Doba - Wholesale Marketer Secure Offer - Dropship-review.com - Jeremy Hanks ripoff Misleading sales tactics Totally bogus wholesale pricing False advertising Orem Utah
I signed up for a 7-day free trial to Doba on 21 September 2006. On 22 September 2006, before I'd had a chance to investigate their pricing, a salesperson from Doba called to offer me a deal if I prepaid for a 1-year membership. I discussed with him my general goals: to start selling things on eBay and if that went well to eventually run my own web store.
The salesperson said lots of their subscribers sell on eBay. He explained Doba features and touted the great profit margins on their products. As we were talking, I glanced at a few items on Doba's website and saw that their listed wholesale prices were significantly lower than their listed MSRP's.
I asked the salesperson if Doba had an API that I could use to plug my web store into their database. He put me on hold to check, then came back and said, "yes," and told me to submit a Partner Request through their website.
All of this sounded like what I was looking for: decent wholesale pricing and a platform that I could plug my web store into. So they charged my credit card and I thought I could get started.
I submitted a Partner Request and got no response. After a few days I called customer support and was told that Doba members cannot access the API. Only companies providing web store hosting services for Doba can do that. I was upset that the sales rep had given me bad information. That promised ability was a large factor in my decision to go with Doba.
But I didn't let that phase me. I started researching to find what products I could effectively sell, and found that their MSRP prices are totally bogus. They are well above anything I could find at any store -- online or offline. Then I discovered that their wholesale prices are bogus too. The profit margin is non-existent. I mainly compared with eBay, but I also searched extensively on a variety of price comparison websites and web stores. I spent almost a month researching different Doba products and trying to find something I can actually make money with.
By and large, I found that what Doba calls "wholesale" is nothing more than semi-competitive retail. And sometimes it isn't even competitive at all. One of the most outrageous examples is a 30GB video iPod that Doba has listed at wholesale for $465 and MSRP for $746. Most every retailer I found sells the same iPod for less than $300. And Apple's own web store has it listed at $250.
Another problem I noticed is that most of their "good stuff", i.e. popular items that a lot of people would like to purchase are always out of stock.
On 23 October 2006, I contacted Doba's "live support" online to discuss my concerns with their pricing. I asked the rep to explain why Doba's wholesale pricing was so high. He could not explain it, but repeatedly stated that the prices are indeed wholesale. I gave him examples of how their wholesale prices are similar to and sometimes higher than regular retail prices. His defense was that those other companies probably buy in bulk, so they get better pricing. But drop shippers buy in bulk too, and Doba claims to leverage the cumulative buying power of its subscribers to get the best wholesale pricing from those drop shippers. "False advertising" comes to mind.
I asked for a refund and he told me that my membership fee was non-refundable. (I was not informed of this when I signed up.) I pointed out that I have not made use of the service at all because of the misrepresentation of their pricing. He still refused to refund my money.
After that, I did some research and found some blogs where people were making similar complaints about Doba's pricing. It would appear that I'm far from the first to complain, and they still have not changed their business practices.
Doba wasted no time in hooking me with their misleading sales tactics, calling me the day after I signed up for a 7-day trial. The salesperson lead me to believe that Doba offered wholesale pricing. They simply don't. He also led me to believe I could plug my web store directly in using Doba's API. I can't.
If you're looking for a good drop ship sourcing company, DON'T go to Doba. You're better off dealing directly with real drop shippers and paying them the initial start-up costs. Doba is the epitome of "too good to be true." They have a good business model and a nice platform. At first glance it looks legit, but their drop ship sourcing service is a total scam.
They don't cater to their customers. They rip off their customers to cater to their own pocket books.
Jared
Charlottesville, Virginia
U.S.A.
8 Updates & Rebuttals
Nicholas
Morgan City,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
Scam.. No.. Customer Service Issues? Yes!
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, January 18, 2008
I have "defended" DOBA before on here. First off, no I do not work for DOBA.
Firstly, I have to wholeheartedly agree about electronics. A lot of complaints about high prices are because of people seeing dollar signs when they think about make the big bucks selling PCs, laptops, big screen TVs and all those other consumer electronics. The problem is that electronics are a very competitive market. Not only will you find tons of people trying to sell that SAME plasma screen TV on ebay, but you have the big dogs that buy this stuff in bulk and get true wholesale rates.
When I had looked at them, I was thinking of opening an online gift shop. I was going to sell gifts, household items, perfumes and colognes. In these categories the DOBA prices are not bad at all. However, here's a heads up. My hobby is research and I am pretty good at finding the true sources of things. In this case, I found out a couple resources that DOBA uses as their "warehouse."
1.) Overstock.com - for about $100 or so a year you can sign up with Overstock and get 30% discount off all items. I had personally emailed overstock.com and confirmed that they do dropship for you. I don't remember if they charge a fee or not for the dropshipping.
