Scam Types dot Com

The first interesting thing I noticed when I began looking into Shopster is that their website is classified as an authority site by Google (they have 4 extra links under the main url if you search for ’shopster’). This, according to my understanding, means that they have had an online presence for some time and, more than likely, have strong backlinks from other sites in their niche of the the internet.

Promising.

Shopster offer an all-in-one solution to budding e-entrepreneurs who wish to have an online store, selling real goods and having them drop-shipped to their customers.

They state that you get a high quality website and access to 900000 products that can be drop-shipped via their warehouse. They also claim that you can make unlimited profits, something that put them in contention with the BBB a couple of years ago but has since been resolved.

To sign up with Shopster costs $29.99 per month ($329.99 for a year if paid in advance), which is an extremely good rate compared with the costs of beginning an e-store yourself. There is also a one time registration fee of $99.99. Of course, it could be argued that anyone who charges you to sell their products is out to scam you, so further digging is required…

Before committing yourself to such costs there is a 7 day free trial available. I have seen disgruntled people on forums complaining that the monthly fee is not refundable after the trial period has ended but, personally, I think that it is fair as a week is plenty enough time to evaluate Shopster and whether the products and prices are right for you.

It would appear that most foreseeable issues that can arise from running an e-store are thought of and covered by Shopster - refunds, returns and fraudulent activity are covered and paid for by them, not you.

Shopster also offer an interesting customer service whereby they will deal with generic enquiries, leaving you free to deal with the more specific ones.

Running your e-store through Shopster allows you to use your own domain name, though you cannot edit product pages. You are also able to receive payments via credit cards and paypal, even utilise Turbolister on Ebay.

If you are looking to make money through Shopster in addition to, or instead of, running one of their e-stores then there is an affiliate program available. This program is two tier, meaning you earn from making referrals yourself as well as sales or referrals that your recruits make too.

This two tier program would sound like multi level marketing to me, something I am totally opposed to, if it was the main thrust of the company’s marketing efforts, or the primary way of making money.  However, in the case of Shopster, it would certainly appear secondary to making retail profits.

If you refer someone to Shopster and they sign up (they have a lifetime cookie by the way) then you will receive $60. If your referees then sign up others you will receive 20% of that, meaning $12.

So, all in all, Shopster sounds very attractive to both the affiliate marketer and those looking to make product sales, but are there any negatives about them?

There are certainly a couple of issues that I have seen mentioned online about Shopster.

Like Simplx, there is a lot of comments suggesting that Shopster’s wholesale prices are often higher than retail, though this can obviously be verified during the 7 day free trial.

There is also some concern that catalogues, which are made available to the public, are different to the one where you can actually buy from. This is a point I have seen addressed personally on a few sites by Sarath Samarasekera (owner / president of Shopster) who has suggested that it is nothing more than a timing delay as the database is updated regularly.

Another concern is the availability of product, with some claiming that popular items are always low stock or out of stock. Without seeing the figures I can only suggest that you look into this if you are thinking of joining up and will be a volume seller. Obviously if it is the more popular electrical goods that often sell out across the board then it is to be expected. However, if unavailability pertains to a large number of everyday products then it may be a major issue.

In conclusion, I would say that Shopster needs further investigation if you are thinking of joining to use their drop-shipping and wholesale prices. Availability and competitive pricing may well be an issue and needs to be weighed against the $300+ yearly commitment.

The affiliate program looks sound and I have seen no concerns voiced over it’s workings or payouts.

Verdict : NOT a scam.