SMC Ripoff or Business Opportunity?

The Specialty Merchandise Corporation (or “SMC” for short) has attracted its fair share of controversy recently, with some claiming that it ought more properly to be named “Specialty Merchandise Corporation Scam” or “SMC rip-off”.  A little reflection, however, suggests that shrill claims of fraudulence are exaggerated, to say the least: a multi-million dollar company which has been successfully trading in a highly competitive market for well over half a century is unlikely to be a scam.  So what might lie behind the “SMC scam” and “SMC ripoff ” assertions which regularly pop up on the internet, especially in the blogosphere?

The Story of SMC Ripoff

SMC is basically a merchandise distribution company, sourcing and storing vast quantities of giftware, home décor, jewelry and garden ornaments in its gigantic, 28-acre automated warehouse in Fontana, California.  Instead of employing a sales force, it helps to set people up in business instead, selling products to them at rock-bottom wholesale prices so that they can sell them on to a new customer base at higher prices.  The company makes its money chiefly through the membership fees it charges – no one can buy its products at bargain prices unless they become SMC members.  While many merchandise distribution companies use methods similar to this, SMC was one of the pioneers of the system and it has been very successful ever since.  This is a possible source of the malicious rumors to which it has been subject.

When the company receives orders from its members, the items are shipped, arriving at their destinations within one to two working days.  Merchandise can be “drop-shipped” directly to the members’ customers – when the order arrives, the shipping documents will display only the member’s name, not SMC.  Membership options can be calibrated to fit all incomes, ranging from monthly installments over 12 months as referred to as the Silver Plan to a one-time annual fee called the Gold Plan.  Members obviously need to factor their membership fees into their pricing plan when they come to sell their chosen products to their own customers.

Remember : NO SMC Ripoff

SMC helps to facilitate a variety of marketing strategies, providing digital photos for internet marketing, “live” samples for members who wish to stock items on their own premises, as well as catalogs.  Sales methods depend on the member’s preferences, and can include online sales from a member’s own website, renting a kiosk in a shopping mall, mail order, home parties or the programs recommended in SMC’s instruction manuals.  The key point is that, to make money, the member has to be exceptionally active in devising and implementing an effective marketing strategy.

Anyone who interprets the SMC commercials as offering an easy way to make lots of money fast is making a serious error of judgment, but it is stretching credulity a little too far to imply that this amounts to a con-trick.  By becoming an SMC member, you are effectively starting up your own business – and as anyone who has struggled to nurture a fledging business through to liquidity and success can testify, this requires intensive input and relentless drive to achieve.

SMC does provide assistance – members can access business coaching free of charge for the first 90 days of membership, and the company supplies catalogs imprinted with the member’s name.  Far from being a scam, the company thrives on the success of its members – the better they do, the better SMC does, too.  The most important thing to remember is that it is not a get rich quick scheme – it is a business opportunity requiring had work.

You will need to be very canny about the products you select to market; some wholesale prices appear superficially to be almost ridiculously cheap, but the truth is that the suggested retail prices may, on occasion, be a little on the high side.  You really have to put in some time doing market research before you select the products you think are viable to market profitably.  Some people may also be deterred by one aspect of the SMC business model in particular – you come under some not inconsiderable pressure to sell to family and friends.  It is not essential – if you can generate the business elsewhere, that is fine, but you are encouraged to sell the business model as well as the products.  SMC is certainly not alone in doing this, but it can be an uncomfortable surprise for novice members.

All in all, for people who are prepared to go into the venture with a hard-headed business approach, and a willingness to put in the effort and time needed to get their new business up and running, there is money to be made.  Those who believe that riches are about to fall from the heavens into their laps will almost certainly be disappointed – membership and wishful thinking alone, as with any business venture, will not get you very far.  But dreams you are prepared to work hard in order to realize may be within reach.  The best policy is to adopt an heir of skepticism toward both excessively positive testimonials and caustically negative critiques.  Neither the disillusionment of the naïve nor the malicious rumors of rival competitor companies are sound bases upon which to make a good business decision, and much of the more exaggerated adverse publicity available on the net has come from both these sources.

The SMC business model may not be for some; but no one signs up for life.  If you give it a try and it doesn’t work out, the company will give you a complete refund as soon as you return the Membership Kit.  What can’t be emphasized enough, however, is that to make a success of the SMC opportunity, you can’t avoid a good deal of hard work.  Working from home may be more pleasant than travelling to the office, but it still requires discipline and effort.  You may need to look into ways of optimizing your website for search engine purposes, for example, and you will have to keep careful records of your accounts for tax purposes.  One thing, however, is for certain: a company as enduring and as successful as SMC really doesn’t have to scam people into becoming members.

SMC Ripoff is not true.