2.) FragranceX.com - The warehouse on DOBA that sells perfumes and colognes is through FragranceX.com. I don't remember if there's a fee or not to join as a wholesaler. You might have to provide a copy of your business license and sale tax ID. Just click on "Wholesale Info."
The easiest way to find out a source is to use your friend Google. Look at the product number or SKU. Paste that in to Google. If that turns up too many non-relevant results, then try also pasting in the product name. Paste the exact name and put it in quotes.
Now, I do have to admit, the representative lying to you was uncalled for. In my opinion, I see no reason why they don't refund memberships. They can easily look at their logs and see if you actually used the service. I have heard the excuse of "You have already seen the prices." And? It's not like they prices are super secret. Anyone that has a business license can get wholesale pricing for dropshipping.
Personally, I would have filed a chargeback on my credit/debit card. You have up to 90 days after your statement date. In addition, I would file a complaint with the Utah Attorney General's Office.
Bbake08
Nappanee,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Are they really a "scam"
#9Consumer Comment
Mon, January 14, 2008
I agree DOBA is overpriced. But i would not consider them a "scam". I agree with the post a couple ones above me, don't go for high priced electronics, because those virtually have NO MARKUP even in wholesale. Go for something that's a common household item. To call DOBA a scam is absurd, if they were a "scam" the customers would not get the products. BUT, once the order is placed, you get a tracking number and the customer DOES get the products.
So stop knocking this company, even though it may not be the best. It is not a "scam" at all. A scam would involve taking your money and running. But they do not do that. I think some of you are just mad you spent money on the most expensive plan and didnt make jack cause you didnt know what to sell.
Sandy
MEadow Vista,California,
U.S.A.
Any good "drop ship" companies out there that don't rip ya off?
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, January 11, 2008
I have read stuff on the site and others regarding people being ripped off by DOBA and SIMPLX. Has anybody found a reputable "drop shipper" and if so, explain why they have been a positive experience for you.
Thanks!
Sandy
MEadow Vista,California,
U.S.A.
Any good "drop ship" companies out there that don't rip ya off?
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, January 11, 2008
I have read stuff on the site and others regarding people being ripped off by DOBA and SIMPLX. Has anybody found a reputable "drop shipper" and if so, explain why they have been a positive experience for you.
Thanks!
Sandy
MEadow Vista,California,
U.S.A.
Any good "drop ship" companies out there that don't rip ya off?
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, January 11, 2008
I have read stuff on the site and others regarding people being ripped off by DOBA and SIMPLX. Has anybody found a reputable "drop shipper" and if so, explain why they have been a positive experience for you.
Thanks!
Sandy
MEadow Vista,California,
U.S.A.
Any good "drop ship" companies out there that don't rip ya off?
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, January 11, 2008
I have read stuff on the site and others regarding people being ripped off by DOBA and SIMPLX. Has anybody found a reputable "drop shipper" and if so, explain why they have been a positive experience for you.
Thanks!
Eph
Albuquerque,New Mexico,
U.S.A.
Drop Shipping with Doba
#9Consumer Suggestion
Wed, January 02, 2008
Jared,
Your feelings toward Doba are the same feelings most people have with ALL Drop-shipping companies. For Drop Shipping to work effectively for the little guys like us you have learn to stay away from "ipods" "Laptops" etc.
Personally I highly suggest looking for less popular things - Stuff people use up or need - Common houseware items, bedding pillows and so on.
"If you sell on eBay then you know how to work your magic. You know that you need to find items that sell and will continue to sell for a profit. Remember profit is your goal. You need to find consistency with your product. I like to sell kitchen knives. Everyone uses them so the demands for knives are a little steady more than, well let's say Cologne or Perfume. Knives are consistent. Let's do a little Doba Math
Let's say I sell 7 different DOBA items on eBay. Every day of the week &
these 7 auctions end at 7:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time.
So 7 Doba products x 7 days a week = 49 auctions.
49 auctions x $7 average profit just for CONSISTENT SELLING ITEMS?
When it's all said and done I profit 7 bucks an item then that is $343!!!!
$343 Average weekly profit for 7 Items is not bad at all.
You can even have hire profit margins than that. But you forgot what that profit is! Profit for the month is Almost $1200 Dollars! Just off of 7 different products! So the first month you already will be a POWER SELLER! This is smart selling right here."
This guy seems to have a grasp on how the whole drop shipping concept works. There is a lot more info on this site www.thedobareview.com that will really help anyone that drop ships, not just Doba Dropshippers.
I hope this helps at least a little...
Jared
Charlottesville,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Submit Complaints to the Better Business Bureau
#9Author of original report
Tue, October 24, 2006
I also submitted a full complaint to the BBB, of which Doba is a member. If anyone has had problems with Doba, please submit your complaint to the BBB as well as any appropriate government agencies.
Doba needs to change the way they do business and stop their misleading sales tactics. Agency review and properly filed complaints are probably the best ways to effect change in Doba's business practices.