This smells of S-C-A-M

[Just thinking]

Hello,

How high does this business (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?S=E3&Document=Home&NID=786) register on your scam-o-meter? (0 = Above board ... 10 = Lock 'em up.)

I suspect it as a scam due to the following information I cannot find on their website, even given all the customary frequently asked questions (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?SID=xQZUH8PZ5FLN2X5V3LSPEF&S=E3&Document=FAQs&NID=792).

1) The names of the brands of items available.

2) Average profit margin on say, a $100 dollar net sale.

3) Product return policy --- no, not their sales package, the merchandise that customers will receive. Who will cover the extra shipping, replacement and handling costs?

4) Product liability. Who covers losses incurred by faulty merchandise? Can I be sued?

5) Personal ethics --- I find it hard to blindly sell items I have not personally used or are familiar with (having seen in-the-flesh) to others. What can be done to reduce this nasty feeling of mine? (No, I cannot purchase one of everything I will sell, that's simply ridiculous.)

6) Just where are you located? Maybe I can visit one of your warehouses.

Did I miss anything?

[Little 10 Toes]

Doing a quick look at their FAQ page (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?SID=xWTK6CAB7GJQNY7BT2LSX9&S=E3&Document=FAQs&NID=792), it looks like they are offering the service of handling your internet business. If they were a brick and mortor service, they would be your landlord, your accountant (maybe), your financial transaction processor (cc/mo/e-check). What you put in your store is up to you.

[scratchy]

Well, i just checked around the sample sites. They obviously dont sell anything. I few items on the first page, but when i check for the product catalouge its empty. Smells bad!

Internet Speedway, Inc., Mesa, AZ, is a leading provider of tools and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs and home based businesses. The company was founded in 1995 with the goal of helping aspiring entrepreneurs, just like you, to realize their dreams without incurring many of the risks traditionally associated with starting a business.

We pride ourselves in the difference we have made in thousands of lives. In fact, over the past couple of years, we have had the privilege of supporting more than 100,000 entrepreneurs.
They should have had something to show, one might think...

[Just thinking]

Doing a quick look at their FAQ page (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?SID=xWTK6CAB7GJQNY7BT2LSX9&S=E3&Document=FAQs&NID=792), it looks like they are offering the service of handling your internet business. If they were a brick and mortor service, they would be your landlord, your accountant (maybe), your financial transaction processor (cc/mo/e-check). What you put in your store is up to you.

Exactly --- I see little need for these guys. They don't give a list of companies you can buy items from (though them), except as sample pages that don't say much.

[666]

Google for ispeedway and have a look at the results. It comes up with some bad stories but also some websites in the format <whatever>.ispeedway.com

These seem to be sites set up using the ispeedway business model. Have a browse and see what you think.

[Starthinker]

This (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?SID=x6589LBWLMKDD2YBGBC2YD&S=E3&Document=terms) page will clear it right up for you.

[Just thinking]

This (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?SID=x6589LBWLMKDD2YBGBC2YD&S=E3&Document=terms) page will clear it right up for you.

I read War and Peace in less time!

[JonnyFive]

Hello,

How high does this business (http://www.ispeedway.com/default.asp?S=E3&Document=Home&NID=786) register on your scam-o-meter? (0 = Above board ... 10 = Lock 'em up.)

I wouldn't use the word "scam" so much as "ludicrously overstated crappy business opportunity." So... 8/10.

There's a fair number of complaints (http://ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21&q5=internet+speedway) over on RipOff Report about them. A lot of misleading billing, semi-fraudulent charging of credit cards, refusing to take returns, etc. There doesn't seem to be any presence of their businesses, for all they claim, and they don't seem to provide any advantage over simply buying your own hosting, your own products, and advertising on Google or selling junk on eBay.

[my_wan]

Their product is legit enough but I would never use something like that. What they provide is web hosting with shopping cart and other HTML templates. You still find your own products and must provide your own merchant accounts, or pay somebody else to handle that part. This means that with the right skills they're not providing anything you couldn't do with notepad, $5/month hosting, and $10/year domain registration. For this they are charging $69.99/month for 5 months.

The thing that bothers me the most is it doesn't mention hosting cost after that. Also the fact that it is on their servers means that you may not actually have access to source code to put it on the servers of your choice. This means they have you locked into their hosting service or start your business over from scratch elsewhere. It also appears that they don't even include providing domain name registration. So if you want something besides <whatever>.ispeedway.com you must spend that $10/year extra on your own. At least you could keep that if you left them.

I haven't checked dissatisfied customers. However if I spent $350.00 on software I expect to own the software and not be stuck with their service to use it. It's the things that they fail to even mention that would make me run.

Find some web template software that includes shopping carts and paypal and buy it separate from any hosting. Then get hosting for the $5/month plus register a domain name. You don't have to have a website to own a domain name. If you get enough customers to overuse bandwidth on $5/month hosting you can afford to upgrade your hosting account.

[my_wan]

I just checked the complaints and apparently they do dropship at or above market prices. Not only that but you are stuck with the products that come with your $350 plan. More products means upgrading the plan/more money so you can sell products they already carry.

Yes far bigger scam than even I imagined......

[fuelair]

Basically, you take the risks to make money for them.

[wahrheit]

The design alone of that page screams "scam" at me. Not a scientific evidence, I admit.

But the "success stories" at the bottom of their home page? Come on. "...She won't have to work anymore."

Nice small print, too:
Featured testimonials are among the top performers and
may have used previous versions of the product. Reflect
Gross Sales. Experiences are Unique. Results will Vary.

Sounds similar to classic MLM/pyramid and snake oil disclaimers.

I didn't actually research this, but it does smell, for sure.

[kookbreaker]

Just another 'Internet Fortune Making Kit' where you set up some lame webstore selling the same products as every other lame webstore (i.e. stuf they can drop ship).

Zombies from this Kit clubs were always roving the halls of trade shows almost begging every company to drop ship their products just for them, so that they could have something different from the other fools.

Telescopes wouldn't look very good next to cubic zirconia jewelry, at least from our perspective.

These guys were second to 'I'm a reporter/reviewer, send me free stuff' on the trade show annoyance scale.

[bluess]

There has been a commercial playing in the mornings lately and, if not for this company, for one quite like it.

What captured my attention was the cleavage being displayed by hostesses. Apparently, boobs sell website design. :D

[ynot]

The nose knows . . . Trust the nose