If you watch tv, I know you guys must've seen one of those infomercials for like manhatten models searchs, that promise you a professional career just by one simple visist. Well just the other day I decided to visist one of these places here in Detroit, It's call TCTalent, Trans Contenital a place in which I've never heard before, yet they say they the world's biggest talent scout. Have I remind you I said the word scout and not agency. Well Anyways. they claim they're not a agency, but they help you find other agencies that might be interested otherwise. I signed up for modeling and acting, everybody was all excited by me and my looks and everything talking about how good I would be the in the business. So the interview lasted about 5 minutes long and they told me I would get a phone interview from someone in Florida, right. I stayed at home making sure I would get the call, the man finally called I was happy about it... He was talking about how promising the company was and how much I should consider entering, however. the one thing he stressed was the money.

I kept telliing I'm in a bind right now and I have no way of paying, he was like well do you know anybody who could help you pay, I was like well no, but I can see to it , maybe ask someone I can borrow, he was like well do you think you could pay today, I said no, more then once and asked him if I could call back friday, so he was like yeah well okay I'll call back friday, knowing that I wasn't going the money they where asking for.

But I was thinking, you these type of places promise you so much for a whole bunch of money and if I'm not corrected I thought when you have agent you weren't suppose to pay your agent until you had a job, right? But yet they're not a agent just a talent scout :Roll: So what do you guys think about these type of places, Should I spend time trying to invest money I don't really have, is it just a waste of time or a good ideal?

That's a whole lotsa wordage there.

SCAM.

DON'T GIVE THEM ONE RED CENT.

I can't say it more simply.

Those places that tell you they will "hook you up" with modeling agencies or jobs and such - after they charge you a nice big fat fee, of course - are only taking advantage of, and trying to make an easy buck, off the hopes and dreams of the naive.
They will rave on and on that you are the next Cindy Crawford or Tyra Banks in an effort to get you to pay up...anything to get your money.

The fact that guy was pressuring you hard on the phone for money up front should tell you something.

I have had friends who used to be in the modeling industry, in the LEGITIMATE modeling industry, and these sleazy "talent searches" or "talent agencies" that charge you big bucks and give you a bunch of fantastic promises are NOT the way to break in.

If you're really serious about modeling or acting, your best bet is to save up enough cash to get yourself some decent photographs taken by a reputable photographer, or even by a credible student photographer who would either work for free or give you a discount just for the experience of taking your pictures, and the start putting together a portfolio. Heck, if you really have 'the Look' that a particular modeling agency wants or is looking for, they won't even care if you don't have a decent portfolio. They'll take any test photographs they want. Otherwise, get a small portfolio started and take that portfolio with you and beging doing the footwork yourself to some local modeling agencies - CHECK THEM OUT FIRST - and open calls, or try to find *yourself* an agent that will find jobs for you. And don't fool yourself that you're going to find an agent and suddenly get a call by Cosmopolitan magazine or something...be prepared for local malls, bridal shops, local advertisements, etc, and having to compete with lots of other girls for those jobs.

Modeling is a tough business, it's a lot of hard work, and you're going to experience disappointments and rejection along the way. That's just a fact. It's NOT going to be easy, and you're not going to shoot to stardom easily like some of these smarmy, sleazy agencies might promise you that you will. All they want is your MONEY and they'll tell you anything to get it. Use your common sense, keep your hard earned money, and DON'T LISTEN TO THEM.

Good luck to you, and I hope I helped a little. It just makes me so mad how these fly-by-night, sleazy agencies/scouts/whatever they want to call themselves, rip off so many women.

DON'T DO IT! Many of these agencies are known to take peoples money and disappear.

definitive scam my friend

It takes hard work and playing out with networking with other people.

A good rule of thumb in life is that is it seems too good to be true, it is.