Wow, what an overwhelming response! Thanks for all comments on the blog, mails and posts on different forums. I really appreciate all feedback!
Now, I would like to answer some questions and do a few clarifications regarding my letter. It seems like some people reads things that I didn't write, and other people doesn't read what I wrote but comment anyway. Let me first start with what I'm not saying: I'm not saying that Medison is performing an intentional scam, I'm not saying that 2co is an unserious company, and I'm not doing any doubtful or false claims. I don't believe that the questions is unjustified, but that is of course a subjective thing, I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert or know-it-all in this kind of matters.
A little clarification on why I wrote this letter now, why it might sound a bit harsh might be in place: The reason why I wrote this now is because that money has been withdrawn from buyers cards, without the security and convenience steps that 2co previously has written about. Suddenly, when the shipping notices was sent out without any tracking numbers, the previous requirement from 2co that Medison had to provide this was just thrown out of the window without any valid reason. I feel that the questions about this and the other things stated by 2co needs to be answered for customer safety. How long will 2co keep the money before they release it back if no computer arrives for example?
And the reason for the some what hard words and tones is that many people, including me, has previously been asking these questions without getting any valid answers, or that the validness of the answers drastically has changed after the last weeks event after the shipping notices.
Some people are also asking "Why now, why not wait until the deadline?", "Give them time" etc. My questions to those persons are: What deadline, give them time for what? The questions are still very much important even if some computers arrive, not all orders will be delivered at the same time. And how long time should people be expected to wait? The previous deadline two weeks ago? The new deadline tomorrow? The eight weeks Medison mention on their website? The three months that Valdi wrote in a previous announcement? Or even longer?
And last, I'll try to answer the question why I do this again. I'm interested in technology, I have previously been involved in uncovering big IT-scams here in Sweden, and I'm trying to do the general public a service. Why do someone help an old lady walk over the street? Why do someone try to stop a burglary of an unrelated person? Why do people do other stuff out of pure interest? Why do people write blogs? It's not my intention to get all deep on you, but this is how I feel, and I hope you get the point.
Anyway, let's just hope that 2co at least try to answer the questions, I don't see why they shouldn't our couldn't if they have pure intentions. Then all this wouldn't be an issue. Well, I'm not exactly expecting an answer on question #1, but the rest of them at least ;)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Open letter to 2Checkout: Time to take responsibility
To: 2Checkout.com, Inc
By: Tommy Truthseeker
August 29th
Gothenburg, Sweden
Dear Sirs and Madams and To Whom It May Concern,
Let me first state that everything told in this letter is based upon facts if nothing else is stated. If you have any questions regarding the source of information of any given statement, please contact me and I will provide the source.
This letter addresses the concerns and issues with 2Checkout.com, Inc (2co) supplier Medison Europe Limited (Medison) and/or Valdi Ivancic (Valdi) and 2co’s role, responsibility and handling of this matter.
1. The first question I ask why 2Co, as the serious company you claim to be, continue to have Medison as a supplier, after being notified about that the following about Medison and/or their CEO Valdi:
* The company and/or it’s CEO Valdi has at multiple occasions lied and exaggerated about their history, the products they sell and many more things.
* The company doesn’t have any valid contact options for its customers. No phone or fax-numbers. No monitored e-mail. No valid shipping or visiting address.
* They don’t answer any questions from the press after being confronted about a confirmed lie.
* A company who’s only employed person and CEO are applying for a head position at a Swedish county, this with a CV consisting almost only of lies and exaggerations.
* A company and person whose past in business only has managed to loose money and doing suspicious things.
* A company that violate several laws in the country that they are based.
* A company that several times have proven not to have the competence or possibility to pull of a project like this.
* A company that even can’t provide any information on what the final price will be, not even how much shipping are and how it will be paid.
* A company that can’t provide any information when their product will be shipped.
* A company that can’t even update their own website with correct information. For example, “Due to the unexpectedly high traffic to our support line past 24 hours it broke down” has been stated on their site for over one month.
Again, why oh why would ANY sane, serious company do business with a proven unserious and incompetent company and/or person like this?
My next questions are regarding 2Co’s previous and current handling of this matter.
