I attended an eBay workshop with Adam Ginsberg. At this workshop, Adam did a very good sales pitch on a different set of products and services. During this sales pitch he did a "demonstration" of the product and services you would be getting for a purchase price of $17, 000. According to Adam this included the following:
1. e-commerce application to create unlimited e-stores
2. Professional coaching
3. Instant Storebuilder software that created websites with automated content and revenue generation opportunities
There was only a 3 day cooling off period.
However in reality this is what was delivered:
1. We were only able to configure a single e-commerce store. We queried this with their support center, but never received a reply. His sales pitch was heavily influenced by the fact that the ability to create multiple unlimited sites is where you would be able to make HUGE money. However, in practice the system was not actually ready for this feature at the time of purchasing and 6 months later, we received an email saying that the unlimited e-store feature was now available. Naturally, this significantly impacted our ability to earn the income he constantly referred to during his sales pitch - which was what prompted us to purchase the product in the first place.
2. The professional coaching did not exist. In fact it was a bunch of youngsters operating in a small callcenter, who were not at all skilled to answer majority of the questions we had. They were very much scripted, and any deviation from their script was not able to be accommodated. We knew more than the coaches that were supposedly there to guide and teach us. Appointments were made by them, which they never kept too. We complained about the level of knowledge and professionalism and were moved to a different coach, who was no better. We had words with their leader too, who was equally unprofessional and unable to deliver upon what was promised by Adam.
Subsequently, we received an email from Adam, indicating that he had changed the company he outsourced his coaching to, as the original company was not delivering upon their expectations. This is exactly what we had been complaining about from the start. I would like to mention that the coaching we purchased as part of the $17, 000 only included 6 months of "hand holding" and another 6 months thereafter of email support. Therefore the change in coaching company after Adam finally acknowledge that they were ineffective, came after our 6 months of "professional coaching" which meant we paid a premium for zero return.
3. The Instant Storebuilder was an absolute joke. Very little of the once-again promised functionality worked. When we raised this with the "coaches" they kept saying they would look into it, but again we never received a resolution.
We complained a number of times to Adam's support center and we never ever received any form of resolution. The 3 days cooling off period at the time of purchase was ridiculous as it was insufficient for us to gauge a system and it's effectiveness in such a short time. The software application was still so new, that most of the time during this 3 day period the application was not available due to fixes being done and bugs removed. Adam knew this, which is why I believe he only offered a 3 day cooling off period, as he knew it would lock people in, and prevent refunds!
As our complaints kept mounting and we did not receive assistance, answers or a resolution, we eventually requested a refund on our purchase but this was ignored. We tried a number of times, but to no avail.
In essence we have tried numerous times to get our money back as the promises made at the workshop came NOWHERE close to what was delivered. We have seen many other people online also complaining about the same thing, so it seems to be a common problem. In reality, Adam Ginsberg is a scam artist taking money from people by making false claims and under-delivering on products and services sold. The mere fact that he has sent out the two emails I refer to above is a clear indication that what he was selling was not what was delivered. He made commitments far ahead of the functionality of the products and services at the time. He was selling the ultimate solution, which as it has become evident, was not actually developed or ready to be taken to market in the form that he was promising. In his own words in one of the emails I refer to above, he states that the product was still under development, and it took longer than they expected. If this was the case, they shouldn't be selling a $17, 000 solution which is not yet ready for sale. At the time of purchase, no mention was made that the application was still in beta. There is no way anyone would purchase a beta system for $17, 000. The price tag they had given, was equated to their fully fledged system (which was still a rip-off), but what we purchased was not this fully fledged system, and I still don't think it is today.
If these promises had been made online, Adam would definitely be in breach of the FTC regulations. He seems to be of the opinion that since he is making these promises in person and not online, that he can do what he likes.
After logging this complaint we finally received communication from Adam's office. They requested that we remove our complaint and will then work with us to resolve the issue. I followed my side of the deal, but as per his behaviour to date, once the complaint was resolved, he did not stick to his side of the deal - my complaint remains unresolved, as expected.
He is ripping off many people for his own personal gain. This approach is wrong! He knows it, we know it and many others out there unfortunately are victims of his unfaithful and dishonest practices.
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