Internet fulfillment house iFulfill.com, my client, unexpectedly announced last night that “as of this morning, iFulfill.com will, for all practical purposes, cease to exist.” The news came in an email to merchant clients from the founder and President, Paul Purdue. No more orders being shipped by the multi-million dollar company, no more incoming deliveries being accepted, no more returns being processed. The email came out of the blue this morning.
I am so sorry to see one of the nicest people I ever met in such a dreadful spot. iFulfill has been a small but wonderfully engaging client for my company and I am appalled to see this happen.
News Flies Virally
In an indication of just how transparent the Internet is today, a trade publication already had the story on their blog this morning – immediately after I and most of the company’s dedicated team of employees received the email. Many are working free right now to help wrap things up.
Down, But Not Out
To say I was surprised is a wild understatement. Since we re-did the company website several months ago, iFulfill.com been flooded with inquiries and signed more than a dozen new clients. Google ad campaigns we managed were showing conversion rates as high as 50 percent. Like everyone else involved, I thought everything was going well. I guess Paul did his cheerleading too well.
This is undoubtedly a painful situation not only for a customer service champion like Paul Purdue, but for his highly dedicated team of employees. The email closed “I apologize for the trauma that this will undoubtedly cause, and I will work hard to minimize the impact on you and your business.”
Paul Purdue is a smart and innovative entrepreneur. Like many before him, he’ll learn from his failure and I am 1000% certain he will come back stronger next go round. I’ll be rooting for him.
iFulfill.com Closes Shop Unexpectedly
BL Ochman | July 25, 2005 | Permanent Link | Comments (8) | TrackBack (
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Thanks B.L.!!!
I feel kind of like Jimmy Stuart at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Everyone from employees to clients to competitors has been very supportive!!
It ain’t over til it’s over Paul. I believe something good is going to develop.
BL
I’m one of the merchants. There have been problems for months. There are no good feelings and the same holds true with a dozen others i’ve contacted, we are all TICKED OFF and may have to come to Maumee to handle the problem that could have been taken care of if he was any kind of responsible business man.
What about the EFT done on SUNDAY…didn’t have any problem taking our money and shutting the doors on Monday.
You talk about how good he is, what about me…what do I tell my customers? When do I get my products? My business is in jeopardy because of dishonesty, deceipt and unethical practices.
Why aren’t the 17 comments being shown on ifulfill’s blog if they’re all good. I’ve talked to employees, the company has been in financial trouble for months.
NOW THE MERCHANT ZONE IS DOWN!
No Respectible, ethical BUSINESS MAN WILL LEAVE CLIENTS HIGH AND DRY!
PS. I will not leave my name or email for fear of retailiation with my products!! This is how this man operates.
So how do I get the thousands of products I’ve trustfully given to them back?
Where is a place that clients that were affected can sound off, without being censored? I had a lot of very bad service with Ifullfill.com, and in particular, Paul. I just found out that comments to blogs only get posted after approved by the owner. So do you know where I can put out stuff that is going to likely upset Paul? I don’t intend to hurt paul, but I want the other clients who are desparate for information to be more informed.
I have encouraged Paul Purdue to use his blog as a place to have a conversation with his customers
during this incredibly difficult time. I do not have any answers, and was as surprised as anyone else to hear the announcement that iFulfill was closing.
As a business owner I know that there could be no more difficult decision to make than to shut the doors. No entrepreneur would ever take such a step if there were other alternatives he or she could see.
I am confident that this will all work out and have faith that Paul will find a way to keep his promise to make this as painless as possible for his customers.
Um, no. I was with Paul when ifulfill was headquartered in the basement of his home. I knew him. I helped him by referring a ton of business. I based those referrals on his being a stand-up guy and truth be told, Paul always did right by me. HOWEVER, the closing of ifulfill is a textbook case of how NOT to end a business. Unfortunately, Paul will likely NOT recover from this, because he chose to destroy more than six years of trust and brand integrity with one carelessly planned e-mail. Whoever was advising him should have been better versed in crisis management. Because they weren’t, Paul’s business reputation MAY recover, but his personal reputation won’t.
Rob: I was totally broadsided by Paul’s email. He didn’t tell me, and I don’t think he told anyone else either.
I could have helped him, at the very very least, to make a smooth transition. I’ve helped other clients who were in dire straights to get backing and other help. But you can only help someone when they let you in.
I don’t agree that Paul will never re-gain his personal credibility. People have come back from worse things and gone on to be extremely successful. Time will tell.
Paul Purdue has been a stand up guy to me and the other professionals I brought into his marketing. I don’t know the back story. Only Paul really knows that.
BL