2. For almost four weeks ago, one of your employees wrote on your forum: “We're definitely working with Medison to clarify the shipping issues. You'll see more information made available as it becomes available.” No new information has been given since then. Why is this?
3. Almost three weeks ago one of your employees wrote on your forum: “The order form *will* be corrected. Unfortunately, my point team on resolving many inquiries was collectively unavailable but you'll see the some presentment changes and clarification made soon”. Also the information that this problem existed was notified almost five week ago. This issue has not been resolved and it still says “Scandinavia – FREE” as only shipping option, when Valdi him self has stated that all customer must pay for shipping. Why hasn’t this been fixed as you stated it would be? How do you define “soon”?
4. When confronted about the fact that the recent shipping notices didn’t contain any tracking numbers for the shipping, you answered: “We do not need a tracking number to do verifications this is done by telephone”. When asked about if Medison would need to provide tracking numbers earlier, you reply was: “We will require tracking information in this case. Due to the large number of orders we will undoubtedly permit an alternative method for supplying 2Checkout with that information in place on having to individually enter tracking information for each order”. Why did you change your standpoint on this?
5. You previously stated:
“We've been really supportive and responsive to many questions but, at the end of the process, customers who ordered and have not already canceled will receive one of two communications from 2CO:
a). We're canceling your order, or;
b). Your order is ready to be shipped -- please reauthorize this sale”.
Now the shipping notices were just sent out without any more information and money was withdrawn. Why was this changed?
Let’s continue with some current customer concerns:
6. How long time do you estimate that the shipping will take? When will you start to contact customers that have had their order marked as shipped?
7. How do you handle customers in different time zones when calling for verification?
8. How long will a customer need to wait until they get a full refund if no computer arrives?
9. If a customer claims that they haven’t received any computer, but Medison claims that they have shipped it, how will you handle it if you don’t have any tracking numbers? Let’s say that 10 customers say that they have received computers and 10 say that they haven’t.
10. If a customer receives a defective unit or feels that the order doesn’t meet his or her expectations, how will this be handled, especially when there isn’t any way for customers to contact Medison? Will the customer need to pay for shipping for returns and/or service if this is needed?
11. From where are the orders shipped?
12. How many orders will you verify before any money is transferred to the supplier? Will you halt the payment process if just one or two persons claim that they haven’t received any shipment?
Last but most important question:
13. What would make you to stop your artificial life support of this whole mess? When the customers have waited xx months for their shipments? When the first customer claims to have received something else than a computer? When the second batch of computers isn’t shipped after xx months? When you get to know that Medison can’t handle returns or service of the sold units?
And please don’t just reply with the standard “the customers’ money is safe”, “we can’t comment on this or that”, or that “we have to wait it out” for an undefined period of time. This is bigger that that. The longer you keep your support of this alive, the more you show potential scammers how easy it is to scam people (not trough you, but in general) and are enabling other companies or persons to get hurt in the meantime in other ways because they think that this is 100% legit since you still are supporting it so strongly.
Please try to understand that I only do this in the interest of the customers and consumers in general. I have absolutely nothing to gain from this personally at all, I just do it pro bono.
Regards,
Tommy Truthseeker
http://www.medisonscam.info - Medison Celebrity: Scam or just a bad idea?
By: Tommy Truthseeker
August 29th
Gothenburg, Sweden
Dear Sirs and Madams and To Whom It May Concern,
Let me first state that everything told in this letter is based upon facts if nothing else is stated. If you have any questions regarding the source of information of any given statement, please contact me and I will provide the source.
This letter addresses the concerns and issues with 2Checkout.com, Inc (2co) supplier Medison Europe Limited (Medison) and/or Valdi Ivancic (Valdi) and 2co’s role, responsibility and handling of this matter.
1. The first question I ask why 2Co, as the serious company you claim to be, continue to have Medison as a supplier, after being notified about that the following about Medison and/or their CEO Valdi:
* The company and/or it’s CEO Valdi has at multiple occasions lied and exaggerated about their history, the products they sell and many more things.
* The company doesn’t have any valid contact options for its customers. No phone or fax-numbers. No monitored e-mail. No valid shipping or visiting address.
* They don’t answer any questions from the press after being confronted about a confirmed lie.
