Complaint Review: Specialty Merchandise Company - SMC - Simi Valley California

My wife and I recieved a package for Christmas, from a family member, for us to be a SMC distributorship. We took advantage of the gift and got out and worked the system they had set up. Now, before we got started with actual sales, we joined the on-line community and started asking other members for help. We checked suggestions from coaches, against other members experiences and was able to circumvent any mis-conceptions and issues, regarding inflated sales techniques, from our coach. E-Commerce web sites, are a rip-off!! Not worth the money and we found that everyone who had such a site, bought from SMC, had server issues and payment issues. Personally, I decided not to link my bank accounts to the system, and used a pre-paid visa card for all of my purchases. This prevented a lot of issues, when I got invoices from SMC demanding a link to my bank accounts. I refused, and they dropped the issue. I paid a professional web designer to link my website to the smc site, to mirror thier products, but the shopping cart paid straight to my own commercial bank account. I then cut a check, or transfered funds to my pre-paid visa and placed my orders accordingly. IN regards to knowing a store owner or having an existing store.. I knew no-one, when I first started the business. We invested 300.00 dollars, and purchased some items, which were suggested through the online members forum, and we took those items to stores to show the quality of the merchandise. WE allowed the store owner to decide the product quality and worth, as we sold the merchandise to them at a less than retail price. Let me note, that we did make a good profit, but it was set up so everyone gained, in the relationship. Speaking of quality of merchandise: We got the package for starting our membership just before christmas. WE took some merchandise to several restraunts to discuss the quality and ended up selling the items and taking orders on a regular basis from restraunt customers and waitresses as well. Everyone we delivered the merchandise to, was extremely happy with the price and quality of the products. From reading other reports, I found one or two consistancies in the complaints. One was that the person had issues taking time to go out and meet shop owners and talking to people. The second was the E-commerce site; which I have to agree is a joke! As to the first, all I can suggest is maybe the distributor did not use all of the tools available to them to maximize their efforts and they did not use the forums properly if at all. Now I know Tim can be a Jerk and is at times is in need of being terminated. But, as things go; no one can please everyone. As to the second part, purchasing the web-site without doing proper research, is no one's fault but the party whom did not perform due diligence in their research of the site and using information plastered all over the web site forums area. If one would have done some investigations and asked questions in the forums or members area, you would have been warned agianst purchasing the site Another warning we got from the members area was not to buy pre-packaged product packaging. We were warned that the products you will recieve were seconds and were not worth the money. However, We did more research on the products and found that by making our own packages or buying items outside of smc packaging systems, we came out further ahead. Most of the items placed in these pre-packaged programs, were seconds, or were being phased out of inventory. you recieve some good quality items and some items of questionable quality. The trick to SMC and any other business opportunity is this. Be responsible for doing some due-diligence in research and asking questions, in membership area forums. take a week or two to find out the pulse of the membership and get some inside information on items before you purchase those items. "Ask, and you shall recieve!" Put blinders on and go in blind, and you will get blind-sided. good luck in all of your endeavors