"am I wasting my time by trying to get inbound links"
Certainly not. You won't rank on any competitive term without them. But, it is all about the *type* of links you get. I myself wouldn't go near services like Linkpartners, etc. There are too many other ways to get links. A lot of people feel it is easier, but easier isn't always better. IMHO
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Also, remember the words recipricol links are not interchangable with the words inbound links, but recipricol links are rather a TYPE of inbound link. Recipricols certainly shouldn't be the only type of inbound link you are aiming for. My two cents anyway.