* A company who’s only employed person and CEO are applying for a head position at a Swedish county, this with a CV consisting almost only of lies and exaggerations.
* A company and person whose past in business only has managed to loose money and doing suspicious things.
* A company that violate several laws in the country that they are based.
* A company that several times have proven not to have the competence or possibility to pull of a project like this.
* A company that even can’t provide any information on what the final price will be, not even how much shipping are and how it will be paid.
* A company that can’t provide any information when their product will be shipped.
* A company that can’t even update their own website with correct information. For example, “Due to the unexpectedly high traffic to our support line past 24 hours it broke down” has been stated on their site for over one month.
Again, why oh why would ANY sane, serious company do business with a proven unserious and incompetent company and/or person like this?
My next questions are regarding 2Co’s previous and current handling of this matter.
2. For almost four weeks ago, one of your employees wrote on your forum: “We're definitely working with Medison to clarify the shipping issues. You'll see more information made available as it becomes available.” No new information has been given since then. Why is this?
3. Almost three weeks ago one of your employees wrote on your forum: “The order form *will* be corrected. Unfortunately, my point team on resolving many inquiries was collectively unavailable but you'll see the some presentment changes and clarification made soon”. Also the information that this problem existed was notified almost five week ago. This issue has not been resolved and it still says “Scandinavia – FREE” as only shipping option, when Valdi him self has stated that all customer must pay for shipping. Why hasn’t this been fixed as you stated it would be? How do you define “soon”?
4. When confronted about the fact that the recent shipping notices didn’t contain any tracking numbers for the shipping, you answered: “We do not need a tracking number to do verifications this is done by telephone”. When asked about if Medison would need to provide tracking numbers earlier, you reply was: “We will require tracking information in this case. Due to the large number of orders we will undoubtedly permit an alternative method for supplying 2Checkout with that information in place on having to individually enter tracking information for each order”. Why did you change your standpoint on this?
5. You previously stated:
“We've been really supportive and responsive to many questions but, at the end of the process, customers who ordered and have not already canceled will receive one of two communications from 2CO:
a). We're canceling your order, or;
b). Your order is ready to be shipped -- please reauthorize this sale”.
Now the shipping notices were just sent out without any more information and money was withdrawn. Why was this changed?
Let’s continue with some current customer concerns:
6. How long time do you estimate that the shipping will take? When will you start to contact customers that have had their order marked as shipped?
7. How do you handle customers in different time zones when calling for verification?
8. How long will a customer need to wait until they get a full refund if no computer arrives?
9. If a customer claims that they haven’t received any computer, but Medison claims that they have shipped it, how will you handle it if you don’t have any tracking numbers? Let’s say that 10 customers say that they have received computers and 10 say that they haven’t.
10. If a customer receives a defective unit or feels that the order doesn’t meet his or her expectations, how will this be handled, especially when there isn’t any way for customers to contact Medison? Will the customer need to pay for shipping for returns and/or service if this is needed?
11. From where are the orders shipped?
12. How many orders will you verify before any money is transferred to the supplier? Will you halt the payment process if just one or two persons claim that they haven’t received any shipment?
Last but most important question:
13. What would make you to stop your artificial life support of this whole mess? When the customers have waited xx months for their shipments? When the first customer claims to have received something else than a computer? When the second batch of computers isn’t shipped after xx months? When you get to know that Medison can’t handle returns or service of the sold units?
And please don’t just reply with the standard “the customers’ money is safe”, “we can’t comment on this or that”, or that “we have to wait it out” for an undefined period of time. This is bigger that that. The longer you keep your support of this alive, the more you show potential scammers how easy it is to scam people (not trough you, but in general) and are enabling other companies or persons to get hurt in the meantime in other ways because they think that this is 100% legit since you still are supporting it so strongly.
Please try to understand that I only do this in the interest of the customers and consumers in general. I have absolutely nothing to gain from this personally at all, I just do it pro bono.
Regards,
Tommy Truthseeker
http://www.medisonscam.info - Medison Celebrity: Scam or just a bad idea?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
2co comments again...
... but still doesn't say anything useful:
"I am willing to answer questions regarding 2Checkout.com, but I will not compromise our integrity. If you were a vendor of ours and I had a meeting with you, I would not put the contents of that meeting on the open forums. There is a privacy policy in place.
