Shopster E-Commerce, Inc. Shopster is a ripoff, fraudulent and misleading Calgary, Alberta Canada

as for post #50

Hope this link will help you find the Shopster on BBB:

http://www.bbb.org/calgary/business-reviews/online-network-companies/shopster-e-commerce-in-calgary-ab-40060

Hello,

While I am not happy Randy, that my emails to you are posted here, the "Ella" who responded yelling to you on this post is NOT me.  This is why the "change of song" happened.  I needed to clarify that.  I'm not happy that someone would actually join here and pretend to be me to defend Shopster.

Now.. for my own opinion.  Many people have left shopster since the beta members are no longer being important to them. I'm sorry to say that.  Our stores "contact" forms display a phone number which is no longer in service.. some of our stores are for some reason returning "Page Not Found" errors and shopster forum is completely dead.  Members reported this problem on the forum, but so far no response (first post was in August 2010, so it's been months).  I have 7 shops with Shopster, only 2 actually show!

I am there still as my account is free as the beta members and I make some profit every now and then (very little!!) .  This is due to me not working much on my stores.. but the reason why I don't work on them is the fact that it became very hard to use the warehouse.  Members have addressed that in the forum, but are not getting support.

I miss shopster the way they were when they first started.  I have been with them from the beginning.

Anyway... I contacted shopster today regarding the bad phone number and the fact that stores don't show.  I hope to get a response soon.  Normally I would get an automated email with a ticket number,.. but did not get that.  I used 2 email addresses that I know for support, to make sure that my email gets to them.

Most of all.. I wanted to clear up the identity of the real "Ella" :)

I have recently done a thorough check of the BBB and found no information on shopster.com. My conclusion is that shopster.com is not registered with the BBB. I am begining to question the legitimacy of your claims. Could you explain how I've found no information related to your interactions with the BBB regarding shopster.com.

Before you reply understand that I am not on a mission to discredit you. I do however want to make an informed decision regarding shopsters services. I have found no information related to shopster on the BBB website. I may be at fault for the search showing no results, perhaps I am using the BBB site incorrectly. If possible could you please provide a link or some pathway were I can access this information? pehaps you could point me in the right direction. Thanks for your assistance!

Randy,

I do not have any affiliation with shopster  but I had been thinking of trying dropshipping. I did some research online and came across this post. I continued to find information and was surprised with what I found. Other sites such as friendsinbusiness.com have postings that contain the exact wording of some of your posts on this site, only your posts seem to be missing some of the information and some contain more. The posts I did find mentioned things about the prices but the posts were not entirely negative like the posts found here. My conclusion is that you've copied posts from others and altered them. I find it rather suspicious that some of the posts match word for word and contain 100 words or so matching exactly. The similarities are far too numerous to be coincidence. The only thing that is not similar is the negativity you seem to have added to these posts. What is similar is the words that describe pricing or questionable behavior by shopster however, most of the posts on other sites end in a positive manner which seems to be missing from your posts that mirror the others I've found. Did you copy, paste and alter information? If possible could you identify how a coincidence like this occured? I find it difficult to believe that two people on different websites posted the exact same 100 words and in the exact same order.

I was scammed by Shopster as well. It took me about 3 months to realize that my prices were higher than Amazon.com, Walmart, and everywhere else.

Because I'm a master marketers, I was able to devise a scheme in which I could make a little, VERY little money. After 6 months and when I totally broke even on my costs, I shut down my Shopster account.

Shopster kept my website up. Even though I shut it down. I contacted them threatening legal action due to them continuing to use my sales copy for profit and they immediately took the site down.

Shopster is a scam. Shopster is all about making Shopster money, not you.

Think about it folks. Most of these so called "drop shippers" are scams. Why? Come on, think about it. If Shopster has access to all these cheap suppliers and they host websites, why does Shopster even need you? Shopster could just put up thousands of their own websites with their instant store-in-a-box software and make all the money themselves.

The truth is that Shopster couldn't make money at selling their crap because they can't get wholesale price suppliers. They probably buy the crap from Amazon and just repackage it or something. Shopster couldn't make money at selling this stuff else they would have just been doing that all these years. They never would have invented a business model where they sell you a website so you can sell the stuff.

They use greed sales copy to lure people into their trap. The entire drop shipper industry is a scam. If it was a lucrative business, they'd just sell the stuff themselves and cut you out.

But I only did it for the trial period. And Randy is right. The prices are too high to make a profit. (is Jessica for real?) look at the facts. Beside a GOOD REPUTABLE dropshipper will not charge you outragious fees to sell THEIR stuff, if any at all.

Be safe,
CJC

Shopster must modify "Unlimited Profits" advertising.

The following has been published by the BBB on the Shopster.com website BBB button:

"BBB Reliability Report

Shopster E- Commerce Inc.
804B - 16th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2R 0S9
Telephone: (403) 802-0201
Fax: (403) 802-0294
shopster.com

The Bureau processed a total of 4 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 4 complaints closed in 36 months, 4 were closed in the last year.

Sales Practice Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Delivery Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.


Advertising Review

On May 3, 2007 , the Bureau contacted the company regarding its claim of "Unlimited profits" for its client distributors on its website. The company advised the Bureau that they issue the difference payment from the suppliers' price and the customers' payment and that there is no limit on what a distributor can sell and therefore earn. Shopster did not supply a comparison pricing list or an example of typical earnings for reasons of privacy, but has agreed to modify the claim. Details must be clearly disclosed in advertisements as required by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. According to the BBB Code of Advertising, companies must be prepared to prove any advertised claims."

If you've been ripped-off by this company, please contact the following and file a complaint.

The Better Business Bureau
Serving Southern Alberta, Canada

Shopster must modify "Unlimited Profits" advertising.

The following has been published by the BBB on the Shopster.com website BBB button:

"BBB Reliability Report

Shopster E- Commerce Inc.
804B - 16th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2R 0S9
Telephone: (403) 802-0201
Fax: (403) 802-0294
shopster.com

The Bureau processed a total of 4 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 4 complaints closed in 36 months, 4 were closed in the last year.

Sales Practice Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Delivery Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.


Advertising Review

On May 3, 2007 , the Bureau contacted the company regarding its claim of "Unlimited profits" for its client distributors on its website. The company advised the Bureau that they issue the difference payment from the suppliers' price and the customers' payment and that there is no limit on what a distributor can sell and therefore earn. Shopster did not supply a comparison pricing list or an example of typical earnings for reasons of privacy, but has agreed to modify the claim. Details must be clearly disclosed in advertisements as required by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. According to the BBB Code of Advertising, companies must be prepared to prove any advertised claims."

If you've been ripped-off by this company, please contact the following and file a complaint.

The Better Business Bureau
Serving Southern Alberta, Canada

Shopster must modify "Unlimited Profits" advertising.

The following has been published by the BBB on the Shopster.com website BBB button:

"BBB Reliability Report

Shopster E- Commerce Inc.
804B - 16th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2R 0S9
Telephone: (403) 802-0201
Fax: (403) 802-0294
shopster.com

The Bureau processed a total of 4 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 4 complaints closed in 36 months, 4 were closed in the last year.

Sales Practice Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Delivery Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.


Advertising Review

On May 3, 2007 , the Bureau contacted the company regarding its claim of "Unlimited profits" for its client distributors on its website. The company advised the Bureau that they issue the difference payment from the suppliers' price and the customers' payment and that there is no limit on what a distributor can sell and therefore earn. Shopster did not supply a comparison pricing list or an example of typical earnings for reasons of privacy, but has agreed to modify the claim. Details must be clearly disclosed in advertisements as required by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. According to the BBB Code of Advertising, companies must be prepared to prove any advertised claims."

If you've been ripped-off by this company, please contact the following and file a complaint.

The Better Business Bureau
Serving Southern Alberta, Canada

Shopster must modify "Unlimited Profits" advertising.

The following has been published by the BBB on the Shopster.com website BBB button:

"BBB Reliability Report

Shopster E- Commerce Inc.
804B - 16th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2R 0S9
Telephone: (403) 802-0201
Fax: (403) 802-0294
shopster.com

The Bureau processed a total of 4 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 4 complaints closed in 36 months, 4 were closed in the last year.

Sales Practice Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Delivery Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.


Advertising Review

On May 3, 2007 , the Bureau contacted the company regarding its claim of "Unlimited profits" for its client distributors on its website. The company advised the Bureau that they issue the difference payment from the suppliers' price and the customers' payment and that there is no limit on what a distributor can sell and therefore earn. Shopster did not supply a comparison pricing list or an example of typical earnings for reasons of privacy, but has agreed to modify the claim. Details must be clearly disclosed in advertisements as required by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. According to the BBB Code of Advertising, companies must be prepared to prove any advertised claims."

If you've been ripped-off by this company, please contact the following and file a complaint.

The Better Business Bureau
Serving Southern Alberta, Canada

Check out recent reports on Shopster. There are now 4 BBB Complaints and more complaints will show. I complained to the BBB 3 months ago. At the time of my complaint, there were 2 complaints concidered resolved. There are now 4 complaints. Still only 2 resolved. My complaint is closed but shows that I am still dissatisfied.

