Let me start off by saying I came THIS CLOSE to being taken in by Simplx and I actually just ripped up the check I was ready to mail, thanks to the info here. BUT it was too close for comfort.
I was researching drop shippers when I came across Simplx. What caught my eye was their statement/icon that they were able to provide suppliers of some high end merchandise, which fit within my business plan. (I did not want to sell the usual junk that can be found on many other drop shipper sites.) Their website did not have much info (update... Their website seems to change frequently, too...) so I emailed them with questions as to how they made their money - a fact that is NOT touched on at all in their entire site.
It took almost two days to get a reply which told me nothing more than I could their 800 number and ask for extension 100 to talk to a rep, or I could fill out their client application online and someone will contact me. (NOTE: I was never told about an application fee, nor did I pay one when I did fill out the very short form online on August 1.)
I did call and of course no one answered, and what got me questioning the size of the operation was the fact that callers are not given the opportunity to just stay on hold; callers either leave a message or give up and call back.
I left a message, and I left two more messages over the following two days. Nothing!
The only reason I didn't give up was now I treated this like a challenge. I was determined to talk to a human and find out about the company.
I did finally fill out their application - which is really very minimal - and THEN I did get a call from a Stephanie.
My first question was "how do you guys make money from this service?" She told me there was a $35 monthly fee as well various "start up" costs associated with getting my business off the ground, and these fees start at $500 - $900. I told her I already HAD a business and didn't need anyone to help me start one, so she then changed the terminology to say these were "set up fees" to get me going.
I asked her what exactly the fees were for and she was very vague. I also asked if she could tell me where they got their products from because I didn't want to get involved with a company who couldn't provide me what I was looking for.
She asked if we could schedule a conference call for the following Monday at about noon my time, EST, and I ageed.
At this point, I was very open to hearing what she had to say.
When we spoke on Monday she started to sound more like some internet scammer than a real business person. She was asking me things like, "Are you coachable?" "How is your credit?" "At what level would you feel comfortable in order to invest in your business?" - and then started off by quoting me "ranges" of $4,000 - $6,000!!
I said, "What happened to the $500 we were talking about on Friday?" and she said, "Oh, we can do that, but you only get access to 300 companies."
I said, "So these set up fees are nothing more than paying for access to certain suppliers?" and she finally admitted that's what it was... BUT "it also included training and a consult with a tax professional".
I asked her send me a list of suppliers for the $500 package because I wasn't giving anyone a penny until I knew where I was getting my merchandise from AND what I'd be paying.
She did actually send me a few "pricing packages" starting at $499 going up to $899, with lists of suppliers that included stores like Macys and Linens and Things and the Gap, etc., and also credit card companies and travel discount sites.
I emailed her back and said I need to know what the wholesale prices would be for merchandise because I've been doing a lot of research, and some sites have "wholesale" prices on items that ebay is selling for less than half of.
She told me I'd get all info once I signed up.
She also told me about this software package they sell which analyzes ebay recent sales prices and item success rates, and it's $250. It's actually an amazing product... But I have since found comparable products out there that are FREE.
So bottom line - they won't give you any viable information to make a decision on until they see your money. And I'm not that gullible. I did NOT send in any money - thanks to the info I found here.
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