We do not need a tracking number to do verifications this is done by telephone.
2Checkout has not violated any international law, nor have we condoned any kind of fraud.
You as our customer are completely secure, you will receive your laptop, or you will receive a full refund."
I can't believe this. They say that they will answer questions, but they don't answer any? And suddenly they don't need tracking numbers, when they previously said that Medison was required to provide this information? Why do they change their answers all the time? I have previously thought that 2co was a somewhat serious company, but I'm really starting to change my mind.
Let's see if I can write up a new open letter with some interesting questions!
"I am willing to answer questions regarding 2Checkout.com, but I will not compromise our integrity. If you were a vendor of ours and I had a meeting with you, I would not put the contents of that meeting on the open forums. There is a privacy policy in place.
We do not need a tracking number to do verifications this is done by telephone.
2Checkout has not violated any international law, nor have we condoned any kind of fraud.
You as our customer are completely secure, you will receive your laptop, or you will receive a full refund."
I can't believe this. They say that they will answer questions, but they don't answer any? And suddenly they don't need tracking numbers, when they previously said that Medison was required to provide this information? Why do they change their answers all the time? I have previously thought that 2co was a somewhat serious company, but I'm really starting to change my mind.
Let's see if I can write up a new open letter with some interesting questions!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
... and then 2co spoke!
And they got new information, that only raises more questions:
"I have spent two days face to face with Valdi going over issues that are of concern. I am hopeful that those concerns will be addressed in the near future by Valdi.
2Checkout is aware that sales are now being marked as shipped in Valdi's account and will now start the verification process. As soon as we have verified that orders are being received I will revisit this post and issue an update."
I replied with the following post:
"Have you received any proofs at all that any laptops exsist except Valdi's own Clevo with scratched of serial number and Czech keyboard?Are you aware of that customers still don't know how much shipping are and that there are NO WAY for customers to contact Medison for assistance?How will you start the verification process? Have you received any tracking numbers? When are the first laptops scheduled to be delivered?
Again, the reason why we ask YOU this is because that there is NO WAY for customers to contact Medison, so please don't just say that that this will be adressed by Medison/Valdi, since there is no way of contacting them/him for a customer."
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=214&page=5&replies=126#post-1219
Let's see what happens...
"I have spent two days face to face with Valdi going over issues that are of concern. I am hopeful that those concerns will be addressed in the near future by Valdi.
2Checkout is aware that sales are now being marked as shipped in Valdi's account and will now start the verification process. As soon as we have verified that orders are being received I will revisit this post and issue an update."
I replied with the following post:
"Have you received any proofs at all that any laptops exsist except Valdi's own Clevo with scratched of serial number and Czech keyboard?Are you aware of that customers still don't know how much shipping are and that there are NO WAY for customers to contact Medison for assistance?How will you start the verification process? Have you received any tracking numbers? When are the first laptops scheduled to be delivered?
Again, the reason why we ask YOU this is because that there is NO WAY for customers to contact Medison, so please don't just say that that this will be adressed by Medison/Valdi, since there is no way of contacting them/him for a customer."
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=214&page=5&replies=126#post-1219
Let's see what happens...
...and then there was silence...
Seems like 2co has joined the club on not answering any questions regarding Medison. They haven't commented or answered anything about the shipping notices or anything else asked on their forums since Friday. I have asked the following questions on their forum without any answers:
"kirstin said: "The order form *will* be corrected. Unfortunately, my point team on resolving many inquiries was collectively unavailable but you'll see the some presentment changes and clarification made soon."
How do you deifne soon? Almost two weeks since you wrote that now, and over four weeks since Valdi said that everyone had to pay for shipping. The only shipping option on your order page is still "Scandinavia FREE""
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=214&page=5&replies=123
and
"Is it possible to get an answer on if any orders has been marked as shipped or not? Just sound a bit strange to me since you earlier said:"We've been really supportive and responsive to many questions but, at the end of the process, customers who ordered and have not already canceled will receive one of two communications from 2CO:
a). We're canceling your order, or;b). Your order is ready to be shipped -- please reauthorize this sale.
THAT is what it all boils down to. "
A shipping confirmation without any tracking number doesn't match any of those alternatives."