If you are not happy with Shopster and feel you're being ripped-off, please file a complaint with the BBB.

The BBB of Southern Alberta sent me an email regarding Shopster's "Satisfactory rating".
It appears that unless Shopster resolves their issue with me, their BBB membership is in Jeopardy.

"Hello Randy:

Actually the report on this company does not say the company satisfactory rating. It says it is UPDATING. A member company cannot have an unresolved complaint. We are dealing with this internally..."

Hey Shopster, A MEMBER COMPANY CANNOT HAVE AN UNRESOLVED COMPLAINT!

Been with Shopster for about 8 months and spent well over $920.00 in advertising as well as webpage editors.
Let me tell you I only made 1 sale and profit .62 Cents!
Its not wholesale.... its plain retail.
I had to to ask myself why would someone pay these prices for items when they
can just drive to their local walmart,target,bestbuy, OR overstock.com and get the same items cheaper?
I feel bad for getting pulled in the "Ecommerce" world.

The following was posted on my blog, "Shopster is Deceptive":

Shopster is Feeling the Heat.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...
Dude, I'm with you all the way. Fu*k Shopster. Here's the scoop. Shopster now claims to have 3,987 members. Members who cancel are still counted as part of the 3,987. Shopster doesn't subtract, they count all members. The true numbers are probably only around 2,000. Shopster is having a hard time keeping people past day 7 of the free trial. Even when people cancel before day 7, those people are added on to the 3,987. What a bunch of lies.
06 June, 2007

Randy said...
Thanks for the info
06 June, 2007

Randy said...
Actually, I think you're giving Shopster way too much credit. If a nation wide study shows that over 65% of new businesses end up failing within their very first year, then Shopster probably doesn't have more than 1,350 current members at most. The 3,987 reflects TOTAL membership since the very begginings of the company.

Shopster is hurting and relies on their affiliate program to make money. Members join the program, post ads and hope they receive a portion of a sale when a customer joins. This is very makings of an Amway pyramid like operation. The more an affiliate advertises Shopster, the better the odds for the member to receive a check. The 700,000 products is nonsense. That's not where the money is. It's not at all about building a website to sell retail; It's all about selling customers.

So, when Shopster rshop owners, like Stacey and Jessica attack me for telling the world i've been ripped off, they do so because they are invested in the company.
07 June, 2007

Shopster is just another Amway Scheme.

In a recent attempt to chargeback Shopster my refund from their on going scam, the credit card company had their hands tied due to Shopster's "No Refund Policy".

I am calling out to conumers who might be thinking of doing business with these crooks. BEWARE OF SHOPSTER! The 7 day FREE trial period is NOT FREE! You must first grant Shopster your credit card number before being allowed inside. You can't even see Shopster's price structure until joining.

If you are lucky (or should I say unlucky) enough to sell something on your rshop, there's a good chance the item will never leave the supplier's warehouse because the 700,000 products that Shopster claims to have in their so called warehouse is nonsense.

Don't get fooled! Don't Join! Save your money!

Within the past week, I've made many attempts to resolve this issue with the people at Shopster. I was willing to make a compromise but Shopster refuses to talk to me or acknowledge my emails. I tried a last ditch effort before contacting my credit card company.

Case 100800: (Closed) Refund my money or get a credit card chargeback.

Shopster failed to respond to the BBB consumer complaint rebuttal. 15 days had passed since my response and Shopster failed to respond.

05/28/2007 No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal

I gave Shopster many opportunities to make things right, but as the typical scam artists that they are they've decided to ignore my voice. I will now take legal action against Shopster by contacting my credit cards.

I have decided to contact my credit card company in hopes to get my refund from Shopster. I will do this on Tuesday May 29th if Shopster still refuses to resolve this matter. Here is my final email to Shopster:

"To whom this may concern:

I have sent numerous emails in attempt to refund my money. I have indicated in many emails that I felt cheated by Shopster. I had no choice but to contact the BBB due to the response I've received from Sheldon Cooke. I continued asking for a complete refund and again I've been denied.

I reported Shopster to Rip-off Report and other consumer agencies. Again I was denied my refund. I have a collection of emails from Shopster and from other members which I will send along with other documents to the credit card company to chargeback Shopster my complete refund. When doing so, the credit card company will not only get my money back but will charge Shopster $50.00 for the service and will have the report on record.

I will do this if Shopster does not volunteer the refund on their own. If I don't hear back by Tuesday, May 29th, then I will contact the credit card company and have them chargeback the credit cards.

Sincerely,

Randy"

I will report the outcome to RipoffReport.com.

Here is another email that Ella sent me:

"Hi Randy,
I'm sorry to hear that. I can't believe that they are blocking you. Forum is for people to speak out, and unless you really do something bad there, I don't believe anyone should be blocked from it.
I noticed that they replied to my post saying it was error.
I did not get a chance to get online after that so I'm on my way to check what's going on and then go to bed.
They will probably appologize and unblock you if you tell them you want your money back..
Hope to hear from you soon.
Ella"

This was sent to me on April 24th 2007 from Ella. Infact she sent me 5 emails.

"Hey Randy.
I did not notice that they deleted the post. But it is crazy that they are trying to stop you from saying what you feel.
I wonder what's going to happen with my post. I hope they will not delete it. They need to answer to it first at least. I have been with them from almost the beginning, so they better not treat me bad. They also know me well enough to know that I care, am not mean, don't look for arguments, etc.. but I am honest and will raise questions if needed.
I know how you feel.. I am very sad about me not making much with them.. and sometimes feel that it is my fault, since others do paid advertising, etc.. but finding things that I just found like that prove to me that it is not worth it.
Let's see what happens next.
:)"

Funny how people change their tune.

Since ALL posts from Shopster forums have been emailed to me, as long as I state the post came from the Shopster forums, I have a right to post any document I want, especislly if a document helps prove my point. I did not violate any copyright laws.

Randy,

You have no right to post my posting without my permission!!!!

You are not even posting the whole thing that went on at the forum to when I was happy the data feed got fixed.

From what I read you seem to be fixated on this jewelry issue that I found wrongly priced. Shopster fixed the issue!

You don't know it was fixed because from what I now understand you were not part of the forum anymore.

Posting what you posted alone without the rest of the information is highly unfair since the issue has been corrected!

Also there isn't many more posts like mine as you are saying. How can you say that?

I haven't been following to much but came here as there has been some stuff said and I wanted to see for myself so I did some searching and I am sorry Randy but you just do not have a right to do what you have been doing!

You are a very sad person to do something that low!

Here is a post from another Shopster member concerned about the price structure.

Subject: I would like an explonation from Shopster on this big price difference


"Hi Johny,

Thank you for looking into this. I do have to say though that some jewelry items I have had for a very long time (almost from the start) and that supplier has them for a lot cheaper. The price listed in the warehouse should be the selling price.. actually the selling price on some products should be a lot lower than the warehouse price.

Anyway.. I also looked into Froogle and some of these items. To be honest, I don't see how we can sell any of it, when some of these products are being sold for $3 on Froogle.

All that has made me very sad.

I know that most likely a response will be "it's not all about best / cheapest price", and while I agree, unfortunately if it's a big price difference, people will buy it cheaper"

This post is just one of many.

Google "Shopster is deceptive" to visit my blog.

I just received this email from yet another Shopster member:

"Dude, I too thought I made a sale but the next day I received an email telling me the item was no longer available. What a bunch of BS!"

Nice going Shopster. You just pissed off another member!

I've noticed that alot of the Shopster cult members that post on Shopster's member forums repeat almost word for word on the steps to take for the rshop owner to make your rshop a success. It's done in such a way that the newbie would see the text as scripture.

However, if the new member offers an opinion not suitable for the Shopster cult, then the new member gets a warning that his/her behavior is not accepted in the forums. (Censorship) The new member can not have an opinion that isn't offered first by Shopster. The member can only speak the Shopster lingo. This is Shopsters way of isolating the member from outside opinions. Outside opinions are not welcome. These tactics are the same tactics religious cults use to break down their members self-esteem. Victims develop a concern with self and eventually lose their ability to think for themselves. They become stepfords.

Two weeks after my rshop was launched, Shopster failed to provide service. Many other people in Shopster forums have told me the exact same thing.

Shopster is a third party drop shipping company that has no access to the products shipped. 700,000 is just an arbitrary number they pulled out of their bottom. The fact is, Shopster has no control over their suppliers inventory. Products being offered by Shopster's suppliers are Not exclusive to Shopster; therefore once an item sells out due to other companies selling the same items offered, the Rshops are S.O.L. (Sh*t out of luck)

Shopster claims they drop suppliers that don't ship out what they offer but is that how you want your third party drop shipper to due business? If Shopster can't arrange for a certain number of same item products to be held exclusively for Shopster then the Rshop owner is taking a tremendous risk. For the amount of time and effort the Rshop owner puts into his/her shop each day, they need to know that if Shopster's warehouse claims to have 100 of a specific product, the product will be available when a customer purchases that product.

