Dear Readers,
It is not my intention to get into an ongoing quarrel with the owner of this business opportunity venture. I have nothing to sell. I am merely sick and tired of people who create these ventures, cloaked in secrecy, with promises of vast riches, who prey on people to invest their hard-earned money in home-based businesses.invariably, with a few exceptions, the ONLY people who ever earn a decent living are the one's selling the "dream" - people like this man.
His claims of making $1500 a day with this venture are enormously exaggerated, and one that the FTC are starting to come down very hard on, thank goodness. I would like to see the names and phone numbers of people earning this kind of money with this venture. But his countless testimonials come without verifyable data, and such testimonials are utterly worthless. Mr. Petrashek claims he doesn't want his "artist/illusionists" to be bothered. Ridiculous. If this venture was really capable of providing the kind of income he claims, and if the vast majority of his customers and those who have paid for this service, were so thrilled with it, I would think he would WANT to share those references with anyone who asked. Mr. P claims that hotels and motels across the country have paid to have this service done. Where are they? Which hotels? I would like to speak with them about it. Show me some proof and then I'll show you the money. This is merely a fundamental business practice called: furnishing references!
And "testimonials" AREN'T references, so stop with the testimonials already! What a coincidence: ALL his testimonials are glowing, (no pun intended) positive ones! Not a negative one in the bunch. Even Ebay Power Sellers have a few negative comments. Not Starscapes. Every single one sings this man's praises. Now that is amazing. Which brings me to his "Amazing Poster", which is the big demonstration that will close the sale... The magic key that will bring a flood of business your way...
Folks, I have no axe to grind with this man personally. I do not know him. I was curious about his venture to invest $15 to see what this "amazing poster" was all about, and whether this venture had any potential at all, or was just another overpriced home-business pipedream. What I received was a wrinkled piece of flimsy computer paper with a zillion little dots printed on it via computer printer. Two thimble-sized containers of glow in the dark paint and a toothpick were included for me to paint the little dots with. It was so incredibly cheesy I thought it was a gag. Attached to this piece of paper was a note that said: "your poster may come with creases in it due to shipping, but don't worry because no one will see the creases in the dark anyway.".. (creases? It was so wrinkled up it looked like a cotton shirt that got left in the washer)... His accompanying sales literature was written in a style geared more for children rather than for people serious about starting a business. Finally, rather than showing you exactly what your investment will get you, he uses cryptic, star trek lingo to describe the equipment. He even did it in his rebuttal. "galatification machine". (he threw that word out like it was part of the American lexicon)... What the heck is that? He won't tell you until you shell out the cash.
Well I already told you for free. Speaking of investment: After reading all the propaganda he sends you, to find out the cost, one has to go to his order page on his web site! More secrecy! I thought, maybe a few hundred dollars. When I read the cost was nearly FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS, I looked at my crinkled up "amazing poster" (only about half painted because the thimble of paint ran out before I could finish it) and thought: wow, if this guy gets all these people to send him 4 grand after seeing this, that IS amazing! This man must have been one heck of a magician if he can pull off a trick like this!
Most of these "opportunities" have the same theme to them. They all talk about "secret methods", and "insider secrets", etc etc. Phooey. This isn't the CIA here. Look at all the infomercials about "secret Ebay methods", and "insider information"... There are no secrets, folks. None! It's all available free if you simply look. If you think you can earn a living painting glow in the dark stuff on ceilings, by all means try it! But you don't need to pay this man 4 Grand to "learn the secrets" of doing it, for goodness sakes. It's way, way, way overpriced and his earnings claims are very, very, inflated. He claims $1500 a day is possible. That is right off his magazine ad. If that is at all realistic, SHOW ME the people who are earning that much! Give me some references to back that claim up! He can't do it, so he won't. There is however, ONE person who for sure IS making that kind of coin. Take a guess who?..
In closing, if folks think this is a good investment, go for it. For your 4 grand you will get something in return. He won't take your money and run. I never said nor implied that. But when I research a business opportunity, and the company will NOT furnish verifyable references, will NOT give accurate descriptions of ALL business equipment included, will NOT let you be at least a guest in any online forum where you can hear from real people doing this venture, then I get very, very suspicious. Especially when the investment is in the thousands of dollars as this one is. And that is the reason I posted my letter on this site. He gives out a phone number that will reach him. That's very nice, but if you call him, you'll get more sales pitches. The phone numbers of investors and customers to substantiate his lofty claims would be far more helpful and go a long way in proving that this is a credible opportunity. That is the sign of a reputable company. His many full page ads in business opportunity magazines complete with his magician's pr photo, mean nothing. He has been running the identical ad for years. So has Laura Johnson. Same message, same photograph. Only his price has changed.
Lastly, I was greatly amused by Mr. P's reference to the Coca Cola company. What an ego. If he believes that painting glow in the dark stars on people's ceilings is in any way analogous to the Coke formula, then he truly does believe in Magic. Starscapes isn't Coke, or the CIA for that matter. Your "secret methods" can be bought for less than $30 at most toys stores. Here is one of his "secret" marketing techniques direct from his own literature: Paint stars on your own ceiling. Then invite friends and family over to look. When they see it, they will want one, so you paint theirs. They show people and so on and so on. That's it. Expecting more? So was I. Get real. You're not a magician anymore. But on second thought, if you are able to continue extracting 4 grand out of people on a daily basis, you may be better than Houdini himself.
Folks, my only intent here is to shine a little more light on this venture. The fact that you are on complaints proves you have some common sense. If after looking at this, you think it's worth the money, I wish you luck. Maybe you'll get rich. I just find it's way overpriced and horribly exaggerated, and wanted to tell you why. I am not trying to change the world. Just make it a little more honest and accountable. Jason P./St. Louis, MO (way to go Cards!)
0 comments