 3 look which is 300 I also brought the dvd of my performance. I had five friends who entered with me they got their contracts but I didn't ge mines so 2 months later I still was calling they said that I got the contract and they couldn't understand why I didn't recieve everything and that they would send out another contract and my portfolio book and dvd. But everytime I call they act as if they do not know who I am and quickly forget what I am calling about keep this in mind I called 12 times it is january 2011 and I still have not recieved anything I even called them yesterday the lady got an attitude and then just gave me my user name which was my phone number and my password something is definatly fishy after I talked to the lady over the phone she said make sure I call her back when I recieve everything so she won't have to be worried about me calling about anymore it is a scam and all of you who think it's not your dumb as a box of rocks.

If all they are asking you to do is pay for pictures of your child how is it a scam?! BE serious EVERY model has to have a head shot photo to bring with them to any kind of audition & if you guys would google prices for a photo shoots you'll see that you are getting a good deal. STOP with all the SCAM talk you all just all sound ignorant to the entertainment business & bitter! If you don't want to pay for the pictures don't sign your child up but don't bad mouth a legit business. smh

I say keep in mind that not everyone will make it. i have modeled professionally for 17yrs. I have paid for pictures up front and also for traveling for auditions. In this world no one will invest in someone right up front. There is no promising future in all talents. I do feel bad for the young children that come into this business with high hopes and are disappointed, but I have learned that most of the frustrations are not that of the child but of the parents that have invested there time, money and personal hopes into what they see as a great opportunity for the child(ren). For the teens, don't let one situation crush your hopes. You won't always get a yes or the platinum opportunity to make millions but why let that stop you. I say this because I have a young son that has entered the modeling world and I expalin to him that I have experienced a piece of every aspect of the modeling industry. No to mention I have experience a lot of what is being commented on. Modeling is a cut throat industry. You become a product of a company, if you don't make money for this industry you are discontinued. You may not have that look that the industries are looking for. That does not make you not model material just not what they are looking for. I did not give up I kept going and it paid off. You have to invest in something to get something rather time or money. You set your limits. Composition Cards (comp cards) are a must have in the industry as well as a full portfolio. Any agency that does not ask for this or offer is not professional. That is your personal marketing tool. And from that point on you will be updating photos every 3-6mo. If the financial side is an issue then I will be the first to say that this is just the beginning. Look at yourself as a business that you have to invest in to get off the ground. No one is interested in a business that has no promotion. So for all inspiring models I wish you all the best of luck! And my son also went through AMMS, was selected after all the auditions. We also purchased the photos that I did recieve and have had printed. Will he make it? Well that is not up to AMMS it is up to my son and myself as to makeing sure that I educate him and encourage him to never give up if this is what he wants to do. I encourage you all as well!

It's called Business! Not all kids make it! I got a contract and am extremely happy! IT IS NOT A SCAM!

Hi! AMMS isn't a scam. I won a one-year contract with Model Productions USA Inc. I'm not very photogenic, but my pictures turned out amazing without any retouching! I paid $300. And because I get the copyrate for the pictures, I was able to use the pictures as my Senior Portraits, which were considerably more expensive and not even half as good as my AMMS pics. Yes, if you win, you do have to pay more for CompCards. But they are very useful. Say that you live near Annapolis like me, but there is an audition in LA that I want to try out for. I mail the casting director my CompCard and resume and they act as my audition. NEVER travel far away for an audition. You ONLY travel when you book a job. Thats also restated in my contract. The small cards are used as IDs in auditions, the large colored ones are used as mailable modeling "auditions", and the large black and white (with attached resume) are used as mailable acting "auditions". It is pretty convenient. It is worth the money, ($1 per card) because the model is expected to send CompCards to 2 auditions a week. And 10 of each type of card are sent to Model Productions so they can send them to big casting directors (Thanks to them I have an audition for Breaking Dawn and Pirates of the Caribbean 4) For every job that I book, Model Productions adds 3 months to my contract. After 3 bookings I am considered a professional model/actress and am upgraded to a more stable, exclusive contract for bigger and better jobs. Totally legit =) hope you win too! Good luck!

They just left Atlanta. This Fugly female was taking pics. Her hair was not done and they talked about her soon as she was out of hearing distance. The guy who was taking pics needed a potty break, so he handed the camera to one of random workers walking around. He had to show here how to operate the camera...SCAM! DUH! RUN!