I've received an email from Shopster 2 days after a product was sold on my rshop stating that the product had been discontinued. The very next day the product was still listed in Shopster's warehouse saying there were twelve of that item still remaining. Needless to say, the sale failed to go through and I didn't make my $1.18 profit.

Shopster needs to have more control over their suppliers inventory. If not,this sort of thing will put Shopster out of business. How can you trust a company that doesn't provide the service that you as an rshop owner are paying for?

I paid for Shopster to provide me service. I never received it. Shopster still owes me my refund.

Let me give a run down of the smokescreen offered by Shopster's CEO.

1) I am not making up stories, nor am I telling lies about Shopster's deception. Shopster advertises 700,000 products "Wholesale". This is a fact. Shopster uses a marketing scheme to bring consumers to their site. Yes, Shopster offers a 7 day trial period but only after handing over a credit card. If thyey really wanted to give consumers a free trial, give it to them with NO STRINGS ATTACHED!

Once you've handed Shopster your credit card (To hold), you've made a commitment to make it work even though Shopster knows that 98% of you will fail. Once you've given Shopster your info, credit card, agree to terms and policies, only then can you see the true price structure. Yes, you can end the 7 day trial at anytime before the 7 days have past but if you follow Shopster's steps, you will be spending the entire 7 days building your rshop (retail store).

The fact is this: Shopster entices you with their marketing terms using "Wholesale" and "Make unlimited profits" just to get you to join. But the prices are not wholesale, they're retail. Buying retail to sell retail is not a good business practice. If you do wind up selling something, your profit will be pennies.

2) Shopster's so-called write ups are nonsense. For the most part, the write ups are written by executives that have a conflict of interest with the company. It's nothing more than self promotion.

3) Calling me an internet terrorist and someone trying to extort money from Shopster is false. I'm a disatisfied customer who was treated poorly. Shopster claims I broke the rules to be kicked out of the forums. I was kicked out for having an opinion. I spoke about price in the forums and I spoke on a liability issue. In both cases, my posts were deleted and I was blocked from the forums. I was censored because of my questions on price and opinions on liability.
I am not trying to extort money from Shopster, I just want my money back. In paid for a year of service and received 49 days.

If I'm bringing awareness and Shopster feels business is booming then good for them. Eventually people will see the truth. Eventually the stepfords will wake up.

Thank you to all our customer's who have come out in support of Shopster. You have nothing to gain by doing so, for that fact alone your support is even more appreciated.


I would like to address several points in this response.

1.) The false claims of deception made by Randy
2.) Our policies in dealing with blackmail and extortion
3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness


1.) False Claims

Randy has made both general and specific claims about Shopster's pricing practices. First of all it is important to understand that Shopster's pricing is 100% equal to our free trial and paying customers. When you sign up to Shopster you have 7 seven days FREE to review the system and the product prices in order for you to decide if this is right for you. The prices you see do not change depending on whether you are in a free trial or a paying member.

The proof? That's easy for you to see for yourself. If you are a paying member you can sign up for another free trial and compare. E-mail addresses are free on hotmail, gmail, yahoo, or any number of other services. Any claims of price fixing are pure, blatant lies, intended to sensationalize a false claim.

In the specific case of the earrings, which keeps being brought up as an example, there is obvious a purposeful deceit being carried out by Randy. Here is the whole story; there was a data error in which the MSRP was incorrectly entered into our system in place of the wholesale price - when the error was reported, our data team corrected it within 24 hours, and notice of the update was sent out to ALL customers. Data errors happen from time to time in any business in this case it was identified, promptly corrected and notice was sent out. One was even sent out to this former customer. The fact that he fails to mention this but tries to use it as weapon is proof that Randy is willing to lie to support a position which is obviously false.

Pricing in general

Shopster does not own all the inventory it sells, in fact no where do we claim we do. We partner with manufacturers and suppliers to provide you, our customers access to their inventory which you would otherwise not have. The price in our warehouse is just a reflection of the agreement we have with our suppliers. If you know of suppliers who have better pricing and would be willing to join a system like Shopster please send them to us. Anything we can do to get better pricing for you we will.

We do not guarantee the lowest price on all products anywhere in the world, and any reasonable person realizes that this is also the case for EVERY single retailer or supplier. One of the things we work hard to do is provide you with the largest, most diverse inventory found anywhere on the web.

Using Randy's own claims it is obvious that for some products there can be a huge variation in retail prices - even between retailers such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. Prices offered by different distributors not only reflect cost of manufacturing, but also things like volume buying, transportation from point of manufacture to point of sale, marketing, labor, taxes etc.

When you join Shopster.com to be a retailer this is what we offer you:

1.) Access to our inventory whose prices are CLEARY stated
2.) Marketing support
3.) Data Management
4.) A state of the art e-commerce store,
5.) End to end order management,
6.) Customer support,
7.) Fraud review & 100% protection against fraudulent transactions if we approve them,
8.) Credit card and payment systems
9.) A returns management system
10.) A complete business system

All which are provided for you on a Free Trial basis.

We take great pride in providing the premier e-commerce service in the world. I could sit here and argue each point for point with Randy but the truth is I am not responding here to convince him, he's not interested in being rational.

To all the readers of this and any similar post on the web, the only fact you know for certain is that Randy is unhappy with Shopster. All this report proves is someone can post anything they want on the internet and all that you are doing is reading someone's typed words - whether they are truthful or not is hard to know for sure. Shopster has been in business for 3 years we now have 3 complaints, including Randy's groundless one, in the BBB against us what a fantastic record for any company anywhere to have. Shopster has been featured or mentioned in many different credible media sources including Forbes, Fortune Radio, CNet, Revenue Magazine, hundreds of newspapers and thousands websites. Our reputation has a fair and honest service provider precedes us.

Put that aside for now and take some advice that was once given to me - treat this like any other business opportunity - you need to check it out for yourself. Do your own research, try it out, and if it is right for you then sign up. If not, thank you for testing us out, and we wish you the best of luck in finding something that meets your needs. When you think of all the things you need to do to have your own business online you'll realize that Shopster really is the easiest way to get retailing online.

2.) Blackmail & Extortion

Randy's account with Shopster was terminated due to his breach of Shopster's terms of use which he agreed to upon signing up for his account. According to this agreement grounds for termination exist if his conduct: (see Shopster Retailer Agreement)

(a) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, vulgar, hateful or is racially or ethnically offensive;
If Randy felt that his activities in the forums and in emails to Shopster customers and staff did not breach these terms of service then there is a provision for arbitration by a third party which to date Randy has chosen to not avail himself of.

Furthermore threatening to start blogs, videos, and scare away customers if we don't pay him off is not LIKE blackmail IT IS BLACKMAIL. We do not make deals with cyber-terrorists.

Every day legitimate online businesses face attacks like spam, denial of service (DOS), and slander, with threats of continued attacks, unless they are paid off. Shopster has an iron-clad policy of NEVER paying off criminals, as it is both unethical and only invites further attacks.

3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness.

What is MOST interesting about this event, including this report and all the blogs started by Randy, is that he has been successful in driving a lot of traffic to the Shopster site. Thank you Randy - more people are now signing up because you have made them aware that a service like Shopster exists.

That gets me to my main point. Obviously a single person has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to their own website. Its interesting to me, that if Randy's claims of 100's or 1000's of people are coming to his blogs or forums posts is true, than that represents many times over the number of people that ever came to his store. To all the readers out there, there is a lesson to be learned here. With dedication and diligence you can get thousands of people coming to your website. If you can do that, then you have already won half the battle. The other half of the battle is to provide them with a product that they want. That is what Shopster.com is based on. We provide you with a means to monetize your website traffic with targeted products which matter to your customer.

Good luck in all your business endeavors.


Best Regards,

Sarath Samarasekera
CEO
Shopster.com

Thank you to all our customer's who have come out in support of Shopster. You have nothing to gain by doing so, for that fact alone your support is even more appreciated.


I would like to address several points in this response.

1.) The false claims of deception made by Randy
2.) Our policies in dealing with blackmail and extortion
3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness


1.) False Claims

Randy has made both general and specific claims about Shopster's pricing practices. First of all it is important to understand that Shopster's pricing is 100% equal to our free trial and paying customers. When you sign up to Shopster you have 7 seven days FREE to review the system and the product prices in order for you to decide if this is right for you. The prices you see do not change depending on whether you are in a free trial or a paying member.

The proof? That's easy for you to see for yourself. If you are a paying member you can sign up for another free trial and compare. E-mail addresses are free on hotmail, gmail, yahoo, or any number of other services. Any claims of price fixing are pure, blatant lies, intended to sensationalize a false claim.

In the specific case of the earrings, which keeps being brought up as an example, there is obvious a purposeful deceit being carried out by Randy. Here is the whole story; there was a data error in which the MSRP was incorrectly entered into our system in place of the wholesale price - when the error was reported, our data team corrected it within 24 hours, and notice of the update was sent out to ALL customers. Data errors happen from time to time in any business in this case it was identified, promptly corrected and notice was sent out. One was even sent out to this former customer. The fact that he fails to mention this but tries to use it as weapon is proof that Randy is willing to lie to support a position which is obviously false.

