Read a Special Investigative Report on Consignpro's Fraudulent Activities

Consignment Accounting Software Comparison Report

What to Know about Consignment Software Providers

Hopefully your shop will succeed and grow to a size that makes you happy. If your dreams come true, you'll be around for a while, so it is very important to align yourself from the beginning with an honest and reliable software vendor.

• Your software and hardware will need maintenance and you'll need assistance.
• Software vendors who feel they need to deceive you initially to get your business are the very ones who have surprises waiting for you down the road in the form of price traps, price increases, broken promises...
• As part of your initial buying decision you must know what 'price traps' are set and waiting for you.

Comparing consignment software can be a bit confusing. Poorly designed web sites and lack of personal contact add to the difficulty. Compounding the issue are the subversive tactics used to hide the full cost of ownership and the problems of poor software performance and service.

The purpose of this report is to assist you in assessing consignment software programs and their providers. There are definitely pricing tricks and traps to avoid. Armed with this information, you will know when you've landed on a web site owned by the unscrupulous, and you'll know to avoid them. Those attempting to deceive you now won't make good business partners later.

Caveat Emptor!
Let the buyer beware!

Information provided herein was correct at the time it was published. Our competitors read our publications and use them to refine their pricing-game strategies. We feel it is important for you to know which vendors are less than forthright in their business dealings.

Trick #1 - Bait and Switch

The most common strategy of the unscrupulous is to bait with a lower-priced 'lite version' of their much more expensive 'full version'. The lite version is formed by stripping necessary and essential features from the expensive version, and/or limiting the lite version's capacity, rendering it useless to most store owners.

In either case this is nothing more than purchasing an expensive demo of the full version!

The allure is bolstered by a 'money-back guarantee', which in reality is 'very short' compared to the time often required to determine which software features are needed.

This strategy preys upon the innocent. The trap is to lock buyers in who will later discover that the limitations of the lite version actually prohibit its use, forcing them to upgrade to the full version (because the money-back period has expired), or add expensive 'modules'.

With the trap set, vendors can be very aggressive in pricing the full version substantially above the lite version, and they do.

Here are some examples:

Vendor	Lite Version	Full Version	'Lite Strategy'
CCE	$395	$6951	Essential features removed
Consignpro	$750	$1195	Limited to 50 entries
Liberty	$695	$995	Essential features removed
1Does not include the cost of 'add-on modules'

Details -

CCE - Look closely. These features were removed from the full version and cost $60 each to add back: Special Promotions, Layaways, House Accounts and Wish lists. The actual cost of the lite version with these four options added is $635! (screenshot) CCE is the worst of the bunch - at one time including essential features in their program at the time of sale then programming them to become disabled 60 days after the sale (30 days after the money-back guarantee) then demanding more money to reactivate those features.

Consignpro - Limited to 50 entries - Surely no one would purchase a software program for $750 that limits entries to 50!

Liberty - Essential features removed - Compare Lite to Full. Which features have been stripped? If the vendor claims to not have removed essentials, you can just about bet they did. Look for yourself. Don't take their word. Here's Liberty's claim to 'fair play':

"...we’ve disabled some of the features many new store owners and smaller stores don’t really require."

Here's are the 'disable features'. Any 'new' or 'small' operation would find these to be essential features:

Add item/consignor at point of sale Bulk tag printing Group payouts (only individual payouts) Layaways Only cash as a tender option in point of sale (no checks!) Quicken/QuickBooks export Retail items Store Credit at point of sale Suspended Sales in Point of Sale Wish List

The trap - If you want to accept forms of payment other than cash or print multiple price tags or batch process payouts, sell your own inventory (retail items) or export to QuickBooks, you are forced to buy the Full version at a much higher price. If you only need just one of these capabilities, you're trapped!

This is the same provider who extols honesty as their virtue while dripping with patronage on their FAQ page:

"Q. What makes [us] different than other companies providing consignment software?"

"A. Insight and honesty. Our unparalleled experience working side by side and listening closely to our customers has given us better insight into the true needs of consignment stores than any other company. Just as importantly, we'll give you the information you need to know to make the right decisions when computerizing your store. We'll tell you what you need, and what you don't need. When you need honest, reliable, straight to the point answers, you know you'll get them from [us]. Your total satisfaction is our number one priority, because we know the happier you are, the more successful we will be."

The Truth: Liberty doesn't listen any more closely than any other software company and based upon comments about their program, they have less insight of "true needs". "Right decisions?" "What you need?" "Honest?" "Reliable?" These suggest flexibility and customization. After all the patronizing there are still just two options: "as low as" $695 or $995 plus $295 for additional licenses!

A variation of this game is to provide a demo which includes all the features of the more expensive program while promoting the cost of the stripped-down version. Make sure the demo provided to you is of the version in which you are interested.

Solution: Simply avoid deceptive vendors. Best Consignment Shop Software doesn't play games. Essential features are included in our Deluxe version. Prices are clearly and fully disclosed. There are no sleight-of-hand deceptions.

Trick # 2 - Hidden Fees and Price Traps

The second-most-popular snare is to trap with hidden fees.

