storesonline.com .... valid or a fraud?

Webline

Yesterday I received in the mail an invitation to a business conference for making money online, being held at a local hotel ..... basically a 90 minute get together for those wanting to set up web sites and utilize the web as a money making opportunity.
This morning I happened to be browsing through a magazine, and there was a short item about someone that had used this same company to set up an online business, and had many complaints .... no customer service, web sites that don`t work properly, sales pitches for more involvement regardless of the problems they were having, etc., after their initial $2,700.00 investment.
Although I have no plans on getting into this, I wondered if anyone has used this service.

vwebworld

I went to a couple of their "seminars" (sales pitch to get you to sign-up) for the free give away.
 
Although some people have had some success with them, my opinion... a rip-off. There are a lot of complaints about them too. they have changed business names a couple of times.
 
Aside from their high cost... it is a proprietary ecommerce solution, so your stuck with them... unless you want to start over (recreate another site).
 
~Roland

WebJunky

i went to a seminar hosted by them in 2005 i believe.  it was a very high pressure effort in the end when they were trying to sell their "packages". i asked them all sorts of questions and found their product not flexible at all with a ton of foreseeable issues.  it is a turn key solution, but i am not sure how effective it is.  sounded like a churn and turn scheme to me and i quickly got out. i had to pay $20 for that "meeting"!

byte

Webline,
 
Here is a snapshot of the business conference you got an invite for.  I went on a fact finding mission (Ugh........I hate these kind of work related assignments), and I thought that a free dinner and an MP3 player wasn`t too shabby a gift for sitting through an hour and a half of blow-hard tactics. 
 
"Dinner" turned out to be a stale turkey sandwich, a small scoop of potato salad and one cookie.  This was at 7:30 P.M.  How can they say dinner when it wasn`t even a respectable lunch!!  And only water was served to drink.  (Oops, forgot the side pickle!)  The MP3 player was as cheap as cheap could be.  The earphones were full of static and cut in and out, then stopped working altogether within the first few minutes.  (I threw them out.)  But the player itself works fine...........for now.  No telling for how long.
 

At this first seminar they tell ppl that they can buy their own business for only $199 as a lifetime payment for their website.  Then they spring that of course it will cost $24.95 monthly for server fees.   Then right before "dinner" is served, they spring that a pro package is available for $3600 and that you have to spend money to make money.  They mention that this pro package includes a lot of tools that will be useful, but by no means is it mandatory to buy.........BUT........it will really ensure one to be as successful as they can be! 
 
The salesman states they will go into the pro package more at the next "conference" where they will teach you how to actually start up and run your own business.  The "pusher" tells them that they should be working for themselves.  It sounds oh-so-good when he is smooth-talking the audience. 

 
Then he says that tonight only, storesonline will give everyone a special price, that instead of $199,  it will only be $28........but the offer is only good right now.  They give out a 3-ring binder with some information in it.  (It`s all stuff that could be found on the internet for free!)  They are told (warned is more like it) that they must bring the binder back to the next meeting as it is not theirs to keep.  (How cheap!!!  The binder cost all of $2.  The info........nothing.)
 
So all the ppl that think they are going to start a business, rush up to give away $28 to buy a lifetime website.  Hey, it is a special price for tonight only!!! 
 

I saw.................
 

..........older couples (in their 60`s and 70`s) rush up, figuring they can supplement their retirement income, and those that are unemployed ran up too.  "Maybe this is just what I need", is what they may be thinking........"this will pay my bills".  Single women with kids were overheard talking that this will enable them to work and make money but still stay at home with their children.
 
Most of the ppl at that seminar have no idea what a server is, what web hosting is all about, and most of those older folks can barely get around on the internet.  But they are told it is so easy that anybody can do it.  Not to worry........They will be taught how.
 
The complaints are rampant on the internet.  Do a search and oodles of sites come up where most are disillusioned after the big hype they were presented with.  They weren`t told at that first seminar that if they don`t buy the $3600 package, they will have no way of getting payments for their widgets (whatever they are selling) and many other website-building tools are not there for them if they don`t spring for the pro package.  It is a nightmare to know that most of those ppl were being groomed as a lamb to slaughter.  So many sink thousands of dollars into this with no customers after a year of being in business!  Google it........it is all there.
 