Pricing in general

Shopster does not own all the inventory it sells, in fact no where do we claim we do. We partner with manufacturers and suppliers to provide you, our customers access to their inventory which you would otherwise not have. The price in our warehouse is just a reflection of the agreement we have with our suppliers. If you know of suppliers who have better pricing and would be willing to join a system like Shopster please send them to us. Anything we can do to get better pricing for you we will.

We do not guarantee the lowest price on all products anywhere in the world, and any reasonable person realizes that this is also the case for EVERY single retailer or supplier. One of the things we work hard to do is provide you with the largest, most diverse inventory found anywhere on the web.

Using Randy's own claims it is obvious that for some products there can be a huge variation in retail prices - even between retailers such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. Prices offered by different distributors not only reflect cost of manufacturing, but also things like volume buying, transportation from point of manufacture to point of sale, marketing, labor, taxes etc.

When you join Shopster.com to be a retailer this is what we offer you:

1.) Access to our inventory whose prices are CLEARY stated
2.) Marketing support
3.) Data Management
4.) A state of the art e-commerce store,
5.) End to end order management,
6.) Customer support,
7.) Fraud review & 100% protection against fraudulent transactions if we approve them,
8.) Credit card and payment systems
9.) A returns management system
10.) A complete business system

All which are provided for you on a Free Trial basis.

We take great pride in providing the premier e-commerce service in the world. I could sit here and argue each point for point with Randy but the truth is I am not responding here to convince him, he's not interested in being rational.

To all the readers of this and any similar post on the web, the only fact you know for certain is that Randy is unhappy with Shopster. All this report proves is someone can post anything they want on the internet and all that you are doing is reading someone's typed words - whether they are truthful or not is hard to know for sure. Shopster has been in business for 3 years we now have 3 complaints, including Randy's groundless one, in the BBB against us what a fantastic record for any company anywhere to have. Shopster has been featured or mentioned in many different credible media sources including Forbes, Fortune Radio, CNet, Revenue Magazine, hundreds of newspapers and thousands websites. Our reputation has a fair and honest service provider precedes us.

Put that aside for now and take some advice that was once given to me - treat this like any other business opportunity - you need to check it out for yourself. Do your own research, try it out, and if it is right for you then sign up. If not, thank you for testing us out, and we wish you the best of luck in finding something that meets your needs. When you think of all the things you need to do to have your own business online you'll realize that Shopster really is the easiest way to get retailing online.

2.) Blackmail & Extortion

Randy's account with Shopster was terminated due to his breach of Shopster's terms of use which he agreed to upon signing up for his account. According to this agreement grounds for termination exist if his conduct: (see Shopster Retailer Agreement)

(a) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, vulgar, hateful or is racially or ethnically offensive;
If Randy felt that his activities in the forums and in emails to Shopster customers and staff did not breach these terms of service then there is a provision for arbitration by a third party which to date Randy has chosen to not avail himself of.

Furthermore threatening to start blogs, videos, and scare away customers if we don't pay him off is not LIKE blackmail IT IS BLACKMAIL. We do not make deals with cyber-terrorists.

Every day legitimate online businesses face attacks like spam, denial of service (DOS), and slander, with threats of continued attacks, unless they are paid off. Shopster has an iron-clad policy of NEVER paying off criminals, as it is both unethical and only invites further attacks.

3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness.

What is MOST interesting about this event, including this report and all the blogs started by Randy, is that he has been successful in driving a lot of traffic to the Shopster site. Thank you Randy - more people are now signing up because you have made them aware that a service like Shopster exists.

That gets me to my main point. Obviously a single person has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to their own website. Its interesting to me, that if Randy's claims of 100's or 1000's of people are coming to his blogs or forums posts is true, than that represents many times over the number of people that ever came to his store. To all the readers out there, there is a lesson to be learned here. With dedication and diligence you can get thousands of people coming to your website. If you can do that, then you have already won half the battle. The other half of the battle is to provide them with a product that they want. That is what Shopster.com is based on. We provide you with a means to monetize your website traffic with targeted products which matter to your customer.

Good luck in all your business endeavors.


Best Regards,

Sarath Samarasekera
CEO
Shopster.com

Thank you to all our customer's who have come out in support of Shopster. You have nothing to gain by doing so, for that fact alone your support is even more appreciated.


I would like to address several points in this response.

1.) The false claims of deception made by Randy
2.) Our policies in dealing with blackmail and extortion
3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness


1.) False Claims

Randy has made both general and specific claims about Shopster's pricing practices. First of all it is important to understand that Shopster's pricing is 100% equal to our free trial and paying customers. When you sign up to Shopster you have 7 seven days FREE to review the system and the product prices in order for you to decide if this is right for you. The prices you see do not change depending on whether you are in a free trial or a paying member.

The proof? That's easy for you to see for yourself. If you are a paying member you can sign up for another free trial and compare. E-mail addresses are free on hotmail, gmail, yahoo, or any number of other services. Any claims of price fixing are pure, blatant lies, intended to sensationalize a false claim.

In the specific case of the earrings, which keeps being brought up as an example, there is obvious a purposeful deceit being carried out by Randy. Here is the whole story; there was a data error in which the MSRP was incorrectly entered into our system in place of the wholesale price - when the error was reported, our data team corrected it within 24 hours, and notice of the update was sent out to ALL customers. Data errors happen from time to time in any business in this case it was identified, promptly corrected and notice was sent out. One was even sent out to this former customer. The fact that he fails to mention this but tries to use it as weapon is proof that Randy is willing to lie to support a position which is obviously false.

Pricing in general

Shopster does not own all the inventory it sells, in fact no where do we claim we do. We partner with manufacturers and suppliers to provide you, our customers access to their inventory which you would otherwise not have. The price in our warehouse is just a reflection of the agreement we have with our suppliers. If you know of suppliers who have better pricing and would be willing to join a system like Shopster please send them to us. Anything we can do to get better pricing for you we will.

We do not guarantee the lowest price on all products anywhere in the world, and any reasonable person realizes that this is also the case for EVERY single retailer or supplier. One of the things we work hard to do is provide you with the largest, most diverse inventory found anywhere on the web.

Using Randy's own claims it is obvious that for some products there can be a huge variation in retail prices - even between retailers such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. Prices offered by different distributors not only reflect cost of manufacturing, but also things like volume buying, transportation from point of manufacture to point of sale, marketing, labor, taxes etc.

When you join Shopster.com to be a retailer this is what we offer you:

1.) Access to our inventory whose prices are CLEARY stated
2.) Marketing support
3.) Data Management
4.) A state of the art e-commerce store,
5.) End to end order management,
6.) Customer support,
7.) Fraud review & 100% protection against fraudulent transactions if we approve them,
8.) Credit card and payment systems
9.) A returns management system
10.) A complete business system

All which are provided for you on a Free Trial basis.

We take great pride in providing the premier e-commerce service in the world. I could sit here and argue each point for point with Randy but the truth is I am not responding here to convince him, he's not interested in being rational.

To all the readers of this and any similar post on the web, the only fact you know for certain is that Randy is unhappy with Shopster. All this report proves is someone can post anything they want on the internet and all that you are doing is reading someone's typed words - whether they are truthful or not is hard to know for sure. Shopster has been in business for 3 years we now have 3 complaints, including Randy's groundless one, in the BBB against us what a fantastic record for any company anywhere to have. Shopster has been featured or mentioned in many different credible media sources including Forbes, Fortune Radio, CNet, Revenue Magazine, hundreds of newspapers and thousands websites. Our reputation has a fair and honest service provider precedes us.

Put that aside for now and take some advice that was once given to me - treat this like any other business opportunity - you need to check it out for yourself. Do your own research, try it out, and if it is right for you then sign up. If not, thank you for testing us out, and we wish you the best of luck in finding something that meets your needs. When you think of all the things you need to do to have your own business online you'll realize that Shopster really is the easiest way to get retailing online.

2.) Blackmail & Extortion

Randy's account with Shopster was terminated due to his breach of Shopster's terms of use which he agreed to upon signing up for his account. According to this agreement grounds for termination exist if his conduct: (see Shopster Retailer Agreement)

(a) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, vulgar, hateful or is racially or ethnically offensive;
If Randy felt that his activities in the forums and in emails to Shopster customers and staff did not breach these terms of service then there is a provision for arbitration by a third party which to date Randy has chosen to not avail himself of.

Furthermore threatening to start blogs, videos, and scare away customers if we don't pay him off is not LIKE blackmail IT IS BLACKMAIL. We do not make deals with cyber-terrorists.

Every day legitimate online businesses face attacks like spam, denial of service (DOS), and slander, with threats of continued attacks, unless they are paid off. Shopster has an iron-clad policy of NEVER paying off criminals, as it is both unethical and only invites further attacks.

3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness.

