Pure Ecommerce Com

This company knows how to market themselves superbly. They are expert sales people. That is where their skills seem to begin and end. Save your money and find a professional outfit who cares for their customers and actually knows a lot about ecommerce. I found their knowledge base to be sketchy at best. I contracted with Pure ecommerce in 2011 in hopes of setting up an online organic gardening supply company. They promised 40 hours of telephone training and support, a fully stocked ecommerce website, a contact list of vendors and 10 telephone lessons to teach the ins and outs of setting up an online e commerce business. They required payment in full up front. At the time, there were few companies offering what they offered in terms of training and support, and so I took a chance. What a mistake! From the outset, Pureecommerce was virtually impossible to contact. They ignored my emails and phone calls and called back at their convenience, when they can fit it in between childrens soccer games and four day weekends. Often they were on a cell phone in a place that has very poor cell phone reception. They provided some of what they promised, but what to me was the most important part of the contract -- the training and support -- was inferior and lacking. It took many, many phone calls and emails to set up lessons, When they finally scheduled one, it was invariably late at night, at their convenience. Lessons were full of yawning, complaining about how tired they were, or setting the phone down to attend to family business. The unspoken message was, "you're an inconvenience to my lifestyle." Bottom line, this company knows how to sell and knows how to market themselves superbly. That's where skills might end. They are as affable as can be --as every good salesperson is -- but will make promises that,in my experience, they could not deliver on. On the positive side, they do have a designer they contract with, who is somewhat more responsive and helpful and prompt. I did get a nicely designed and stocked website as they promised but one which I could easily have had done for less than $1,000. My main purpose for contracting with them was for the instruction and support, which never came through as promised. When I complained, their responses were invariably defensive and hostile. They would insist they had bent over backwards to help, and made it seem that somehow, I was at fault and was inconvenienceing them. Many questions I had about ecommerce were never answered, and I finally realized that they really didn't know a great deal about the subject. After a year, I had not even gotten 10 hours of instruction and support, never mind 40. The vendors list they provided was a joke -- they did the same online search for "gardening supplies vendors" that I did. This was not the product line that I had discussed selling, and that they had agreed to assist in researching vendors for. I had to change my business concept, and they agreed to redesign the site, but I felt this change was me having to accommodate their incompetence -- not because I was overly demanding. I wound up with a website to fit what they seemed able to provide. After much complaining and wrangling and after about a year of frustration -- it took me that long to get just 3 lessons (maybe it was 4) they finally did agree to reimburse me $2,000 of the $3,000 I paid, because they did deliver a website. But it took much effort and much frustration and the whole experience was not worth what I wound up paying. I've never written such a poor review for a company before, and take no pleasure in it. I would have been able to accept inferior support and training, if only they had been more responsive and prompt in replying -- even if the answer was "sorry -- this question is outside our area of expertise." They are very good salespeople and sell a very nice product -- on paper -- unfortunately they seem unable to deliver what they promise, and young women who dream of having their own online store -- and who are their target market -- might want to think carefully. Hopefully, they can learn how to commit to their customers, sell their product for a fair price, not promise more than can deliver, and they will have a very nice business!