Consignment Software Mistakes to Avoid

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The vendors paying the most for advertising offer the most expensive programs because they are essentially passing their cost of advertising on to those who purchase their software and pay their annual support fees:

The vendors pushing you the hardest to buy their offerings are usually the vendors with the highest prices, offering ridiculous arguments like "pay more, get more". Complete nonsense. All programs perform the basic functions of recording information, processing sales and settlement and producing reports.

'Web-based software' might sound faddish but consider that your customers' personal information will be placed somewhere on the Internet on a server by a person that you know absolutely nothing about. Oh sure, you'll get the pacifier that the server is 'secure' but Hillary was claiming the same thing after she was easily hacked. Why take the risk when any program can do most of what web-based can do?

Need to work remotely? from home? from an auction? on vacation? You can do it for free by leaving the shop computer on and using any of the free remote-pc programs to access it and run it just as though you were sitting there in front of it. "Remote-PC access" has been around for years. Those selling web-based programs won't explain this option to you in their sales pitches.

Perhaps the biggest risk of all is getting locked into an expensive software program (with annual support fees) only to have the person who wrote the program 'disappear' along with support for the software. Be sure every effort will have been made by these individual programmers to mask the fact that the software depends upon him alone for support longevity (as in 'consignpro').

If a vendor has an 'annual support fee' and tries to tell you that it's "optional" then why is it there in the first place? Some people are going to pay fees that aren't required? It's outright fraud to claim that fees are optional then impose consequences for not paying the fees. Consequences include 1) denial of support in all forms and 2) withholding of (essential) software updates in attempts to get paid for those 'optional charges'.

After the challenges of opening your first store, you may not be considering opening a second or third or fourth, but now's the time to find out how much Greedy Gus is going to charge you for his software - for copies to be used in your current store on multiple computers and for copies to be used in additional stores. The same people who play games with 'optional annual support fees' also charge full price for each additional store.

One Miami vendor in particular boasted in a consignment forum about 'firing' users when, in his opinion, they asked too many questions. Another in Orlando excludes training from the annual support fee and charges $100 per hour for training.

If you are told that you are required to use the credit-card processing that the vendor 'recommends' it's because the vendor is getting a kickback from the credit-card processor which in turn may cause you to pay more. A software program should allow you to use any credit-card processing service.

Cost

Fees and overcharges exist because vendors have ways of forcing their software users to pay them, otherwise they wouldn't exist. How long do you expect to be in business? Any bank looking at your business plan will want to know your total IT cost for that period of time.

Service

Your shop is open on weekends and maybe during some holidays. Will your vendor be available on the days when you're making the most sales? A way to find out, before making your software purchase, is to call the support number on a Saturday and find out.

Computer Help

As you might suspect software vendors aren't on the hook to fix computer problems, including those with Windows, viruses, slow performance, improper use etc so to whom are they going to refer you? 'The Computer Peeps' has teamed up with the highest-priced vendors in hopes of getting your IT business - $100 per hour, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST and higher rates before and after his banking hours. The peeps, btw, is just one peep - not a company as the illusion of plurality suggests.

Consignment Software Questions to Ask

These days websites and the telephone are tools of those who have learned how to use them, not to disclose fees and adverse policies, but to hide them, making it necessary for you to dig through website subpages for the truths (scattered here and there) and know not only which questions to ask but what the truthful answers are.

"Know Thine Enemy". The people hoping to separate you from a good chuck of your money have 15-20 years of practice in the art of deception. They've heard the same questions and have observed the effectiveness of their answers thousands upon thousands of times. Be aware (beware) that you are entering a field of battle in which you will be asking those questions for the first time, keeping in mind that responses to your responses have been honed and rehearsed to yield the best results - not for you, but for the vendor pushing his wares. They are well skilled in the art of deception and they are no friend of yours.

Here's an example of how gullible vendors believe shoppers to be: "You get what you pay for!" implies that buying a lower-priced program will burden you with a lesser program and inferior service. The purveyors of this nonsense are clearly visible with their $1,000+ price tags (just for the software!), annual fees and websites that are designed to obscure cost rather than display all costs (and adverse policies) prominently. This group includes any vendor in Florida.