What is MOST interesting about this event, including this report and all the blogs started by Randy, is that he has been successful in driving a lot of traffic to the Shopster site. Thank you Randy - more people are now signing up because you have made them aware that a service like Shopster exists.

That gets me to my main point. Obviously a single person has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to their own website. Its interesting to me, that if Randy's claims of 100's or 1000's of people are coming to his blogs or forums posts is true, than that represents many times over the number of people that ever came to his store. To all the readers out there, there is a lesson to be learned here. With dedication and diligence you can get thousands of people coming to your website. If you can do that, then you have already won half the battle. The other half of the battle is to provide them with a product that they want. That is what Shopster.com is based on. We provide you with a means to monetize your website traffic with targeted products which matter to your customer.

Good luck in all your business endeavors.


Best Regards,

Sarath Samarasekera
CEO
Shopster.com

Thank you to all our customer's who have come out in support of Shopster. You have nothing to gain by doing so, for that fact alone your support is even more appreciated.


I would like to address several points in this response.

1.) The false claims of deception made by Randy
2.) Our policies in dealing with blackmail and extortion
3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness


1.) False Claims

Randy has made both general and specific claims about Shopster's pricing practices. First of all it is important to understand that Shopster's pricing is 100% equal to our free trial and paying customers. When you sign up to Shopster you have 7 seven days FREE to review the system and the product prices in order for you to decide if this is right for you. The prices you see do not change depending on whether you are in a free trial or a paying member.

The proof? That's easy for you to see for yourself. If you are a paying member you can sign up for another free trial and compare. E-mail addresses are free on hotmail, gmail, yahoo, or any number of other services. Any claims of price fixing are pure, blatant lies, intended to sensationalize a false claim.

In the specific case of the earrings, which keeps being brought up as an example, there is obvious a purposeful deceit being carried out by Randy. Here is the whole story; there was a data error in which the MSRP was incorrectly entered into our system in place of the wholesale price - when the error was reported, our data team corrected it within 24 hours, and notice of the update was sent out to ALL customers. Data errors happen from time to time in any business in this case it was identified, promptly corrected and notice was sent out. One was even sent out to this former customer. The fact that he fails to mention this but tries to use it as weapon is proof that Randy is willing to lie to support a position which is obviously false.

Pricing in general

Shopster does not own all the inventory it sells, in fact no where do we claim we do. We partner with manufacturers and suppliers to provide you, our customers access to their inventory which you would otherwise not have. The price in our warehouse is just a reflection of the agreement we have with our suppliers. If you know of suppliers who have better pricing and would be willing to join a system like Shopster please send them to us. Anything we can do to get better pricing for you we will.

We do not guarantee the lowest price on all products anywhere in the world, and any reasonable person realizes that this is also the case for EVERY single retailer or supplier. One of the things we work hard to do is provide you with the largest, most diverse inventory found anywhere on the web.

Using Randy's own claims it is obvious that for some products there can be a huge variation in retail prices - even between retailers such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart. Prices offered by different distributors not only reflect cost of manufacturing, but also things like volume buying, transportation from point of manufacture to point of sale, marketing, labor, taxes etc.

When you join Shopster.com to be a retailer this is what we offer you:

1.) Access to our inventory whose prices are CLEARY stated
2.) Marketing support
3.) Data Management
4.) A state of the art e-commerce store,
5.) End to end order management,
6.) Customer support,
7.) Fraud review & 100% protection against fraudulent transactions if we approve them,
8.) Credit card and payment systems
9.) A returns management system
10.) A complete business system

All which are provided for you on a Free Trial basis.

We take great pride in providing the premier e-commerce service in the world. I could sit here and argue each point for point with Randy but the truth is I am not responding here to convince him, he's not interested in being rational.

To all the readers of this and any similar post on the web, the only fact you know for certain is that Randy is unhappy with Shopster. All this report proves is someone can post anything they want on the internet and all that you are doing is reading someone's typed words - whether they are truthful or not is hard to know for sure. Shopster has been in business for 3 years we now have 3 complaints, including Randy's groundless one, in the BBB against us what a fantastic record for any company anywhere to have. Shopster has been featured or mentioned in many different credible media sources including Forbes, Fortune Radio, CNet, Revenue Magazine, hundreds of newspapers and thousands websites. Our reputation has a fair and honest service provider precedes us.

Put that aside for now and take some advice that was once given to me - treat this like any other business opportunity - you need to check it out for yourself. Do your own research, try it out, and if it is right for you then sign up. If not, thank you for testing us out, and we wish you the best of luck in finding something that meets your needs. When you think of all the things you need to do to have your own business online you'll realize that Shopster really is the easiest way to get retailing online.

2.) Blackmail & Extortion

Randy's account with Shopster was terminated due to his breach of Shopster's terms of use which he agreed to upon signing up for his account. According to this agreement grounds for termination exist if his conduct: (see Shopster Retailer Agreement)

(a) is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, vulgar, hateful or is racially or ethnically offensive;
If Randy felt that his activities in the forums and in emails to Shopster customers and staff did not breach these terms of service then there is a provision for arbitration by a third party which to date Randy has chosen to not avail himself of.

Furthermore threatening to start blogs, videos, and scare away customers if we don't pay him off is not LIKE blackmail IT IS BLACKMAIL. We do not make deals with cyber-terrorists.

Every day legitimate online businesses face attacks like spam, denial of service (DOS), and slander, with threats of continued attacks, unless they are paid off. Shopster has an iron-clad policy of NEVER paying off criminals, as it is both unethical and only invites further attacks.

3.) Starting your own business and raising awareness.

What is MOST interesting about this event, including this report and all the blogs started by Randy, is that he has been successful in driving a lot of traffic to the Shopster site. Thank you Randy - more people are now signing up because you have made them aware that a service like Shopster exists.

That gets me to my main point. Obviously a single person has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to their own website. Its interesting to me, that if Randy's claims of 100's or 1000's of people are coming to his blogs or forums posts is true, than that represents many times over the number of people that ever came to his store. To all the readers out there, there is a lesson to be learned here. With dedication and diligence you can get thousands of people coming to your website. If you can do that, then you have already won half the battle. The other half of the battle is to provide them with a product that they want. That is what Shopster.com is based on. We provide you with a means to monetize your website traffic with targeted products which matter to your customer.

Good luck in all your business endeavors.


Best Regards,

Sarath Samarasekera
CEO
Shopster.com

Shopster's response to the BBB is "No refund!".

I respond:
(Less)
Complaint filed against: Shopster E- Commerce Inc. (More)
Business Info
NAME: Shopster E- Commerce Inc.
Website: www.shopster.com

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Shopster has breached their contract with me when they claim "Over 700,000 products wholesale" The statement was not true at the time of my membership. I was tricked into joining by their marketing scheme into believing their prices before I listed them onto my rshop were at competitive market value for wholesale. I have found 138 products from Shopster's virtual warehouse that were supposed to be offered to me at "Wholesale" prices, were in fact found for less money at three retail stores. The stores are Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City.

One item in particular was a pair of earrings that a supplier's price at the time of my membership was listed for $1.35. Shopster marked up the price to $10.09 "Wholesale". The exact same product was found at Wal-mart for $3.88 "Retail". This is not only a clear case of price gouging, but an example of a more clearer price structure. Their prices are not "Wholesale" as they claim but retail. Therefore Shopster breached their agreement with me because 700,000 products were NOT at wholesale prices.

Shopster uses "Unlimited profits" and "Wholesale" to attract the consumer into membership. You must pay by credit card before getting the chance to browse Shopster's warehouse prices. You must agree to their terms and policies before you can browse their prices. Once you join, the term "Wholesale" is replaced with "It's not all about price" and "Content". Someone who is not so web builder saavy can easily fall prey by Shopster's tactics. Yes they give you 7 days to decide wether or not to keep the membership, but by the time I realized they were not the company I was led to believe, the seven days had lapsed. If I'm held to the policy and terms of Shopster's agreement, then Shopster as well should have been too. Shopster did not provide the price structure that they agreed to, therefore the agreement is null and void. I was already told that "Unlimited profits" would be challenged.

I was abused by Sheldon Cooke with emails that he had sent to me. He spoke about my charactor which was unprofessional and inapropriate. Although he posted a letter of apology on the website of Rip-off Report, I never actually received a personal letter of apology.

I was prevented from using the Shopster forums by Shopster by offering opinions and asking questions on price and by offering an opinion on a liability issue. I was warned by Sheldon about my behavior, yet, I did not see anything in the policies about Not being allowed to ask about price. I was told many times that the price is the price and that Shopster is not always about price. However, when Shopster advertises "Unlimited profits" and "Wholesale" to get you to sign up, It's ALL ABOUT PRICE!

When Shopster says I harrassed their members in and outside of the forums, it's an absolute lie. I never received an email from Sheldon or anyone asking me to stop harrassing their members. I used the forums to gain knowledge and to question things I simply don't understand. I have emailed members after I was kicked out of the forums and I have posted on blogs that have nothing to do with Shopster and yes I have my own blogs that Shopster does not own. I had permission from the owners of certain blogs (not owned by Shopster) to post messages. What I do outside of Shopster is not Shopster's business. I live in America. I believe in free speech and I have documents to back up all of my claims.