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=211&page&replies=21
I wonder why they doesn't answer with just a confirmation or denial at least, wouldn't be too hard?
Anyway, three days to go until the first Medison-computers will be delivered (Valdis own words) so I wonder what will happen next, and how Valdi will get words out any further delays...
"kirstin said: "The order form *will* be corrected. Unfortunately, my point team on resolving many inquiries was collectively unavailable but you'll see the some presentment changes and clarification made soon."
How do you deifne soon? Almost two weeks since you wrote that now, and over four weeks since Valdi said that everyone had to pay for shipping. The only shipping option on your order page is still "Scandinavia FREE""
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=214&page=5&replies=123
and
"Is it possible to get an answer on if any orders has been marked as shipped or not? Just sound a bit strange to me since you earlier said:"We've been really supportive and responsive to many questions but, at the end of the process, customers who ordered and have not already canceled will receive one of two communications from 2CO:
a). We're canceling your order, or;b). Your order is ready to be shipped -- please reauthorize this sale.
THAT is what it all boils down to. "
A shipping confirmation without any tracking number doesn't match any of those alternatives."
http://www.2checkout.com/community/support/topic.php?id=211&page&replies=21
I wonder why they doesn't answer with just a confirmation or denial at least, wouldn't be too hard?
Anyway, three days to go until the first Medison-computers will be delivered (Valdis own words) so I wonder what will happen next, and how Valdi will get words out any further delays...
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Shipping started according to e-mail!
A few persons are posting that they have received the following e-mail:
"Hello *********
This message is to inform you that the following order has been shipped.
Order Number: ********
Order Total: 1038.5 SEK
Tracking Number: 00000000
Shipping Method: Scandinavia
Product Provided by: www.medisoncelebrity.com
Comments : Will be delivered to your home by Medison
Thank you for your order,
2Checkout.com
www.2checkout.com"
The message itself seems legit, that's just how 2co's shipping confirmations look, and the "Shipping Method: Scandinavia" is the same as it says on 2co's order page.
However; no tracking number or shipping provider is noted, and 2co them self wrote "at this time no laptops have been shipped" just one day ago.
What this means at the moment is very hard to say, because the only thing someone with access to Medison's account at 2co needs to do is:
"To mark your orders as shipped, please follow these steps:
1. Log into your 2CO Account Homepage.
2. Under “Helpful Links” click on the “Mark” link by “Mark Shipping”.
3. Choose the format you would like to search by and click the “submit” button.
4. On the Shipping Page you will need to enter a tracking number (or other text, if this does not apply).
5. Confirm that the Shipping Method is correct
6. Choose to notify the customer or not.
7. Add comments, if you like.
8. Click the “Mark shipped” button."
This brings me back to a question I asked 2co three weeks ago:
Tommy: "You say that no money are transferred to the suppliers account unless that the order is "marked as shipped" in your system. What does this check mean, is it just a box to check, or do they have to provide a tracking number that you follow up in all orders by automatic means or other?"
2co: "We will require tracking information in this case. Due to the large number of orders we will undoubtedly permit an alternative method for supplying 2Checkout with that information in place on having to individually enter tracking information for each order."
2co has also answered this previously, when confirming the fact that shipping isn't free:
"All customers who pre-ordered will have shipping costs identified via re-invoice and be asked to re-authorize the order. Free shipping may still apply to the Scandinavian orders to which it was originally intended". This has not happened and Valdi has already confirmed before that shipping isn't free to Scandinavia either. The previously reserved amount has however now been withdrawn from the customers cards according to several persons.
All in all, I would say that this e-mail makes the whole thing look even more fishy...
Edit: The orders was marked as shipped Saturday morning Swedish time.
"Hello *********
This message is to inform you that the following order has been shipped.
Order Number: ********
Order Total: 1038.5 SEK
Tracking Number: 00000000
Shipping Method: Scandinavia
Product Provided by: www.medisoncelebrity.com
Comments : Will be delivered to your home by Medison
Thank you for your order,
2Checkout.com
www.2checkout.com"
The message itself seems legit, that's just how 2co's shipping confirmations look, and the "Shipping Method: Scandinavia" is the same as it says on 2co's order page.
