SMC Corp Ripoff
The SMC Corp ripoff become a subject of hot debate on the internet with many disgruntled ex-vendors of Specialty Merchandise Corporation writing about the supposedly bad business practices. The alleged scheme was to milk vendors financially rather than help them achieve business success. With the numerous internet scams out there, the unfolding economic crisis and the high hopes many people bring to opening their own business, the “SMC Corp ripoff” stories looked like an all too familiar mixture. On the contrary, there is more going on than what initially meets the eye. After all, with many great success stories, there are always failed business stories. It is worth taking a second look at what is actually going on before writing off a company as a scam.
Their wildly successful advertisements have been running on TV and in small business magazines for many years promoting the idea of working from home and being your own boss. With a spokesperson like Tom Bosley, the personification of credibility, the company underscored its 60-year reputation for integrity and honesty in its business dealings! As one of the first type of companies operating with this idea of selling their range of products through vendors, they received both favorable and poor reviews from vendors who are recruited from the general public. Many signed up to start a business without thinking about the upfront financial costs and work involved to start a business.
The signup process starts off when an interested vendor goes online or calls in to order their membership and introductory starter pack. This contains all the information they need to get up and running as a SMC vendor. The catalog contains a wide range of products including items of jewelry, home decor, gift items and other general products. The idea is that you buy the products you want from the company before selling them at a higher price - thus making a profit. It seems very straightforward, especially when you find that you are purchasing products at such a low “member” price, you’ve got a potential mark-up of three times your cost! SMC even offers a free website to its vendors to get them started selling in the internet world if they wish to go that route.
Let’s use the free website as an example of some of the complaints of its members. The problem starts when new SMC entrepreneurs assume that there will be hundreds of sales just by putting out a website. Obviously, that’s an unrealistic expectation. Vendors need to read the information properly when they order and know that they will have to think up marketing strategies of their own to push the site and its products.
Any new business start-up takes awhile to ramp up, as it takes time for potential customers to get wind of your business. New vendors start getting mad when they don’t understand what they are getting themselves into and start ordering everything and anything when they aren’t reading the fine print nor have a plan in place. As with any new business, the entrepreneur needs to establish their business plan and marketing tactics in search of new business. Plans like competitive analysis of what is offered in their community, pricing and the business methods of the new vendor need to be considered before diving head first into a business. At the end of the day, the root of these so called “SMC Corp ripoff” reports in internet chat rooms are from disgruntled vendors who haven’t succeeded in their efforts in making as much as they thought they would. The business model itself works, it has worked for thousands of vendors. The final analysis it does not seem so much a scam as an operation that needs some effort on the part of the vendor.