Again, Shopster needs to resolve this issue with me before I take legal action. I am still asking for a full refund of $429.00

Randy, you are 100% correct. I've seen Shopster's advertising of 700,000 wholesale products. These guys are crooks and should be put out of business. Shopster is clearly just a clever internet scam.

Stacey, google "Shopster 700,000 wholesale" You will see that Shopster advertises "Wholesale".

"For only $29.99/ month Shopster provides: * World-class storefront solution. * Choose from 700000 wholesale products for your store - create the .."

The Shopster Lies Continues!

Thomas, peanuts would be a good thing. As I point out, Shopster members get the cookie crumbs while Shopster gets the cookie.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. This is a quote from the Shopster forums:

"I've made my first real sale today! I've got this email this morning:

"Hi there, We thought you'd like to know that you just made a sale on your RShop. The order total was $123.64 and you made $2.24 profit! Keep up the great work!"

I too thought I made a sale in my first two weeks on Shopster but the item listed was discontinued. It was an $18.00 item and my profit would have been $1.18. I later found the same item that I was trying to sell from my website at Wal-mart for half the price.

Shopster sucks people in with the attraction of a website and using terms like "Wholesale" and "Make unlimited profits". It's all lies. The only ones making unlimited profits is Shopster.

So, Thomas, are you ready to sign up?

Sorry, Randy, I did not follow your Simple Math on "Unlimited Profits" interpretation:

So let's review your math lesson on "Unlimited profits"

At a 6% margin,(you quote as Shopster's Average) for items priced at $100.00 and you sold 1, then you would make $6.00.....

less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services"....???

Question: is this "Drop shipping services" 3.5% really charged on the $6.00 net, or is it *really* charged as 3.5% of the gross $100. ?

Are you sure you net is $5.79 or do you really net $2.50....?

Somehow I doubt that the 3.5% handling/dropship fee is applied to the net margin ($6.00) as you state, but rather that it is applied to the gross $100. Would you confirm which it is ?

But no matter- retailers DO NOT work for a 6% margin. For example, many consumer seasonal goods (bicycles) have a 50% margin [dealer cost is 50% of the retail price] and inexpensive items (water bottles) can have an 80% margin [dealer cost is 20% of the retail price]. Retailers use the term *markup* where a "20% markup" means the retailer pays 20% of the retail price, i.e. an 80% margin. You Shopster folk are working for peanuts... are you all elephants?

Sorry, Randy, I did not follow your Simple Math on "Unlimited Profits" interpretation:

So let's review your math lesson on "Unlimited profits"

At a 6% margin,(you quote as Shopster's Average) for items priced at $100.00 and you sold 1, then you would make $6.00.....

less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services"....???

Question: is this "Drop shipping services" 3.5% really charged on the $6.00 net, or is it *really* charged as 3.5% of the gross $100. ?

Are you sure you net is $5.79 or do you really net $2.50....?

Somehow I doubt that the 3.5% handling/dropship fee is applied to the net margin ($6.00) as you state, but rather that it is applied to the gross $100. Would you confirm which it is ?

But no matter- retailers DO NOT work for a 6% margin. For example, many consumer seasonal goods (bicycles) have a 50% margin [dealer cost is 50% of the retail price] and inexpensive items (water bottles) can have an 80% margin [dealer cost is 20% of the retail price]. Retailers use the term *markup* where a "20% markup" means the retailer pays 20% of the retail price, i.e. an 80% margin. You Shopster folk are working for peanuts... are you all elephants?

Sorry, Randy, I did not follow your Simple Math on "Unlimited Profits" interpretation:

So let's review your math lesson on "Unlimited profits"

At a 6% margin,(you quote as Shopster's Average) for items priced at $100.00 and you sold 1, then you would make $6.00.....

less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services"....???

Question: is this "Drop shipping services" 3.5% really charged on the $6.00 net, or is it *really* charged as 3.5% of the gross $100. ?

Are you sure you net is $5.79 or do you really net $2.50....?

Somehow I doubt that the 3.5% handling/dropship fee is applied to the net margin ($6.00) as you state, but rather that it is applied to the gross $100. Would you confirm which it is ?

But no matter- retailers DO NOT work for a 6% margin. For example, many consumer seasonal goods (bicycles) have a 50% margin [dealer cost is 50% of the retail price] and inexpensive items (water bottles) can have an 80% margin [dealer cost is 20% of the retail price]. Retailers use the term *markup* where a "20% markup" means the retailer pays 20% of the retail price, i.e. an 80% margin. You Shopster folk are working for peanuts... are you all elephants?

Sorry, Randy, I did not follow your Simple Math on "Unlimited Profits" interpretation:

So let's review your math lesson on "Unlimited profits"

At a 6% margin,(you quote as Shopster's Average) for items priced at $100.00 and you sold 1, then you would make $6.00.....

less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services"....???

Question: is this "Drop shipping services" 3.5% really charged on the $6.00 net, or is it *really* charged as 3.5% of the gross $100. ?

Are you sure you net is $5.79 or do you really net $2.50....?

Somehow I doubt that the 3.5% handling/dropship fee is applied to the net margin ($6.00) as you state, but rather that it is applied to the gross $100. Would you confirm which it is ?

But no matter- retailers DO NOT work for a 6% margin. For example, many consumer seasonal goods (bicycles) have a 50% margin [dealer cost is 50% of the retail price] and inexpensive items (water bottles) can have an 80% margin [dealer cost is 20% of the retail price]. Retailers use the term *markup* where a "20% markup" means the retailer pays 20% of the retail price, i.e. an 80% margin. You Shopster folk are working for peanuts... are you all elephants?

Sorry Stacey, but they do advertise that their products offered to members are wholesale. I have it printed out and have reported it to the BBB. I'm sure if you ask nicely, Sheldon will tell you the truth.

Sorry Stacey, but they do advertise that their products offered to members are wholesale. I have it printed out and have reported it to the BBB. I'm sure if you ask nicely, Sheldon will tell you the truth.

Sorry Stacey, but they do advertise that their products offered to members are wholesale. I have it printed out and have reported it to the BBB. I'm sure if you ask nicely, Sheldon will tell you the truth.

Sorry Stacey, but they do advertise that their products offered to members are wholesale. I have it printed out and have reported it to the BBB. I'm sure if you ask nicely, Sheldon will tell you the truth.

Randy,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you need to start reading things better.

Where on their site do they mention wholesale? They say drop shipping and they have over 700,000 products available.

They are not in breach of contract, you were in breach of their TOS. Sorry, but that is the truth of it.

You are going to lose big time. Get over it and move on!

Also I know about their pricing as I can read their site and understand also what they have said in their forums. You apparently didn't read the site through enough.

When Shopster advertises "Wholesale prices on Over 700,000 products" and doesn't deliver "Wholesale prices on Over 700,000 products" then they've breached their agreement. They did not deliver on their promise, therefore the agreement is null and void and they must under the federal law give me a refund.

Stacey, Shopster has never disclosed the information you just described. Shopster tries their best to hide the fact that they're just a third party drop shipper. They don't mention this in their advertising or in their terms.

When I signed up with them, I was under the impression they provided true wholesale prices on 700,000 products like they advertised. If it is true what you say about Shopster's price structure, then it only proves my case that Shopster is deceptive and misleading.

To those who continue to be supportive, I thank you.

Mark,

I am glad you brought up pricing. Most people do not understand the pricing and how Shopster charges for the products.

Shopster uses drop shippers. They do not have a warehouse or probably enough people to man a warehouse filled with all those products and ship them. So they do not purchase true wholesale, only wholesale drop shipping.

Now the problem with using many drop shippers is that the price is set up by them. You see those those suppliers can have minimums. These minimums can be for how much of each individual item can be ordered or the total amount of the complete order say $200 to $500. Some of these suppliers will drop ship for a fee. These fees can be $5 to $10 sometimes, because they actually want people to order their required minimums. So this has to be added to the wholesale price. Some drop shipping companies charge a monthly fee also, so this also has to be considered in the pricing.

I have personally checked several of the suppliers prices with Shopster's price and they are keeping them within the price of the wholesale + the drop shipping fees. To say that Shopster is cheating people because of the prices would be wrong.

To make it on the internet with Shopster you need to know the products that will sell well and the ones that don't have the high drop shipping fee. You can research and know which ones are good and you can compete well with your competitors. If you want to slash prices to the bare minimums I suggest you buy wholesale and ship out the items yourself.

I left Shopster in just two months after I signed up with them, mainly the issue was the price. I found the prices to be outrageous and uncompetitive.

Many items were found at other sites at much lower prices and I found I just couldn't compete.

I liked the idea of a ready-made web store and I probably would have stayed if the prices were competitive.

I believe in order for Shopster to become a successful and respectable company they need to change their price structure and actually allow their members to make a profit. I wasn't the only one struggling. I offten read about other members complaining about their price structure as well.

If you're looking to make money on the internet, then don't join Shopster.

