Venturi Web

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
*** writes:
------------My understanding of “income" is just that, it’s money taken in by one’s business.------------
What *** is describing is gross income
His guarantee, listed on his website states:
-------------I Guarantee Your New Website Will Pay For Itself in The First Year, Or it Will Cost You Absolutely Nothing--------------
In order for the website to pay for itself it must generate net (and not gross) income that is greater than the amount of money it cost to produce the websiteFurther, the guarantee talks about the cost of the site and not ***'s fee
Regarding the issue of gross vsnet income, please consider the following example:
If I produce a video for a client and charge $2000, that is my gross income for that productIf my expenses on the video are as follows: $for an animator, $for voice-over and $for sound and music, I take $What matters here is income net of these direct expenses.
I actually only received income from one client during that year which came in as a result of the site *** built for meI earned $from this client, which is far less than ***'s fee of $That figure of $6,was gross revenue and included (as I mentioned) business not attributable to ***'s site
*** did mentor me as I tried to build up site recognition, and at no time did I say I was unhappy with his workHe did the best he could, but, as we both acknowledged prior to the building of my site (and as documented in the email conversation presented in my previous statement to the Revdex.com), there was riskUnfortunately, my investment in the website did not pay off within that year and that's just a fact without judgement of ***He may have been well intentioned and helpful, but that doesn't excuse him from his obligation under his 100% money back guarantee
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
***'s assessment of my situation is not correct
That figure, $was an approximate gross intake, and not income.
I have now done my 2013 taxes and have more precise figures:
Over the one year period after *** *** provided a website for me I
took in just over $in
revenue that could be attributed to the website (and I am being generous with
this figure because the site did serve some purpose as a portfolio, but inbound
marketing was what I was really paying forThe truth is that about $of
the $did not materialize as a result of my website.)
My expenses for that period, directly related to producing the website and
providing the services
(including the $US that I paid *** ***) were over $9100.
$is a lot to spend on a website, for someone just starting outThe
attached document contains an email conversation between *** and myself which demonstrates:
-my hesitation to move forward based on ***'s research that suggested I
may not be able to
count on much inbound traffic;
-***'s acknowledgement of the issue;
-My careful pointing out of my business model, ensuring that *** knows
this and that this does not nullify the guarantee ("I just want
to make sure that none of what you said in your past email nullifies your guarantee
and that it will apply to my net proceeds (this is, of course, a worst
case scenario).")
-***'s acknowledgment of this statement ("Alright storm cloud
Lets move
forward…")
Further, *** lists the number of "viable leads" I receivedIt is true
that I left him access
to the inquiry emails from my siteI did not count the number of enquiries I
received, however, *** is not in a position to make any assessment of the
viability of any of those enquiries
The bottom line is this:
*** uses the return guarantee in his sales pitchIn my case I clearly
did not derive such a benefitFurther, *** knew the risks involved in my
situation and encouraged me to move forwardWhen I contacted *** recently,
explaining the situation, he did not demonstrate a serious interest in looking
at my situationFurther, he was unprofessional in his last communication with
me, ending it with the following:
*** *** ** *** ** ***
*** *** *** ** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*** ** ***
***
***
***
I am requesting from *** 50% of the amount I paid him and not the full
amount, as
guaranteed
Sincerely,
*** ***

My understanding of “income" is just that, it’s money taken in by one’s businessExpenses are part of doing businessFor him to even mention his out of pocket expenses on top of what he paid me is laughableWould it make sense for me to tell him that his site actually cost me more to build than what I charged him because of my own expenses? Of course not
By *** ***’s own admission, his site generated $6, In my eyes, I produced twice what my guarantee promisesPlus the contract clearly outlines the termsI’d honestly want to refund his money if I thought I didn’t deliver on my promise, but I didHe had more leads than he obviously could handleI read the inquiries, all of them were qualified leadsI discounted the one that weren’t in my tally
I really don’t have much more to say about thisI’ve given *** *** far too much of my timeI’ve counseled him and answered his endless emails, for months after his site was builtNot one time did he ever lead me to believe that he was unhappyHe seemed busy, I saw the leads coming inEverything seemed goodThe whole thing took me by surprise, which is why I want to have nothing to do with himIt shows me that he was probably planning this from the beginningI just don’t know how you can take and take from someone and then pull a move like thisI only had his best interest at heart from the beginning
We agree to disagreeHe will not he getting a refund from me of any kind
*** ***

I read over [redacted]’s complaint. He paid me $3,500 a little over year ago to build him a website guaranteed to pay for itself. He stated in a recent email to me that he has generated $7,000 of income since the inception of his website. Some of that...

income could directly be attributed to his website. Some he says not. But that is hard to distinguish, given that his website establishes his credibility and I advised him quite a bit on how to get people to see his website.
 
