This document is regarding our experience with San Diego Media (9820 Willow Creek Road Suite 450 San Diego, CA 92131 – http://www.sandiegomedia.com). Statements of cost are based on documented facts.

Summary:

1. We are an established online retailer who was searching to upgrade our current ecommerce solution.

2. Initial estimate from San Diego Media was $62, 600.00

3. We paid San Diego Media $5, 000.00 for discovery with a clause to have $2, 500 refunded if the final price increased more than 30% over initial estimate (we had done extensive pre discovery).

4. Hosting was discussed at “around $2, 000.00 a month”.

5. During discovery, we had several hour long workshops which they were supposed to base wireframes of site design on. We received wireframes that had NONE of what we discussed in workshops!

6. Both wireframes and contract we’re a week+ late.

7. Final bid was $70, 097.00

8. Completely UNDESCLOSED they added a line attaching “One Percent (1%) fee for all site revenues in excess of $400K per month”!! This UNDESCLOSED fee changed the entire final pricing by an additional $37, 000.00 EACH and EVERY year and that is only factored at our current sales volume!

9. On-Demand and Infrastructure (Hosting) was listed at $129 per day, (approximately $3, 923.75 per month averaged over one year). This is almost $2, 000.00 more per month than what was discussed and this alone increased the project to an additional $23, 000.00 every year!

10. There was another undisclosed fee of “$5, 000.00 for Installation of the MaxEXP Server Farm”.

11. We easily decided NOT to go with a company that would run its business in such an unethical and unprofessional manner. Furthermore we respectfully asked for a full refund on discovery, as the 1% clause increased the final pricing by $37, 000.00 in the first year alone, without factoring in future years.

12. They have REFUSED to even honor their signed and written discovery contract and refund us our $2, 500.00!

Details:

We are a very successful Missouri based internet retailer with an excellent business reputation for over 7 years, our business has experienced a phenomenal growth and has revenue of over 8 Million a year, and projected for 11 Million a year for 2010. In January 2010 we started looking for a new ecommerce solution as we had outgrown our current solution.

Our research found a promising fit for our needs in a company called San Diego Media (9820 Willow Creek Road Suite 450 San Diego, CA 92131 – http://www.sandiegomedia.com). We had numerous e-mails and phone calls with Dave Peterson (Director of Business Development) some of which involved Andy Bray (Senior Vice President), by mid January we had seen several Webex demos and had phone conferences as well as received a response to our very extensive RFP.

We received a “Project Pricing (Estimations & Project Budget Guidelines)” from them detailing “Total Site Development & Integration Costs (+/- 20% based on discovery)” at “$62, 600” and “MaxCare and Ongoing Infrastructure Costs” at “TBD”. In our conversations we brought up hosting and ongoing costs with both Dave Peterson and Andy Bray, a number of “around $2, 000.00 per month for hosting” was agreed to.

In mid February we incurred the expense of flying our IT Manager (Lucas Forrest) out to San Diego, California to meet with San Diego Media and take a tour of their data center as well as sign the “Discovery Proposal”. Upon arrival our IT Manager toured the data center with Andy Bray and Matt Sylvester(Project Manager), at which time hosting types were described, but no pricing was offered and we made no selection in which hosting option we wanted.

The “Discovery Proposal” contained the exact same “Project Pricing (Estimations & Project Budget Guidelines)” and was for an amount of $5, 000 (pre-paid forDiscovery/Project Plan). Because we had done so much pre-discovery as well as a spec detailed RFP, we requested for our protection that San Diego Media give us an amendment to the discovery agreement stating that we would be refunded the $5, 000 if the discovery process increased final budget by more than 20%. Brian Kent (CEO) of San Diego Media, took offense to this and after a discussion with Emily Church (CEO) of our business and Brian Kent, he finally agreed to amend the contract to state:

“…if the final pricing that comes out of the discovery process Increases the cost of the initial site development and integration more than 30% beyond the stated $62, 600…” “…that SDM will provide a $2, 500 refund…”

During the discovery process we had workshops where we discussed how we wanted the site to look and provided samples of other sites we liked and features we specifically wanted. They we’re supposed to provide us with wireframes based on these workshops. They made promise after promise on when we would receive the wireframes and 15 days late we received them, only to have wireframes that did not contain a SINGLE feature we requested in ourdiscovery . This was a total shock after sending sample sites and having hour long Webex workshops where we showed them exactly what we wanted. The wireframes they provided did not even contain basic features that were in their deliverables document! Our IT department had to design the wireframes for them!

On March 26 we received “Documents for Final Discovery” from Andy Bray, detailing where “Total Site Development & Integration Costs (+/- 20% based on discovery)” at “$69, 397”. In prior documents listed “MaxCare and Ongoing Infrastructure Costs” at “TBD”, this document omitted it all together!