Contrary to the complaints we hear about CCE's poor service attitude, he claims:

"Superior Technical Support! All technical Support is provided
in-house by the owners and developers of the software."

Digging a little deeper (on their web-site sub-page) we find:

"After the period of free technical support expires (90 days for Consignment Success Software
and 60 days for Best Consignment Software); you may extend the full technical support
and assistance for just $60.00 per year, inexpensive insurance to say the least!" (screenshot)

As if charging 'fees for customer support' and referring to this scam as 'insurance' isn't enough, there's worse in store for those who don't fall for the first trap:

"This extension of the technical support must be purchased within thirty days
from the expiration of the free period. If you do not choose to extend your technical
support within thirty days of the free support expiring, the technical support will then only
be available on a per incident basis of $45.00." (screenshot)

Done? Nope! If the software doesn't function for ANY reason, you won't get help if they determine that the problem isn't related to their software. (screenshot)

Trick # 2 - Hidden Fees - Variations

Consignpro - Shipping charges and sales tax are only revealed late in the buying process.

Evasive Answers - Consignpro's networking license costs are nothing short of outrageous ($295). As he states, growing stores might one day discover that they need to network and the plan is to sock it to them when this realization comes about. Knowing this he avoids answering his own question about how expensive his networking prices are (screenshot) then also attempts to come across as the good guy warning of his competitors who charge networking fees that don't exist! "Some vendors have special database license charges you'll incur for either a single workstation or networked setup, ask about these up front or be surprised later." (Good advice and well applied to himself.)6/9/06 consignpro.com/.htm

Various Vendors - The cost of the software is not revealed on the web site. The strategy is to get people to call then 'sell, sell, sell'.

Add-on charges for service-related tasks - some examples from Consignpro: Label Customization $75/hour, Replacement CD $25, Replacement User Guide $25, Data Conversion $200, Database 'tune up' $69.

False Advertising

Consignpro -

Advertising 'Free Consignment Software' in search-engine listings - screenshots: Overture and Google

'Free Upgrades' - CCE and Consignpro outwardly promote 'free updates' while withholding updates if annual fees for support are not paid.

CCE - "New version 5.02 is ready for immediate download!
This new version includes 20 plus upgrades and improvements,
and is free to all users with paid tech support."

In other words, there is no such thing as 'free updates' to anyone! (screenshot)

Self-Serving Comparisons CCE Consignpro Both claim to be providing useful comparisons between themselves and their competitors while conspicuously omitting lower-priced competition and patronizingly suggesting they are performing a useful service.

Blatant Dishonesty

Stealing from Affiliates In the past CCE used a third-party marketing firm to promote and sell his product. He pilfered sales by providing the firm with a demo containing his contact information in every conceivable place in the demo. The firm's prospects were contacting him directly and purchasing directly from him.

False Claims - Consignpro alleges that NARTs (National Association of Retail and Thrift Stores) is a 'watchdog group' and implies that membership assures honesty and integrity. NARTs membership is a paid membership. The founder of NARTs the mother of the owner of Consignpro. (screenshot)

Inflammatory Statements

Cries of Fraud - Rather than lower the costs of their software, some vendors lower themselves to posting outright lies about their competition on their web sites, in emails and in phone conversations, purporting to be providing a service of steering would-be victims away from their competition.

Consignpro - "You get what you pay for." - common accusation of those who are least competitive. Consignpro is one of the most expensive programs on the market and we constantly hear complaints about program instability and discourteous customer support. Here are comments from not-so-satisfied Consignpro users.

Liberty - "We've been around longer." Until 2001, there were no consignment software programs priced under $600 and advertising costs were low. It was a profit-rich environment for the few existing consignment software vendors. Today is a much different story. Profit margins have shrunk. Advertising costs are higher. Competition is much much tougher. Having survived the prior good times doesn't assure longevity. As one rep narrowly stated,

Lastly - Baseless Self Proclamation

"We've been around for 10 years. This is the only software we sell. We don't do this as a sideline or offer other products."

In today's competitive environment, a software provider who is not expanding its product line while attempting to hold onto yesterday's high prices and fat profit margins is a likely candidate for failure. A provider whose product is complex and difficult to use hasn't made good use of ten years of experience.

Liberty - "[Our software] does more, costs less, and is easier to use. It's that simple. To backup this statement, we not only unconditionally guarantee your total satisfaction, we also guarantee the lowest price. Our policy is that we will never be undersold!" (screenshot) This statement is published by the vendor with the highest prices and the most complex and hard-to-use programs on the market!

TGTBT Comments

Hello Steve. I just wanted to email you privately that I totally SUPPORT your statements on tgtbt. I'm a new shop owner and have been watching the tgtbt postings for months without writing. The reason is that o'glorious Kate is going to ask me if I've bought the manual, which I don't want or need because I've been really successful. I honestly love the postings from other shop owners but the bottom line is that the site is a HUGE "goo-goo gaa-gaa KATE" fest. It drives me nuts! I just wanted to thank you for giving it to Kate! That's all, Have a great day!