His website sent him about 32 viable leads since it was launched about 12 months ago, and even one lead in recent weeks. I have copies of all sales inquiries he received. His assertion that the cost of his website was $10K is not true. He’s talking about the costs associated with running a business. He paid me $3,500 total, not a penny more. He admitted in writing that he made $7,000. Based on his own admission, its my interpretation that I delivered twice what I promised him. 
 
Here’s what I said in the contract:
 
1.     "When I build your website, it will bring you new customer leads and inquiries. Whether or not those leads turn into paying customers is entirely in your control. That said, I am committed to delivering you a product that sends you the clients you need to make enough money for your business to easily pay for the cost of your website...and then some. In order for me to stand by this guarantee, you will need to follow my recommendations, or the guarantee is void.
Quite frankly I am amazed that he has decided to pursue this. I have given this man so much support over the last year. I wanted to see him succeed. I’ve coached him, advised him, etc… And the ironic thing is that it was all paying off for him. He did some of what I suggested and then he stopped. He was getting the leads I promised him. He was earning income from his site. Because he’s just starting out and doesn’t quite know how to run a business, isn’t my problem.
 
Thanks,
 
[redacted]

Review: [redacted] (likely a sole proprietor) created a website for me in May 2013. He has a 100% money-back (actually, no cost) guarantee advertised on his site, and in his contract, whereby he guarantees the site will pay for itself within one year. After a year I did not have this result and requested a 50% refund on the cost of the site. [redacted] refused, and asked me not to contact him anymore.Desired Settlement: At first I requested 50% of the cost of the site, however, depending on how much work it might take me to recover the funds, I may request a larger amount of the promised 100%.

Business

Response:

I read over [redacted]’s complaint. He paid me $3,500 a little over year ago to build him a website guaranteed to pay for itself. He stated in a recent email to me that he has generated $7,000 of income since the inception of his website. Some of that income could directly be attributed to his website. Some he says not. But that is hard to distinguish, given that his website establishes his credibility and I advised him quite a bit on how to get people to see his website.

His website sent him about 32 viable leads since it was launched about 12 months ago, and even one lead in recent weeks. I have copies of all sales inquiries he received. His assertion that the cost of his website was $10K is not true. He’s talking about the costs associated with running a business. He paid me $3,500 total, not a penny more. He admitted in writing that he made $7,000. Based on his own admission, its my interpretation that I delivered twice what I promised him.

Here’s what I said in the contract:

1. "When I build your website, it will bring you new customer leads and inquiries. Whether or not those leads turn into paying customers is entirely in your control. That said, I am committed to delivering you a product that sends you the clients you need to make enough money for your business to easily pay for the cost of your website...and then some. In order for me to stand by this guarantee, you will need to follow my recommendations, or the guarantee is void.

Quite frankly I am amazed that he has decided to pursue this. I have given this man so much support over the last year. I wanted to see him succeed. I’ve coached him, advised him, etc… And the ironic thing is that it was all paying off for him. He did some of what I suggested and then he stopped. He was getting the leads I promised him. He was earning income from his site. Because he’s just starting out and doesn’t quite know how to run a business, isn’t my problem.

Thanks,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[redacted]'s assessment of my situation is not correct.

That figure, $7000 was an approximate gross intake, and not income.

I have now done my 2013 taxes and have more precise figures:

Over the one year period after [redacted] provided a website for me I

took in just over $6600 in

revenue that could be attributed to the website (and I am being generous with

this figure because the site did serve some purpose as a portfolio, but inbound

marketing was what I was really paying for. The truth is that about $4500 of

the $6600 did not materialize as a result of my website.).