Since writing some earlier posts, to another forum, I've had some facts brought to my attention about Shopster that I was unaware of. As a result, I now have a better understanding as to why their prices are high, and I've reversed my thinking about them being unfair to their members, relative to pricing. As stated earlier, I've had no problems with Shopster, except for the removal of one of my posts, which I would have removed myself, had I been asked to do so. I understand and accept their reason for removing it.

My three concerns remain the same, however the $99 cost to join, the $29.95 monthly membership fee, and the cost of their merchandise. My concerns relate entirely to my personal ability to pay them, and should not be construed as an indication that their prices are out of line.

In all fairness to Shopster, I have not compared their costs with those of other suppliers, to be able to accurately state that their prices are exorbitant. Regardless of my concerns, I do not feel that Shopster is a scam, or that they're ripping off anyone. Should I decide to discontinue my membership, it would be for one reason only as a retired Senior, I just cannot afford to continue paying the monthly membership fees until my online store becomes profitable.

Shopster has a lot to offer, especially to people who lack the software, knowledge or skills to create an online store themselves. Shopster's staff, as well as its membership, are very courteous and helpful, and the Staff readily accepts any recommendations for the improvement of their policies or system."

Randy,

Wow, you sure are putting down Shopster! I am sorry I don't feel the way you do and for you to do this is completly wrong.

#1 you joined, you had 7 days to research the prices and decide what to sell.

#2 you got kicked off the forums I think cause you were really saying some bad things. You pushed it too far.

#3 you were selling the wrong stuff really. You needed to look for the right stuff to sell to make it. Not only that you didn't give it enough time.

I do not have a featured site on Shopster, so I don't have to stick up for them! I do not work for them either. I do not think they were a rip off.

All one has to do is research the drop shippers they use, you can see where they get their prices. They do not have a warehouse so they can not purchase wholesale.

Your site is how you make it, and you need to give it time which you didn't.

You bad mouthed Shopster pretty close to liable at times. I am sorry you couldn't make it, but you shouldn't be like this either!

I have several sites with Shopster and have no reason to quit with them! And if anyone reads this hopefully they will not follow to much what you are saying about them. I like them and have 4 stores and plan on making 3 more!

Here is what Shopster does: They use PRICE in order to suck you in. They claim in ad banners, Over 700,000 products at Wholesale prices! Now, the defenition of wholesale is Competitive market value offered by wholesaler. I can absolutely prove price gouging by Shopster in a court of law.

138 products were found by me at 3 retail stores. Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. These products were sold in these retail establishments at retail price. Shopster had products in their warehouse at a much higher price than the retail price. The retail price was the competitive market value offered by the retailer. Therefore, Shopster's wholesale price for the 138 products could not have been the competitive market value for wholesale.

If Shopster buys a pair of earrings at the low price of $1.35 from their supplier and marks up the price to $10.09 WHOLESALE and the consumer can go to their local Wal-mart and purchase the same item at $3.88 RETAIL then Shopster does NOT offer their members over 700,000 products wholesale. This is clearly price gouging.

The BBB in an email to me is going to challenge the term used by Shopster Unlimited profits because Shopster uses this as an advertising marketing ploy just to prey on people like me with little web building experience to join and eventually fail. Shopster uses PRICE in order to get you into their bear claws, once you're in, Shopster convienently switches out the word PRICE with the new word CONTENT. It's no longer Wholesale, it's now It's not all about price. Yet, it was all about price when they advertised about price on their ad banners. This is why I say Shopster is misleading and deceptive.

Shopster tries to get you to believe that Content is the key to selling on the websites when a recent survey shows 85% purchase on competitive prices. Shopster knew exactly what they were doing and I have emails from Sheldon to prove it. I was mistreated by Sheldon in his unprofessional behavior towards me and if Shopster wants to sue me for slander, I'll counter sue and put them out of business.

I am going to continue this campaign until I get justice. If this issue does not get resolved, videos will find their way onto Youtube.

You now have just 6 days to respond Shopster.

Here is where I stand against Shopster E-Commerce, Inc.

I have added additional complaints to the BBB. (Shopster must respond to the complaints within the next 7 days.)Shopster MUST resolve this matter with me before the BBB in order to keep their satisfactory rating.

I have visited the blog of "One man's journey..." with my rants against Shopster. The blog has been running two months with 900 hits. As soon as I began posting about Shopster, mobs of people have visited and in only 4 days, the blog received an additional 1000 hits.

I started my own blog "Shopster is Deceptive" and in just a few days received over 250 hits.

I posted on the other rip-off report against Shopster.

I continue to receive e-mails filled with support. (Some hate mail too) I even received a letter of support from a former executive.

Shopster obviously would rather lose thousands of dollars in revenue than settle with me. I'm just getting started.

If people are actually making some money with Shopster, I tip my hat off to you. You're in the top 2%. However, the e-mails I've been receiving are stating quite the opposite. Some make just barely enough to stay on one additional month, some are making zilch.

Jessica, I am a nice guy and I enjoyed the time I had kidding around in the forums with you. I do recall a time when you were trying to sell your rshops because you couldn't afford to keep them going.

I became very frustrated when after only a couple of weeks of my autograph store being published, I thought I had a sale, only to find out the item was discontinued but the item remained in Shopster's warehouse for two additional days after the sale was cancelled. That was the first red flag. I've heard simmilar situations where sales didn't go through with other members.

Shopster cleverly is getting people to join based on their creative term Unlimited prices. Look, if you all want to buy into their nonsense that's fine. However, I feel ripped off. I've felt it for a while and when I brought it to the attention of Shopster's staff, I was silenced. They saw me as a problem so they kicked me out of the forums. When I reported them, my account was terminated. Go ahead, check and see if my rshops are still there.

Are we living in n**i Germany? Is this the Soviet Union? Is this how you expect to be treated? I certainly wouldn't treat my members this way. I was not treated properly. I'm a consumer who was not treated with the respect that I deserve. So, If I'm going to be SILENCED, THEN THE ENTIRE INTERNET WILL HEAR ME!

I'm fighting for my rights and the rights of all consumers. Shopster ripped me off!

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Randy,

I'm sorry that you are feeling this way about shopster but I've done all that I can to diffuse this situation. You just don't want to hear that you are wrong in this situation and therefore there is nothing that I can do to help. I will therefore make no more statements on here about shopster as everyone knows how I feel.

I'm behind shopster 100% as are MANY MANY others. I hope that if anyone reads this they will see how unfair shopster is being treated. All that I ask is that people try the 7 day free trial out for themselves without listening to what others are saying.

It's a GREAT program and I'll continue to use it as long as I'm able to.

Lets have a math lesson on "Unlimited profits"

With Shopster's prices, let's see how we can make "Unlimited Profits." At a 6% margin,(Shopster's Average) If the items in your Rshop was priced at $100.00. and you sold 1, then you would make $6.00 (less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services"). You would have to sell 10 items at $100.00 each to make $60.00 (less the 3.5% Shopster takes for their "Drop shipping services). In order to break even with your investment for the year, including advertising, you would have to sell 40 products at $100.00 each in a years time.

The only one making "Unlimited Profits" is Shopster while you're scraping pennies.

Seem fair?

I never received an Apology as Sheldon from Shopster suggested.

Note to Sheldon: Although I do aknowledge the apology you posted here on Rip-off Report, it does not in any way, shape or form resolve this issue. If Shopster wants to make things right, then step up right here and announce that you will be sending me the refund.

First: Shopster is NOT being wrongfully targeted. Recently viewed advertising banners claim Shopster's 700,000 products are at "Wholesale prices". Let's see:
Shopster buys earrings for $1.35
Shopster jacks up price and lists the product in their warehouse for $10.09 (Wholesale)
Wal-mart sells the exact product for $3.88 (Retail)

Second point: Jessica has to defend Shopster. Her store has recently been placed in Shopster's Featured Sites Page.

Third: Shopster advertises that you can make "Unlimited profits" to draw customers to their site. Shopster does the same thing by saying they are "Wholesale". Once you join their program it's no longer "Wholesale", Shopster then says, "It's not about price". It is about price, that's what brought me in. I expected competitive prices and I didn't get them. I found many of their so called "Wholesale prices" much cheaper at Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. I'm not making this up. I have documented reports. This is why Shopster is misleading. In fact, I receive e-mails from people that are still with Shopster telling me that they agree with me.

Fourth: Shopster kicked me out of their forums for posting about price and for posting on the topic of liability. That's censorship.

Last: I'm asking for a refund because obviously I'm a disatisfied customer who feels cheated. I was treated poorly and a certain employee of Shopster was unprofessional toward me.I've spoken to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit and if Shopster does not send me a refund, that will be my next move.

First: Shopster is NOT being wrongfully targeted. Recently viewed advertising banners claim Shopster's 700,000 products are at "Wholesale prices". Let's see:
Shopster buys earrings for $1.35
Shopster jacks up price and lists the product in their warehouse for $10.09 (Wholesale)
Wal-mart sells the exact product for $3.88 (Retail)

Second point: Jessica has to defend Shopster. Her store has recently been placed in Shopster's Featured Sites Page.

