StoresOnline – Back In The Hat!
Stores Online is coming back to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Calgary to do their yearly Internet Marketing Conference.
Vaughn and I attended the conference last year when they were here and learned a lot about their practices, both in attending, and through the Internet afterward. We also learned that lots of people seem very taken in by the notion that they can make lots of money through the Internet with minimal effort. Do not forget to read the review on our attendance from last year. You can bet with their snappy dress codes, offerings of a free meal and MP3 player and encouraging words exclaiming “Anyone can do it, even you!” that their conference this time will be all about luring people in to get as much money as they can and offering poor website templates just as much as it was last year.
To summarize and make a few points, the last time they were here:
- The entire crowd, except for Vaughn and me, was pretty much all people above 40 years of age. (An attempt to lure people in who may not have as much experience with eCommerce as newer generations).
- They offered us a free meal for attending, which was poor at best.
- They offered us a free MP3 player that ended up having multiple virus’s that installed automatically upon connecting with our computers.
- They coersed people into buying their product by using powerful phrases like “You have to make decisions fast!” followed by “Some people don’t make any decisions ever in life.” to make people sound like failures if they do not buy in.
- The website templates they offer look like they are circa 1998 at best.
There is a whole website dedicated to the review of Stores Online and has over 800 comments, which can be found here.
Last year, we had found out that Stores Online had received as Cease and Desist order from the State of Utah. Now upon Googling it, it seems they have received even more.
Vaughn and I might be at the conference again this year, as I received two free tickets to attend it through my place of employment. Oddly enough, to add their their unprofessionalism, they spelled both the first and last name wrong on the tickets I have.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Vaughn says:
By the way, I think the spelling the first and last name incorrectly is some kind of marketing technique because I’ve heard about it before somewhere. Also, they did do the same thing last time.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Annon says:
Yes this is a marketing technique. It gives the person greeting an immediate line of conversation and allows them to be helpful. How could this happen? Must have been the printers. Let me give you a free pen holder for your trouble.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Vaughn says:
Thanks for the information, that’s kind of what I was thinking.