I wish I had found this site 3 weeks ago. We have 3 children signed up for this model search and have paid $225 for pictures that are crap. My son is a photographer in his last stage of college to get his degree and he took head shots of the kids which they took with there applications. My sons photos were twice as good as the ones taken by there so called professional. They actually cut off part of the head on 1/4 of the pictures that we received. One packet of pictures has never been received. They are going for the talent portion since we have already paid for it. They won't be getting any more money from us though.

Yes and I would like to know why I paid $150 dollars and still have my receipts for my pictures and yet to receive them!

Just remembered that EVERYTIME I have ever filled out information and put it in a box, I have been taken advantage of. Same here, I knew that I should have paid attention to my intuition at the initial audition when I saw the photo shoot "deposit" that had to be paid that night. I have been in this same situation before and it has NEVER turned out to my advantage. This has SCAM written all over it.

Tyra Banks will tell you that you are never suppose to pay for your pictures. NEVER EVER ! She made that comment on her show. And Trya knows what she is talking about because she has been modeling for a long time, plus she has her own show about modeling

Scam.
When my son did the preliminary audition...all of them PASSED...and were moving to the next step which is the photo shoot..(involves money of course). Good thing we left right after the audition.

http://poksart.blogspot.com/

I wish I had read all your comments before I brought my son to the preliminary audition. It was a waste of time. When my husband and I noticed that everyone passed the audition and moving onto the next step which is the photo shoot...(involves money of course), we decided to leave.

http://poksart.blogspot.com/

Signed up this fall did the photoshoot the talent show and even the tshirt, paid $150.00 thought if anything i would get good pics out of it of my daughter, well here it is 2 weeks later with NO pics and no way to call anyone. they tell you they will email them to you that night after the talent show well they dont. Quent was our photographer and all the interns. but was really funny and odd, when it was all over and i was paying my final envelope, they were in such a hurry to get out the city...hmmmmm. if for reason you get suckered like i did you might want to take the extra step in getting some kind of proof before putting out this money for nothing but a disappointed child.

well my daughter is there now and me and her mom thought it was a scam because we didn't see the pics but they did provide a link and a password to get in and we saw the pics will let you know what happens after that

P.S. I did not mention that AMMS sponsored our dance team with $200.00 off a few dancers we took to them. We love them for what they do and no company that is a SCAM is never going to be that caring towards a parent with money issues. To us they are better than most businesses in the same field out there.

Ryan Hernandez
ExtremeFusionDanceTeam.Com

I do not think AMMS is a scam at all. Just for reference, I am 6'0" tall, skinny, can walk in heels, and can deliver a line to a T. I actually just went to an audition a couple days ago, and they loved me. I then saw that I was going to have to pay, and I told the Photographer's assistant that I was not going to be able to follow through with the finals if I had to pay 150 dollars. She told me that she thought I was a great candidate for the Exclusive Models, which means that you have photo shoot unlike in the actual finals competition, and then the photos are sent out to the four largest modeling agencies in New York. My photoshoot was today, and they were even more excited to send my pics out to the agencies. I am supposed to hear back from them within the next two weeks to see if any of the agencies are interested to see more of me. If the agencies are interested, I am going to have another photoshoot that is primarily swimwear. Those pics will be sent again to the agency/agencies that are interested, and then if they are still interested, they will contact me and set up a formal dinner to discuss future possibilities with the agency like monetary issues, contracts, location, etc. So now, I am waiting to hear back from them, and if I have not within the next couple weeks, I will re-post on this discussion board and honestly state whether or not AMMS is a scam. Anyone who is reading these posts needs to read this one and not some of the more biast former posts. I will be truthful if something does, or doesn't, come out of this AMMS experience.

I pray that the lord will hear your complaints a bless those that feel betrayed. My son won a contract (wichita, ks) an have yet to get a job I am not upset. I will pray for them. However acting ugly and cursing is not going to change the outcome. Keep your head up . The devil have a plan but god have a purpose for your life. BE ENCOURAGED!

actually i auditioned for amms and it went great and i was toold from a acting coah if yuh gotta pay for pics its not a sigh of its a sceem it just mean yuh need to pay for yur own pics...but... if they say well yuh need to go through our classes yESSS RUN FOR YUR LIFE... BUT OVERRAL I LOVE AMMS.

i paid the money. i spend more than 150 on books in a month so i though id take a shot. if its a scam its a cheap one. i did kinda think it was a scam but then what if its not then ill feel like a coward for not havin tried. i made it past the first round. so did a lot of other people. but its not like doing nothing is getting me anywhere right now so maybe a coupld of head shots and a little exposure and fun will work. and NO before any of you smarta$$'s say anything i DONT work for the company. i signed up as a joke kinda. im just saying if you dont want to pay then dont pay but just because YOU think its not worth it doesnt make it a scam.