Third: Shopster advertises that you can make "Unlimited profits" to draw customers to their site. Shopster does the same thing by saying they are "Wholesale". Once you join their program it's no longer "Wholesale", Shopster then says, "It's not about price". It is about price, that's what brought me in. I expected competitive prices and I didn't get them. I found many of their so called "Wholesale prices" much cheaper at Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. I'm not making this up. I have documented reports. This is why Shopster is misleading. In fact, I receive e-mails from people that are still with Shopster telling me that they agree with me.

Fourth: Shopster kicked me out of their forums for posting about price and for posting on the topic of liability. That's censorship.

Last: I'm asking for a refund because obviously I'm a disatisfied customer who feels cheated. I was treated poorly and a certain employee of Shopster was unprofessional toward me.I've spoken to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit and if Shopster does not send me a refund, that will be my next move.

First: Shopster is NOT being wrongfully targeted. Recently viewed advertising banners claim Shopster's 700,000 products are at "Wholesale prices". Let's see:
Shopster buys earrings for $1.35
Shopster jacks up price and lists the product in their warehouse for $10.09 (Wholesale)
Wal-mart sells the exact product for $3.88 (Retail)

Second point: Jessica has to defend Shopster. Her store has recently been placed in Shopster's Featured Sites Page.

Third: Shopster advertises that you can make "Unlimited profits" to draw customers to their site. Shopster does the same thing by saying they are "Wholesale". Once you join their program it's no longer "Wholesale", Shopster then says, "It's not about price". It is about price, that's what brought me in. I expected competitive prices and I didn't get them. I found many of their so called "Wholesale prices" much cheaper at Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. I'm not making this up. I have documented reports. This is why Shopster is misleading. In fact, I receive e-mails from people that are still with Shopster telling me that they agree with me.

Fourth: Shopster kicked me out of their forums for posting about price and for posting on the topic of liability. That's censorship.

Last: I'm asking for a refund because obviously I'm a disatisfied customer who feels cheated. I was treated poorly and a certain employee of Shopster was unprofessional toward me.I've spoken to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit and if Shopster does not send me a refund, that will be my next move.

First: Shopster is NOT being wrongfully targeted. Recently viewed advertising banners claim Shopster's 700,000 products are at "Wholesale prices". Let's see:
Shopster buys earrings for $1.35
Shopster jacks up price and lists the product in their warehouse for $10.09 (Wholesale)
Wal-mart sells the exact product for $3.88 (Retail)

Second point: Jessica has to defend Shopster. Her store has recently been placed in Shopster's Featured Sites Page.

Third: Shopster advertises that you can make "Unlimited profits" to draw customers to their site. Shopster does the same thing by saying they are "Wholesale". Once you join their program it's no longer "Wholesale", Shopster then says, "It's not about price". It is about price, that's what brought me in. I expected competitive prices and I didn't get them. I found many of their so called "Wholesale prices" much cheaper at Wal-mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. I'm not making this up. I have documented reports. This is why Shopster is misleading. In fact, I receive e-mails from people that are still with Shopster telling me that they agree with me.

Fourth: Shopster kicked me out of their forums for posting about price and for posting on the topic of liability. That's censorship.

Last: I'm asking for a refund because obviously I'm a disatisfied customer who feels cheated. I was treated poorly and a certain employee of Shopster was unprofessional toward me.I've spoken to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit and if Shopster does not send me a refund, that will be my next move.

Here are the Final E-mails from Shopster:

Randy,

I will take a step back from this conversation at this moment; I feel personally
insulted by your actions and am not behaving professionally. I require some time
to regain my composure.

We will speak more regarding this situation within the next 24 hours.

Sheldon



Randy,

I regret to notify you that no refund will be forthcoming.

Not only is it against our policy, any considerations of exceptions to our policy
have been negated by your behavior. Slandering a company in hopes of obtaining monetary
compensation can be likened to blackmail, and I most certainly will not capitulate
in such a situation.

When you are ready to come to the table and discuss this professionally, I will
be pleased to do so. This will require a removal of your commentary.

If you are unwilling to do so, then our business relationship is terminated and
there is no further need to contact us. We understand that we will be unable to
please everyone, and we regret that it came to this point.

Sheldon

Hey Sheldon, You Need To Resolve This By Sending Me My Refund.

I felt the need to post my comments about a company that is being wrongfully targeted by Randy - he's doing this ALL over the net too and just not right. I do NOT work for shopster at all. However, I do use their services for 5 of my current websites. I can tell you that shopster is not a scam!!!

Randy is angry because he did not know how to market a website. This isn't shopster fault. If you get a shopping cart through Volusion and it fails to make sales do you blame them? No, you don't. You can only blame yourself for not doing more research on how to properly market your website. Randy had his site up for such a short period of time that he didn't have time to build a relationship between himself and his customers - must less long enough to bring in enough targeted traffic. This isn't shopster's fault and this is really unfair to them.

I can personally tell you that I am having NO PROBLEMS WHAT SO EVER selling the products that shopster offers to us. As a matter of fact I undercut my major competitor's pricing by a large amount. It's all in the way that you use shopster and market your website. And for him to want his money back even after he used shopster's services is just outrageous. I hate to see a good site like shopster being targeted so unfairly. I hope that you will take my review of this company to heart because everything that I have said here is true and honest.

Also, there is no limit to the profit that you can make. However, it's just like ANY other website out there. If you don't know how to make a website work online then you are waisting your time even thinking about opening an online store. People think that you can just throw a website on the internet and that it will make sales. It just doesn't happen that way.

Before Shopster posts our official response to this item, I would like to reiterate the apology that immediately followed my e-mail to the complainant for unprofessional commentary in my e-mail to him.

In the future, I will conduct myself more professionally and take such concerns less personally. My assertions about the complainant's character should play no role in my professional dealings with this situation, and for that, I apologize both to my company and to the complainant.

Our official response regarding this situation will follow.

Sheldon Cooke

Before Shopster posts our official response to this item, I would like to reiterate the apology that immediately followed my e-mail to the complainant for unprofessional commentary in my e-mail to him.

In the future, I will conduct myself more professionally and take such concerns less personally. My assertions about the complainant's character should play no role in my professional dealings with this situation, and for that, I apologize both to my company and to the complainant.

Our official response regarding this situation will follow.

Sheldon Cooke

Before Shopster posts our official response to this item, I would like to reiterate the apology that immediately followed my e-mail to the complainant for unprofessional commentary in my e-mail to him.

In the future, I will conduct myself more professionally and take such concerns less personally. My assertions about the complainant's character should play no role in my professional dealings with this situation, and for that, I apologize both to my company and to the complainant.

Our official response regarding this situation will follow.

Sheldon Cooke

Before Shopster posts our official response to this item, I would like to reiterate the apology that immediately followed my e-mail to the complainant for unprofessional commentary in my e-mail to him.

In the future, I will conduct myself more professionally and take such concerns less personally. My assertions about the complainant's character should play no role in my professional dealings with this situation, and for that, I apologize both to my company and to the complainant.

Our official response regarding this situation will follow.

Sheldon Cooke

In a recent ad for Shopster.com: "Sell Over 700,000 at Wholesale Prices!" Wholesale? This ia laughable and insulting at the same time. This is false advertising. If there prices were any where near wholesale I would not be posting right now!

In a recent ad for Shopster.com: "Sell Over 700,000 at Wholesale Prices!" Wholesale? This ia laughable and insulting at the same time. This is false advertising. If there prices were any where near wholesale I would not be posting right now!

In a recent ad for Shopster.com: "Sell Over 700,000 at Wholesale Prices!" Wholesale? This ia laughable and insulting at the same time. This is false advertising. If there prices were any where near wholesale I would not be posting right now!

Sheldon,
Let me make this clear; If I don't receive a full refund within the next few days then I will contact all the newspapers, media and consumer agencies on just how I was treated by Shopster. I will show documents and reports and the exodus will begin. I am very angry with this company. I've been treated poorly and
as a frustrated member who feels cheated I will take every legal action adainst this company.

Randy

Shopster: At this time I would like to state our policy: no refunds on subscription fees made.
Unfortunately, I will not be waiving this in situation. If it were professional
to do so, I would have no qualms discussing your public and private behavior with
Shopster; however, I will only say that when someone with an organization offers
mentorship to assist you in making profits and you turn and start registering complaints
against the organization speaks to your character.

We will be terminating your account immediately.

Sheldon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sheldon, you're terminating my account and not sending me a refund? So, now Shopster is stealing money from me!!!

Sheldon Cooke works the forums for Shopster's community. I complained to him about the pricing and he responds by saying this: "Shopster won't be able to get the best pricing around until we start selling more."
Hello, Sheldon?? How can I sell anything with these High prices??

Sheldon Cooke works the forums for Shopster's community. I complained to him about the pricing and he responds by saying this: "Shopster won't be able to get the best pricing around until we start selling more."
Hello, Sheldon?? How can I sell anything with these High prices??