After weeks of waiting for Brian Kent to provide us with final agreement/contract, Brian Kent finally delivered the agreement 12 days later on April 7.

The final price had increased again to $70, 097.00.

That was not the bad part, to our shock and utter disbelief the contract stated:

…”Payment for said services will be $129 per day, calculated monthly, and prepaid monthly, beginning the first day of deployment and the first payment due on the 1st of the month prior to the estimated site deployment date. An additional One Percent (1%) fee for allsite revenues in excess of $400K per month shall be due on the 15th day of the following month the revenue was booked on the site. Taxes, shipping and handling fees are not included and exempt in this calculation.”

NEVER EVER had we discussed giving San Diego Media a share in our company. This was never in any communication disclosed or even hinted at, and did change the entire final pricing by almost $37, 000.00 EACH and EVERY year and that is only factored at our current sales volume! Our projected sales volume for the first year would actually make this undisclosed 1% fee equal an increase of $52, 000.00 yearly, and would be even more every year after, assuming we continue to grow!!!

On top of that with “$129 per day”, the hosting came to $3, 923.75 per month averaged over one year. This is almost $2, 000.00 more than what was mentioned to by Andy Bray and Dave Peterson, duringdiscovery and pre-discovery and NEVER quoted on any document or conversation at any point! This alone increased the project to an additional $23, 000.00 per year!

There was also a line stating:

“… Customer will also pay $5, 000.00 for Installation of the MaxEXP Server Farm of the three MaxEXP platforms – (Development, Staging/Testing and Live/Production)”

This additional $5, 000.00 was never disclosed as well, though we did assume there may be some setup fee involved.

All of these undisclosed fees equaled a minimum increase of $75, 000.00 yearly, over half of which was tied directly to our revenue growth by their 1% clause, and could very easily increase to over $100, 000.00 per year within the first 3 years with our projected growth.

Because of their complete lack of basic business ethics, we choose not to pursue any future business relationship with a company run in such a poor and dishonest manner. We further asked for the $2, 500.00 refund back as this was specifically why we had them add the clause regarding if the cost afterdiscovery increased more than 30%. They have REFUSED to honor their written and signed discovery proposal and refund us our $2, 500.00!! In our opinion, Brian Kent is very disrespectful and does not run his business in a professional or ethical manner! If you are considering doing business withSan Diego Media, we would strongly urge you to reconsider.