The same high-priced over-valued folks in Florida make it a marketing practice of disparaging lower-priced competitors while covering up their long histories of their unhappy customers. The fact is every company will have a small percentage of dissatisfied clients. How can you expect to be treated? Reading through this one page will lend valuable clues.

Ask: Do you have annual or monthly support fees?

"We do have ongoing fees, but they are optional. It's possible to use our software and never pay another dime." Here's a perfect example of how the truth gets buried in a half truth: You have to know to ask of the consequences of going along with the 'optional' guise, so you ask, "What happens if I don't pay the 'optional' fee?" Now we get to the truth that should have been disclosed without having to press for it:

  • Service in all forms will be denied. You might have the opportunity to post a question in a forum and wait (wait... wait) for a response.
  • When a need arises for help, you will be forced then to pay the annual fee (perhaps retroactively to the date the option was given to opt into the 'support plan'.
  • Software 'updates' are bug fixes and minor software improvements - which will be withheld if the annual fee is not paid. Don't be fooled. Every customer of every software program will need a bug fixed and will need help now and then. Those practiced at the art of deception are fully well aware of this long before you came along so perhaps the picture is becoming more clear.

You should ask, "How often has your annual fee been increased in the past, and by how much?" Also, "Do you increase the annual fee if more copies of your software are put into use?" The answers to these questions are "Yes and by a lot!"

Ask, "If I open a second location, will I have to pay full price for the software?"

And...

  • "Is training included in your annual fee?" Flatly, "No."
  • Is there a time limit as to the number of hours granted with the annual fee?" "Yes."

    A software vendor in Miami, Florida openly boasted about 'firing' customers "when they cost you more than they earn you" (direct quote). The same vendor canceled one shop owner's service agreement and told her that she would have to purchase the program again ($999 at the time) to continue to receive support.

  • "Do you provide support for other things like Windows, networking, hardware?" "Yes. $100 to $150 per hour"
  • If you refer me to a 3rd party, how much will I be charged with help for computer-related things?" "$100 to $150 per hour"

Before going further (because there is much more), you might ask yourself how you feel about being manipulated. What chance do you have of being treated fairly by a 'company' that believes it must lie to you to gain you as a customer, who takes advantage of new shop owners who are trustworthy, overwhelmed with details, responsibilities and demands on their time?

Ask: Are you a 'company' of 1?

If you're talking to the person who wrote the program, you're talking to a company of 1. Yes, there might be a secretary or wife helping out and 'he' may refer to himself as 'we' as part of the illusion of grandiose multiplicity, but the fact remains that future support for the software lies (pun intended) with him and when he's gone, so will be the money you paid for the program and the time you spent learning it. 'He' has no control over death, disability or moving on to something else, leaving 'his' software customers abandoned.

'He' is right about one thing: Most shop owners will not spend $1300 (just for the software) if they knew the risk that lies beneath his masquerade.

Ask: How long have you been in business?

Sears and J.C. Penny have been around forever and they are failing. Shoppers wrongly assume that a long history assures a long future. Nonsense. Pre 2010 was a boon for consignment which saw several 'programmers' rush to the market with their home-grown programs, hoping to cash in. Vendors who have been in business longer only possess the advantage of having had a longer time to perfect schemes for fooling potential customers, including the claim that their longer history indicates longevity, a good reputation and reliability.

End-User License Agreement

Every time you install a software program, there's a presentation of terms and conditions and you are required to agree to those terms and conditions before proceeding with the installation. This is a perfect place for scam artists to tuck away those unfavorable provisions that they hold in reserve to whip out one day and beat you with. You're going to claim that you didn't know/wasn't told and 'he' is then going to point to the EULA and say 'Yes I did disclose this thing you're not liking. Here it is hidden in the EULA where I knew you wouldn't see it!' The terms of the EULA prevail in arguments so ask for a copy and go so far as to ask which provisions are aimed in favor of the perpetrator and against you.

The afore-mentioned Internet shyster bashes a competitor for having a 'nondisparagement clause' while including the same thing in his EULA and with much harsher terms.

Best Consignment Shop Software

You can bypass the hidden fees and adverse policies by going directly to Best Consignment Shop Software. You'll get full disclosure pre sale and a live demo - to make sure the program meets your needs before you buy.