Sorry so long but that`s the skinny on storesonline.  BEWARE!
 
Webline, don`t go, unless you want the free, cheap MP3 player and stale sandwich and if you do go, by no means should you buy into their scam.  You can get everything they are hawking for free on the internet!  You can build your own website free and all the tools in their pro package are on the internet for the taking........free!   and your only cost will be the monthly server fee, which will most likely be a far site more reliable than storesonline`s flakey server!!!
 
Byte
 
 
 

byte

Ripoffreports.com was paid by storesonline to post a favorable finding.  The owner, Ed Magedson, shakes down businesses by telling them he can post favorable investigations on ripoffreports and then they will then have to pay him monthly.  If they refuse, he himself posts complaints against them and makes it out to be from disgruntled customers.
 
Ripoffreports is very well-known, world-wide.  It is a shame that he is a crook that shakes down businesses.
 
It would be hard to believe except for the fact that there is court documentation and monthly signed checks by him are on the internet about this scheme he has going.  He, himself is a ripoff artist.
 
Google it to see all.
 
byte

byte

below is the link where one can read about ripoffreports.com
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/ripoffreportcom-c108370.html">http://www.complaintsboard.com/complain ... 08370.html</a>

Webline

Thanks for the overview, byte. I never did go to the seminar, I pretty much figured it was a scam/scheme set up from the start. I can, and do, build my own sites, so I had no use for them, but I hope posting this helps a few people avoid getting ripped off. The really sad part of it is that people that can afford it the least are the ones getting taken, and just don`t understand what, exactly, they`re getting into.
And besides, I`m not crazy about turkey or potato salad  ....

bobundercover

thanks for the heads up.  i went to their "free" lunch too...costs 38 bucks to go back to the next sales pitch and all day seminar, which i reluctantly did cough up, but only because i am a true newbie and lost in the dark and figured i may learn something worth 38 bucks even if it is just to avoid junk mail.  i have to agree though that the turkey sandwich was stale, i guess they get a bulk rate on those.  if i do get anything of value the joke`s on them though, i ain`t got $3600.  the presentation of the sales pitch was OK, the young guys in ties in the back were annoying and aggressive though so maybe i`ll take pics for the media when i go back. i need to make my 38 bucks back.  i was suspicious and i guess i was right...i do wish a guy that knows little could find a way to make a fair and honest living online though as my mom just died and i was her caregiver and i have to find a way to pay for the funeral and keep the lights on and my internet up, i am in no emotional shape for a street job right now, or to be scammed.  what a messed up world.  thanks again for the heads up to confirm my intuition about these clowns. maybe i`m not as dumb as i look afterall.

WebJunky

maybe i should rephrase what i said earlier after reading subsequent comments . . . .
1) it is definitely an overpriced proposition
2) it is partly a scam - it has gotten the best of some that i know personally

Jiitakel

With the amount of scams online it can be hard knowing which ones are good and which ones are bad, especially when you hear about the ones that were "successful". I've avoided a lot of similar businesses because you never know. With the amount of online opportunities now people can get involved in businesses that do not require you to spend a dime to get started.

Kagjgeve

With the amount of scams online it can be hard knowing which ones are good and which ones are bad, especially when you hear about the ones that were "successful". I've avoided a lot of similar businesses because you never know. With the amount of online opportunities now people can get involved in businesses that do not require you to spend a dime to get started.

Jaraseyo

With the amount of scams online it can be hard knowing which ones are good and which ones are bad, especially when you hear about the ones that were "successful". I've avoided a lot of similar businesses because you never know. With the amount of online opportunities now people can get involved in businesses that do not require you to spend a dime to get started.

Kagimis

With the amount of scams online it can be hard knowing which ones are good and which ones are bad, especially when you hear about the ones that were "successful". I've avoided a lot of similar businesses because you never know. With the amount of online opportunities now people can get involved in businesses that do not require you to spend a dime to get started.

Kahapku

With the amount of scams online it can be hard knowing which ones are good and which ones are bad, especially when you hear about the ones that were "successful". I've avoided a lot of similar businesses because you never know. With the amount of online opportunities now people can get involved in businesses that do not require you to spend a dime to get started.