I personaly think it is not a scam...because where i went you didn't have to pay at all to compete and you weren't forced to pay for the proffesional pictures. I didn't do any and got a three year contract with gucci. so as you can see its not a scam and some people that didn't win knew they had to take that chance..and some aren't so pretty and dont deserve to be in a modeling career

I find they are nice like every company now. sorry but if you don't have it you ugly then don't get in front of the camera. for the few that fall into the 20 % chance way to go keep it up.

Ryan
Sincityworld.Com &
Extremefusiondanceteam.com

How can people on this complaint board say that AMMS is NOT A SCAM? It is COMPLETELY A SCAM! Guess what, everyone who pays them their money will receive a contract, EVERYONE! If you want to get your daughter, son or yourself into modeling then you need to send a 1 5x7 head shot and 1 5x7 body shot to any major modeling agency with your name, age, height, weight, clothing size and shoe size on the back of the cards. That will get your foot into the door anywhere. If they want you, then they will call you to come in and talk about a portfolio. Then you will have real pictures done by a professional photographer! I live in Northern California and the AMMS has been in our mall in Pleasanton for about 4 months now. They must be doing very well and getting a ton of money from people out here, because they are still paying the fees to stay in our mall. I posted earlier about my experience and I promise you, if you pay, you will not get any money back and your so called "contract" will be pretty much a piece of paper that says you are under contract and they get %20 of your profits if they book you on a shoot or audition. No modeling agency would ever take that much from you and you would most likely be connected with an agent who would book you on shoots, etc. Don't pay these scammers a dime, unless you want to be taken to the bank. Anyone who says they were "picked" and said they had to pay more money for some 5 dollar online Vista Print Cards for bookings for an extra $150, then they got scammed at the mall having to pay money for their pictures! Don't believe the "Oh my, they picked me hype" because if you fall for it, you will be the next AMMS VICTIM!

Its True every thing is true this is not a scam! SO JUST STOP MAKING UP CRAP!

What a waist of my time and my daughters I can't beieve they can get away with this! I saw all the kids looking up to their parents saying please pay the money even though its back to school and most people can't afford [protected] dollars but we can't see our kids disapointed so we pay. I just hope I can put a stop on the check and just learn from this without being 50 dollars out of pocket.

All right, sweetie. I do believe you're too young for this site. Get your mommy to give you a bottle and go take a nap. You sure are bratty right now, you obviously need the nap.

GET OFF THE SITE LADY OR SIR: LOL! IM SO LAUGHING AT YOU..SO HILARIOUS..! THERE YOU GO AGAIN. YOU'RE A TEACHER I MUST GUESS! LOL...

CHRISTAN IS 1 OF TWO;NOT THE ONLY CHILD !I MUST SAY I AM "BLESSED" TO HAVE..(LOL, STILL)

BY THE WAY I KNW WHAT IM DOING. U MENTION IGNORANCE HOWEVER NO ONE DID NOT GIVE YOU THE IDEA TO COMMENT IN REPLY TO WHAT I HAD POSTED...YOU TOOK IT UPON YOURSELF TO LASH OUT AT ME...FOR WHAT?WHO ARE YOU? SO WHO'S REALLY THE IGNORANT ONE?

BY THE WAY, I AM A GROWN ADULT! A CHILD BY FAR!

GET A LIFE!

*snicker* Anger management advice from the person who doesn't know how to lay off the shift key + 1 and capslock.
...
Labelized...
XD

You just made a huge fool of yourself, honey.
You have abused the English language yet again. Here's hoping Christian is your one and only child, that you never breed again, and that he ends up with a better grasp of the language than you have.
Your kid didn't "out do" anyone. Everyone who shoves money at these people gets a contract. Ever hear of a vanity press? You pay them money and your stuff gets published, not because it's good but because you had the pocket change to put your garbage out there, some with this scam of an "agency".
By the by, MommieDearest, I have no children. Never said I did and I probably never will (by choice, I'd rather adopt) so your assumption that I must be upset about them not being accepted is trash. Way to make an [censor] out of yourself. I also can't be "defensive" towards something like this as I have nothing to be defensive about. You mistook my disgust at your inability to use proper words where needed yet you pop out a kid to raise with the same stupidity. I would say you're just ignorant but considering you're CHOOSING not to learn that makes your behaviour just stupid.
From the general stupidity and lack of any maturity whatsoever I'm guessing you're actually a child, upset that mommy wouldn't shell out money to some scammer so you could have the title of actress/actor/model/whatever to shove in someone's face.
Just so you know, little one, just because a person sends you a piece of paper does not make you a star, it means you paid $150 for a piece of paper. Put that on your wall, that will be your greatest achievment.