However; no tracking number or shipping provider is noted, and 2co them self wrote "at this time no laptops have been shipped" just one day ago.
What this means at the moment is very hard to say, because the only thing someone with access to Medison's account at 2co needs to do is:
"To mark your orders as shipped, please follow these steps:
1. Log into your 2CO Account Homepage.
2. Under “Helpful Links” click on the “Mark” link by “Mark Shipping”.
3. Choose the format you would like to search by and click the “submit” button.
4. On the Shipping Page you will need to enter a tracking number (or other text, if this does not apply).
5. Confirm that the Shipping Method is correct
6. Choose to notify the customer or not.
7. Add comments, if you like.
8. Click the “Mark shipped” button."
This brings me back to a question I asked 2co three weeks ago:
Tommy: "You say that no money are transferred to the suppliers account unless that the order is "marked as shipped" in your system. What does this check mean, is it just a box to check, or do they have to provide a tracking number that you follow up in all orders by automatic means or other?"
2co: "We will require tracking information in this case. Due to the large number of orders we will undoubtedly permit an alternative method for supplying 2Checkout with that information in place on having to individually enter tracking information for each order."
2co has also answered this previously, when confirming the fact that shipping isn't free:
"All customers who pre-ordered will have shipping costs identified via re-invoice and be asked to re-authorize the order. Free shipping may still apply to the Scandinavian orders to which it was originally intended". This has not happened and Valdi has already confirmed before that shipping isn't free to Scandinavia either. The previously reserved amount has however now been withdrawn from the customers cards according to several persons.
All in all, I would say that this e-mail makes the whole thing look even more fishy...
Edit: The orders was marked as shipped Saturday morning Swedish time.
Friday, August 24, 2007
medisoncelebrity.com updated (Updated: not)
Update: Seems like I was too quick this time, I looked at the contact page and not the support page. Might not be any updates at all as usual then ;)
------
medisoncelebrity.com is updated. No big changes, one thing I have noticed is that it now says "The phone lines are temporarly closed" instead of the stuff about the "last 24 hours" that was there before. I wonder how long time something like that can be concidered to be temporary?
Another thing that has changed is that they have removed the e-mail address to infocare, their Swedish service provider. My guess is that this either means that Infocare finnaly has canceled the (non existing) contract all together, or that Infocare simply has asked them to remove the address until any computers actually arrives to be serviced. I have tried to contact the responisble person at Infocare but not been able to get any reply yet, but I will of course post here when I have any updates!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Investigating Medison's past
As you might know you find a quite much "brag" about Medison's past and current business on their site. One of their triumph cards that they tell to people that doubt them is that they have been in business since 1996 and have had a successful past. On their site they even put it like this:
"Today we are operating in Europe, USA and Brazil. Our company has reached not only a brand name, but also a name that stands for quality and science. We want to continue working with this business policy and we intend to come up with new revolutionizing products and ideas. We have the experience, the knowledge and the right people for it. We hope the next 10 years will prove our concept is unique and successful."
I decided to do a background check on their history and see what comes out as true or not.
Let's start with Medison Data AB, the company that started it all. What I can find out from public records and annual reports it really wasn't any big business at all. In the annual reports you can find criticism from the authorized accountant that the company didn't pay taxes and fees in right time or at all. The company went bankrupt in the start of year 2001.
Another company that is mentioned is Givi Sweden AB. The company was created by Valdi, but it seems like there never was any business in the company at all. It seems like that the company was winded up before any annual report was handed in to the authorities, because no information can be found form official sources between the creation and wind-up of the company.
The last company I can find any information in Sweden related to Medison/Valdi is Intelligentia International AB. Like the other companies no money was ever made and the company winded up without any economical assets. The last activity in the company seems to have been in 2001 or 2002 sometime. It it's last years the company got really hard criticism from the authorized accountant because that they couldn't provide any documentation on income and expenses, that taxes and fees wasn't paid in the right time or at all and that money was missing. He even stated that the company was obligated to do a forced liquidation because of several failed equity issuance's.
After 2002 everything seems blank in Sweden at least, which seems to be correct since Valdi, the CEO of these companies moved to Brazil. After that there is several references from Medison/Valdi to different companies in other countries, but I can't find any real information on these projects. However they don't seem to have any direct relation to any company bearing the Medison-name, and it seems to be very unclear what's done in Valdis name and in the name of Medison.