To Whom It May Concern,
This document is regarding our experience with San Diego Media (9820 Willow Creek Road Suite 450 San Diego, CA 92131 – http://www.sandiegomedia.com). Statements of cost are based on documented facts.
Summary:
1. We are an established online retailer who was searching to upgrade our current ecommerce solution.
2. Initial estimate from San Diego Media was $62, 600.00
3. We paid San Diego Media $5, 000.00 for discovery with a clause to have $2, 500 refunded if the final price increased more than 30% over initial estimate (we had done extensive pre discovery).
4. Hosting was discussed at “around $2, 000.00 a month”.
5. During discovery, we had several hour long workshops which they were supposed to base wireframes of site design on. We received wireframes that had NONE of what we discussed in workshops!
6. Both wireframes and contract we’re a week+ late.
7. Final bid was $70, 097.00
8. Completely UNDESCLOSED they added a line attaching “One Percent (1%) fee for all site revenues in excess of $400K per month”!! This UNDESCLOSED fee changed the entire final pricing by an additional $37, 000.00 EACH and EVERY year and that is only factored at our current sales volume!
9. On-Demand and Infrastructure (Hosting) was listed at $129 per day, (approximately $3, 923.75 per month averaged over one year). This is almost $2, 000.00 more per month than what was discussed and this alone increased the project to an additional $23, 000.00 every year!
10. There was another undisclosed fee of “$5, 000.00 for Installation of the MaxEXP Server Farm”.
11. We easily decided NOT to go with a company that would run its business in such an unethical and unprofessional manner. Furthermore we respectfully asked for a full refund on discovery, as the 1% clause increased the final pricing by $37, 000.00 in the first year alone, without factoring in future years.
12. They have REFUSED to even honor their signed and written discovery contract and refund us our $2, 500.00!
Details:
We are a very successful Missouri based internet retailer with an excellent business reputation for over 7 years, our business has experienced a phenomenal growth and has revenue of over 8 Million a year, and projected for 11 Million a year for 2010. In January 2010 we started looking for a new ecommerce solution as we had outgrown our current solution.
Our research found a promising fit for our needs in a company called San Diego Media (9820 Willow Creek Road Suite 450 San Diego, CA 92131 – http://www.sandiegomedia.com). We had numerous e-mails and phone calls with Dave Peterson (Director of Business Development) some of which involved Andy Bray (Senior Vice President), by mid January we had seen several Webex demos and had phone conferences as well as received a response to our very extensive RFP.
We received a “Project Pricing (Estimations & Project Budget Guidelines)” from them detailing “Total Site Development & Integration Costs (+/- 20% based on discovery)” at “$62, 600” and “MaxCare and Ongoing Infrastructure Costs” at “TBD”. In our conversations we brought up hosting and ongoing costs with both Dave Peterson and Andy Bray, a number of “around $2, 000.00 per month for hosting” was agreed to.
In mid February we incurred the expense of flying our IT Manager (Lucas Forrest) out to San Diego, California to meet with San Diego Media and take a tour of their data center as well as sign the “Discovery Proposal”. Upon arrival our IT Manager toured the data center with Andy Bray and Matt Sylvester(Project Manager), at which time hosting types were described, but no pricing was offered and we made no selection in which hosting option we wanted.
The “Discovery Proposal” contained the exact same “Project Pricing (Estimations & Project Budget Guidelines)” and was for an amount of $5, 000 (pre-paid for Discovery/Project Plan). Because we had done so much pre-discovery as well as a spec detailed RFP, we requested for our protection that San Diego Media give us an amendment to the discovery agreement stating that we would be refunded the $5, 000 if the discovery process increased final budget by more than 20%. Brian Kent (CEO) of San Diego Media, took offense to this and after a discussion with Emily Church (CEO) of our business and Brian Kent, he finally agreed to amend the contract to state:
“…if the final pricing that comes out of the discovery process Increases the cost of the initial site development and integration more than 30% beyond the stated $62, 600…” “…that SDM will provide a $2, 500 refund…”
During the discovery process we had workshops where we discussed how we wanted the site to look and provided samples of other sites we liked and features we specifically wanted. They we’re supposed to provide us with wireframes based on these workshops. They made promise after promise on when we would receive the wireframes and 15 days late we received them, only to have wireframes that did not contain a SINGLE feature we requested in our discovery. This was a total shock after sending sample sites and having hour long Webex workshops where we showed them exactly what we wanted. The wireframes they provided did not even contain basic features that were in their deliverables document! Our IT department had to design the wireframes for them!
On March 26 we received “Documents for Final Discovery” from Andy Bray, detailing where “Total Site Development & Integration Costs (+/- 20% based on discovery)” at “$69, 397”. In prior documents listed “MaxCare and Ongoing Infrastructure Costs” at “TBD”, this document omitted it all together!
After weeks of waiting for Brian Kent to provide us with final agreement/contract, Brian Kent finally delivered the agreement 12 days later on April 7.
The final price had increased again to $70, 097.00.
That was not the bad part, to our shock and utter disbelief the contract stated:
…”Payment for said services will be $129 per day, calculated monthly, and prepaid monthly, beginning the first day of deployment and the first payment due on the 1st of the month prior to the estimated site deployment date. An additional One Percent (1%) fee for all site revenues in excess of $400K per month shall be due on the 15th day of the following month the revenue was booked on the site. Taxes, shipping and handling fees are not included and exempt in this calculation.”
NEVER EVER had we discussed giving San Diego Media a share in our company. This was never in any communication disclosed or even hinted at, and did change the entire final pricing by almost $37, 000.00 EACH and EVERY year and that is only factored at our current sales volume! Our projected sales volume for the first year would actually make this undisclosed 1% fee equal an increase of $52, 000.00 yearly, and would be even more every year after, assuming we continue to grow!!!
On top of that with “$129 per day”, the hosting came to $3, 923.75 per month averaged over one year. This is almost $2, 000.00 more than what was mentioned to by Andy Bray and Dave Peterson, during discovery and pre-discovery and NEVER quoted on any document or conversation at any point! This alone increased the project to an additional $23, 000.00 per year!
There was also a line stating:
“… Customer will also pay $5, 000.00 for Installation of the MaxEXP Server Farm of the three MaxEXP platforms – (Development, Staging/Testing and Live/Production)”
This additional $5, 000.00 was never disclosed as well, though we did assume there may be some setup fee involved.
All of these undisclosed fees equaled a minimum increase of $75, 000.00 yearly, over half of which was tied directly to our revenue growth by their 1% clause, and could very easily increase to over $100, 000.00 per year within the first 3 years with our projected growth.
Because of their complete lack of basic business ethics, we choose not to pursue any future business relationship with a company run in such a poor and dishonest manner. We further asked for the $2, 500.00 refund back as this was specifically why we had them add the clause regarding if the cost after discovery increased more than 30%. They have REFUSED to honor their written and signed discovery proposal and refund us our $2, 500.00!! In our opinion, Brian Kent is very disrespectful and does not run his business in a professional or ethical manner! If you are considering doing business with San Diego Media, we would strongly urge you to reconsider.