I was looking for a profitable online venture in August '07. YourAdultStore.com by Adriatic Services seemed to fit the bill. Adult toys and dvds are a billion dollar industry. Perfect. This company would dropship so I wouldn't have to carry any inventory (since I have small children)... And handle the customer support... Etc. All I do is decide what percentage of commission I wan't to earn.
I requested more information and they promptly responded to my request. My "salesman" Derrick (who I now hear has moved up higher in the company—and it totally unreachable by phone or email) assured me that I could easily make between $2,000-$5,000 a month off of commissions alone. "It'll take about 2-3 months to take off, but then you'll start seeing the money roll in"... Right...
After speaking to several other YourAdultStore.com website owners, I've found that the "necessary fees" that Adriatic Services charges vary widely from customer to customer, based on what they can afford. If you read a couple other complaints about this company, you'll find that this is true.
I was charged $928 for a setup fee (someone else paid approx. $300) I got a "deal" on a monthly hosting fee paying $49.99 for a 20,000 product store in which most items are always OUT OF STOCK.
About a week after setting up the store, I was called by Shawn Henderson (who is conveniently no longer with the company) and told I could get "premium pricing"—a lower than wholesale cost for the one-time "low" price of $3,000—which "since you'll be making a couple thousand a month, will pay for itself in no time". Fine—I paid that too. Geez—I've seen other people get "premium pricing" for about 1/3 of what I paid.
Shortly afterwards, I was talked into getting an "Upgrade Package" For the low price of $5,000 I received a Google sitemap ($2,000 value) and a search engine submission (3,000) dollar value. Now I know that search engine submission is FREE, or only a few dollars a month—NOT $3,000 DOLLARS!!! I was told that this was the ONLY way my site would be picked up by search engines and would receive any traffic—especially since their "tech guys are top-notch".
I have recieved no itemized invoices outlining exactly what was done with all this money I paid, just vague notions. I don't think much of anything was done because over the last 8 months I haven't even managed to make a $100 return on my $9,000 investment (which doesn't even include the high hosting fees, etc.).
I was also PROMISED by Derrick that if I wasn't satisfied at my 6-month anniversary, that the company would spend $6,000 (TWICE my $3,000) of their OWN MONEY on advertising. "You have nothing to lose", he said. I was assured that they would do everything they could to help me make money, since it would in turn make them money. A "win, win" situation.
I was well aware that I would have to do my part in advertising. I tried submitting my website (IT'S FREE! —NOT $3,000!!) to various search engines—repeatedly; Google Adwords, ReVisitors, LinkReferral, Adult Site traffic and a few more things to try to get people to shop at my site. It's not like I haven't done my part. I'd like to know exactly what kind of quality advertising was done to get my store more exposure, since it ranks at about 6,000, 000 on the list on Alexa.com... Hmmm...
I've tried to get Derrick, or his protege, Anthony to call me back regarding my 6-month advertising budget—BUT GUESS WHAT?
~NO ONE RETURNS MY CALLS~I've tried about a dozen times over the last FIVE WEEKS! Occasionally someone else picks up the phone and promises me they'll get someone to contact me as soon as possible—BUT NO ONE CALLS BACK!
According to Business Contract Law, when one party doesn't do what they're supposed to, or nothing at all (as in this case)—this is NON-PERFORMANCE—or A BREACH OF CONTRACT.
So, in summary:
*Personalized charges—based on what the "suckers" can afford to pay
*Hidden fees and charges not disclosed upon initial investment that are deemed "necesssary" for the investor to make any money.
*Promises of financial wealth to get the "sucker" to sign up.
*NO RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER PHONE CALLS OR COMPLAINTS—NON PERFORMANCE!
So please, if you're thinking of signing up with this company-DON'T! It's one heck of a fancy ripoff party.
I'm hoping a layer picks up this case—since there's a few of us with the same "problems" with this company. Thank you.
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