My expenses for that period, directly related to producing the website and

providing the services

(including the $3500 US that I paid [redacted]) were over $9100.

$3500 is a lot to spend on a website, for someone just starting out. The

attached document contains an email conversation between [redacted] and myself which demonstrates:

-my hesitation to move forward based on [redacted]'s research that suggested I

may not be able to

count on much inbound traffic;

-[redacted]'s acknowledgement of the issue;

-My careful pointing out of my business model, ensuring that [redacted] knows

this and that this does not nullify the guarantee ("I just want

to make sure that none of what you said in your past email nullifies your guarantee

and that it will apply to my net proceeds (this is, of course, a worst

case scenario).")

-[redacted]'s acknowledgment of this statement ("Alright storm cloud...

Lets move

forward. …")

Further, [redacted] lists the number of "viable leads" I received. It is true

that I left him access

to the inquiry emails from my site. I did not count the number of enquiries I

received, however, [redacted] is not in a position to make any assessment of the

viability of any of those enquiries.

The bottom line is this:

[redacted] uses the return guarantee in his sales pitch. In my case I clearly

did not derive such a benefit. Further, [redacted] knew the risks involved in my

situation and encouraged me to move forward. When I contacted [redacted] recently,

explaining the situation, he did not demonstrate a serious interest in looking

at my situation. Further, he was unprofessional in his last communication with

me, ending it with the following:

I am requesting from [redacted] 50% of the amount I paid him and not the full

amount, as

guaranteed.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

My understanding of “income" is just that, it’s money taken in by one’s business. Expenses are part of doing business. For him to even mention his out of pocket expenses on top of what he paid me is laughable. Would it make sense for me to tell him that his site actually cost me more to build than what I charged him because of my own expenses? Of course not.

By [redacted]’s own admission, his site generated $6,600. In my eyes, I produced twice what my guarantee promises. Plus the contract clearly outlines the terms. I’d honestly want to refund his money if I thought I didn’t deliver on my promise, but I did. He had more leads than he obviously could handle. I read the inquiries, all of them were qualified leads. I discounted the one that weren’t in my tally.

I really don’t have much more to say about this. I’ve given [redacted] far too much of my time. I’ve counseled him and answered his endless emails, for 12 months after his site was built. Not one time did he ever lead me to believe that he was unhappy. He seemed busy, I saw the leads coming in. Everything seemed good. The whole thing took me by surprise, which is why I want to have nothing to do with him. It shows me that he was probably planning this from the beginning. I just don’t know how you can take and take from someone and then pull a move like this. I only had his best interest at heart from the beginning.

We agree to disagree. He will not he getting a refund from me of any kind.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[redacted] writes:

------------My understanding of “income" is just that, it’s money taken in by one’s business.------------

What [redacted] is describing is gross income.

His guarantee, listed on his website states:

-------------I Guarantee Your New Website Will Pay For Itself in The First Year, Or it Will Cost You Absolutely Nothing--------------

In order for the website to pay for itself it must generate net (and not gross) income that is greater than the amount of money it cost to produce the website. Further, the guarantee talks about the cost of the site and not [redacted]'s fee.

Regarding the issue of gross vs. net income, please consider the following example:

If I produce a video for a client and charge $2000, that is my gross income for that product. If my expenses on the video are as follows: $1200 for an animator, $200 for voice-over and $125 for sound and music, I take $475. What matters here is income net of these direct expenses.

I actually only received income from one client during that year which came in as a result of the site [redacted] built for me. I earned $726 from this client, which is far less than [redacted]'s fee of $3600. That figure of $6,600 was gross revenue and included (as I mentioned) business not attributable to [redacted]'s site.

[redacted] did mentor me as I tried to build up site recognition, and at no time did I say I was unhappy with his work. He did the best he could, but, as we both acknowledged prior to the building of my site (and as documented in the email conversation presented in my previous statement to the Revdex.com), there was risk. Unfortunately, my investment in the website did not pay off within that year and that's just a fact without judgement of [redacted]. He may have been well intentioned and helpful, but that doesn't excuse him from his obligation under his 100% money back guarantee.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,