My conclusion to this is that Medison was started in 1996, but has not been in business since then, and none of the companies or projects I have been able to look up has been successfully at all. Rather the other way around.
Please note that my knowledge in business English isn't the best, so please ask in the comments if anything is unclear or if I need to do any corrections!
"Today we are operating in Europe, USA and Brazil. Our company has reached not only a brand name, but also a name that stands for quality and science. We want to continue working with this business policy and we intend to come up with new revolutionizing products and ideas. We have the experience, the knowledge and the right people for it. We hope the next 10 years will prove our concept is unique and successful."
I decided to do a background check on their history and see what comes out as true or not.
Let's start with Medison Data AB, the company that started it all. What I can find out from public records and annual reports it really wasn't any big business at all. In the annual reports you can find criticism from the authorized accountant that the company didn't pay taxes and fees in right time or at all. The company went bankrupt in the start of year 2001.
Another company that is mentioned is Givi Sweden AB. The company was created by Valdi, but it seems like there never was any business in the company at all. It seems like that the company was winded up before any annual report was handed in to the authorities, because no information can be found form official sources between the creation and wind-up of the company.
The last company I can find any information in Sweden related to Medison/Valdi is Intelligentia International AB. Like the other companies no money was ever made and the company winded up without any economical assets. The last activity in the company seems to have been in 2001 or 2002 sometime. It it's last years the company got really hard criticism from the authorized accountant because that they couldn't provide any documentation on income and expenses, that taxes and fees wasn't paid in the right time or at all and that money was missing. He even stated that the company was obligated to do a forced liquidation because of several failed equity issuance's.
After 2002 everything seems blank in Sweden at least, which seems to be correct since Valdi, the CEO of these companies moved to Brazil. After that there is several references from Medison/Valdi to different companies in other countries, but I can't find any real information on these projects. However they don't seem to have any direct relation to any company bearing the Medison-name, and it seems to be very unclear what's done in Valdis name and in the name of Medison.
My conclusion to this is that Medison was started in 1996, but has not been in business since then, and none of the companies or projects I have been able to look up has been successfully at all. Rather the other way around.
Please note that my knowledge in business English isn't the best, so please ask in the comments if anything is unclear or if I need to do any corrections!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
New Wiki about Medison
There is a new Wiki dedicated to the whole Medison circus. It's not created by me, and it seems to be a good place for those of you that not always like the tone of my voice when posting ;)
The wiki can be found at: http://medison.pbwiki.com/?l=S
Also, Medison has an entry over at Wikipedia.
The wiki can be found at: http://medison.pbwiki.com/?l=S
Also, Medison has an entry over at Wikipedia.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Medison's forum closed
After the hacks or whatever it was, Valdi has decided to close down their forums, efficiently closing down the last option for contact with the company for buyers since they don't have any phone numbers or replies to any e-mail, or have a valid post address. It all ended with this message:
"Dear members of this group, The Medison Celebrity group has been hacked by one or more people. These people have been registring an account appearing to be the same as my hotmail address and have been posting threats in this group.
This group was started as a service to our members, customers and other people who wanted to discuss the Medison Celebrity laptop. Several topics who have not been about the Medison Celebrity laptop have been deleted over the time. Now, when the group has been hacked, and false information and threats are being spread out in my name, we decide to close down the serivce.
We can today not say if we will offer the same kind of service in the future, even if we would like to. In one way or another we still want to be open minded about giving this service to our customers.
We are regretful to do this, but we see no other solution at the moment. We do not want bad people to stop us from doing business and other people from buying a Medison Celebrity laptop.
Sincerely,
Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President
Medison Europe Limited"
"Dear members of this group, The Medison Celebrity group has been hacked by one or more people. These people have been registring an account appearing to be the same as my hotmail address and have been posting threats in this group.
This group was started as a service to our members, customers and other people who wanted to discuss the Medison Celebrity laptop. Several topics who have not been about the Medison Celebrity laptop have been deleted over the time. Now, when the group has been hacked, and false information and threats are being spread out in my name, we decide to close down the serivce.
We can today not say if we will offer the same kind of service in the future, even if we would like to. In one way or another we still want to be open minded about giving this service to our customers.