"OOOOH YEAH;LOL...SINCE WE ALL GOT A TEACHER ON THE SITE OR BETTER YET THE PERSONAL "SPELL" CHECKER...I BETTER CORRECT MY ENGLISH..LOL! WHILE IM TYPING...BEFORE I BE LABELIZED AS HAVING A SPEECH PROBLEM...HOW CAN A PERSON NOT SPEAK CORRECTLY JUST BECAUSE THEY MISPELL OR FORGET A LETTER OR TWO? DAMM U DONT HAVE NOTHING ELSE BETTER TO DO; TRY ANGER MANAGEMENT, HUN!

okay Mrs...or whatever you seem to be very upset. Im sorry your child didnt get her wish, and now that im reading your post " I wonder why!".. I truly had another post from my phone for you, but some how it didnt seem to upload...I just think thats a sign to not to STOOP to your level of ignorance...because i dont know you and you dont know me! I am gonna say one thing; THIS IS PART OF THE BUISNESS...YOU GO IN HOPING AND TAKING CHANCES ...YOU TOOK THAT CHANCE SO IF YOU DID NOT TAKE HEED AT THE BEGINING WHEN YOU FELT UNSATISFIED THEN THATS YOUR OWN FAULT AND LOSS! IM VERY RPOUD OF MY SON FOR STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE, PERFORMING AT HIS BEST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE, HE IS 8 YRS OLD..THE WORLD IS NOT OVER WITH AND DOSENT END AT THE AMMS...I RECIEVED BOTH DISC AND HIS CONTRACT IN THE MAIL THE NEXT WEEK AFTER THE PHONE CALL..IT WAS BOTH AND EXCITEMENT AND A DISAPPOINTMENT...EXCITED FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT HE OUT DID ALL THE OTHER CHILDERN THAT WAS IN HIS GROUP AND DISAPPOINTED WITH THE CONCEPTS OF THE CONTRACT...ITS OKAY!LIFE GOES ON..SO SHALL WE..THESE ARE MEMORIES TO SHARE WITH OUR FAMILIE, AND TO CONTINUING BIGGER AND BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD...SO GET OVER IT, AND FIND YOUSELF SOMETHING ELSE BETTER TO DO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO INSULT OTHER PEOPLES THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON THIS SITE...GOOD U BELIEVE YOU WERE SCAMMED! GO TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUERAL, PROTEST A SIGN, AND GO TO YOUR LOCAL NEWS PAPER...DONT NOONE WANNA HERE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAT; IF YOUR MISERABLE..SEEK HELP AND GET OVER IT!because i laughed at your defense at first, because i wasnt pertaining to you or anyone else's thoughts...if you think so; i apolojize...i didnt even read your post, so im quite puzzled..but thats just life on the internet i suppose. No more comments! Im done with this and You Ms, or Mrs...GET IT TOGETHER..."YOUR" CHILD WILL NOT SUCCED IF HE OR SHE HAS AN ATTITUDE LIKE YOU! ; )

Maybe it's your inability to grasp the English language that is making the concept hard for you to understand.
A modeling agency will never ask for money. NEVER. I'm not sure why this is difficult for you to grasp, ChristiansMommieDearest, but it's true. Yay, you got some pictures, that's all you're getting. There's no contract waiting, nothing. He never had a shot with this so called "agency" because it's all scam.
By the way, it's /aspiring/ not 'inspiring'. Please tell me you speak properly around your kid otherwise he has no chance accomplishing much if he talks like you've portrayed yourself here.

Actually I dont know what to think.. I too was very excited for my son...he did such an awesome job, with the audition, runway and his talent...and his pics wer off the charts...I love those pics... after the talent division we recieved his disc in the mail per express...they are great pics...and before hand he had been notified by phone that he had WON A CONTRAT... yess! they did ask for more money for the com cards and buisness cards...i too thght it was a scamm because i have beem scammed myself before trying to be an inspiring model...but i called and they were still willing to work with me to hold his contract...unfortunately! i still didnt have the funds...So I GUESS SOMEBODYS LUCKY KID JUST GOT HIS CONTRACT HERE IN TEXAS however were not worried cuz alot of those auditions are out of state and that means more money...traveling! i will sign him with a local modeling agency now! :)

A real modeling agency will NEVER ask for money. They will ask for a percentage from each pay check, but that's it. They may mention you need headshots, but duh, of course you do.
Any "agency" who asks for money is a scam and you should run far away.