123Notary- How essential is their certification and listing for a new NSA?

I’ve read that 123Notary still works well for long-time users, but I’m curious if anyone has feedback on how relevant they are in 2019 for new NSAs? I’m new CNSA with all the necessary credentials that were supposed to generate appointments- NNA Certified, NNA background checked, Bonded, Insured, etc etc. SnapDocs has generated a few appointments, all from companies with poor reputations, all fitting the same profile: low-ball offers- $60 with 90 minutes notice, faxbacks, 320 pages, 30- 45 miles away or so,and ALL were scheduled for 5 pm on a Friday (rush hour traffic).

I’m sure there is a better way to increase both volume of appointments and quality of offers, without spending my first year taking $60 assignments. Any thoughts on which is the better way to increase appointment volume; becoming an Electronic Notary, E-Docs & Pavaso certified, or trying to pay for premium listings with 123 Notary and other such pay-to-play sites?

Seems to me that ‘platforms’ are becoming the thing and they always work in favor of the hiring party.
Even so, directories still have their place in many users procedures. Don’t bother with 123’s certification–nobody has ever asked about it. As to paying for higher placement…depends on your budget and how many are in your area and listed before you. IMO, only 3 are worth paying for…this site, NotRot & 123 (not necessarily top placement). And DO just keep saying NO to those lowball offers–regardless of where they come from. In my area, tho’ some are electronic notaries, it doesn’t seem to generate any business at all. Your area? I’d say try premium listings first and see how that goes before jumping on board the more costly e-crap train.

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The LSS (Loan Signing System) and/or the Notary2Pro certification will help. They are recognized certifications to help you stand out, and some signing services specifically say students with these certifications get preference. Everybody has the NNA cert.

Also, I know it sucks to be new and comes with crappy offers. But taking a crappy appointment or two, just at the beginning will help your standing. Once you do a few, you will start to get better offers.

I was new last October so one year. All I got was $30 Loan Mods and $50 HELOCS. Those days seem long gone. Now it’s $75-100+/appointment and I get 25-30 signings a month part time. But I did those loan mods to start (seems laughable now). So that’s my opinion, I would take what you are offered to start and it should help in the long run.

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While I hear and understand your position & reasoning…$75 to $100 are still lowball offers. You can do better! Kick it up!

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I was on one SSs website and it specifically said that due to the high rate of errors, it no longer cared if the notaries were certified as signing agents.

Really? I doubt their clients would appreciate them blasting that to the notary world.
I hope they are checking for E&O at least.
Which company is this? Right now without a company name it doesn’t exist :slight_smile:

I re-read and they said they would no longer give preference to certified NSAs.

That’s kind of good news. They apparently are realizing that these ‘certifications’ are like getting a graduation certificate from kindergarten or a ‘participation trophy’. Now everyone can swim with the sharks! Just don’t make a mistake and you’ll be fine.

This is very hopeful, as a newbie myself, knowing that it will happen, that it just takes time, and that our NNA certification is more than a piece of paper! Thank you for sharing and congratulations sounds like you are doing awesome! Its nice to hear your inspiring comments.

Everyone has an NNA certification, it no longer carries any weight. Notary2Pro Elite Graduates are given significantly higher consideration. There are a lot of really bad signing agents out there, and they all have the NNA certificate.