We are regretful to do this, but we see no other solution at the moment. We do not want bad people to stop us from doing business and other people from buying a Medison Celebrity laptop.
Sincerely,
Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President
Medison Europe Limited"
Valdis Yahoo-account hacked?
Or is his mind slipping? Judge yourself:
In medisoncelebrity@yahoogroups.com, valdi_ivancic@... wrote:
YA'LL BETTER SHUT YOUR FU**ING MOUTHS!!
BEFORE I FU**ING HAVE MY LAWYER COME AND CHOP YOUR GODDAMN BALLS OFF!!!
Wait, no, I am very sorry. I did not say that. I just feel so much pressure from all of my customers from all over the world, that sometimes I say things that I really only mean to think. But really, I did not say that. Just like the computer that is the Celebrity for 150$US dollars is not the Clevo computer that everyone says. Please, just do not bother my family, or all those family of other Medison employees, no matter how imaginary they are.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/272
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/273
Update:
As readers have pointed out in the comments, the first post was made with Valdi's original account, but the second one from a new account with a slightly different name... This only gets stranger and stranger by the minute.
In medisoncelebrity@yahoogroups.com, valdi_ivancic@... wrote:
YA'LL BETTER SHUT YOUR FU**ING MOUTHS!!
BEFORE I FU**ING HAVE MY LAWYER COME AND CHOP YOUR GODDAMN BALLS OFF!!!
Wait, no, I am very sorry. I did not say that. I just feel so much pressure from all of my customers from all over the world, that sometimes I say things that I really only mean to think. But really, I did not say that. Just like the computer that is the Celebrity for 150$US dollars is not the Clevo computer that everyone says. Please, just do not bother my family, or all those family of other Medison employees, no matter how imaginary they are.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/272
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/273
Update:
As readers have pointed out in the comments, the first post was made with Valdi's original account, but the second one from a new account with a slightly different name... This only gets stranger and stranger by the minute.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Counter added!
I just added a counter to the right that shows when the next deadline for delivery is according to Valdi. Enjoy ;)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Medecin Laptop - Part 2
No, I'm still not the author, and you can read the reasons why I post these videos on the blog in the other video post ;)
Valdi applying for head of tourism
So, when you just are about to launch a giant project as a CEO and selling thousands of computers worldwide, what is the best thing to do?
Apply for a job opening for head of tourism at a Swedish county of course!
This is at least what Valdi did in the beginning of July according to the local newspaper Blekinge Läns Tiding. The article goes on about the buzz on Medison and so on, but nothing new. Someone actually posted his full application in the comments on this site. The CV is public because it's sent to a official county address, and can be handed out per request by anyone.
You can read the CV your self here:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5297/valdi1jq0.png http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/4020/valdi2fo7.png http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/7999/valdi3ek4.png
One of the most interesting parts is: "CEO & President of Medison Consulting. At the moment introducing a new laptop brand on the world market, Medison Celebrity. Prospecting sales of 200.000 laptops per month world wide."
Valdi previously said that the reason that their site is badly updated, has wrong information and that the computers were late was because of the giant response on their project. The orders that they have received suddenly seems like a pretty small number if you compare them to 200 000 computers per month, why should he then be surprised?
I guess he just misquoted him self in the CV...
Apply for a job opening for head of tourism at a Swedish county of course!
This is at least what Valdi did in the beginning of July according to the local newspaper Blekinge Läns Tiding. The article goes on about the buzz on Medison and so on, but nothing new. Someone actually posted his full application in the comments on this site. The CV is public because it's sent to a official county address, and can be handed out per request by anyone.
You can read the CV your self here:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5297/valdi1jq0.png http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/4020/valdi2fo7.png http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/7999/valdi3ek4.png
One of the most interesting parts is: "CEO & President of Medison Consulting. At the moment introducing a new laptop brand on the world market, Medison Celebrity. Prospecting sales of 200.000 laptops per month world wide."
Valdi previously said that the reason that their site is badly updated, has wrong information and that the computers were late was because of the giant response on their project. The orders that they have received suddenly seems like a pretty small number if you compare them to 200 000 computers per month, why should he then be surprised?
I guess he just misquoted him self in the CV...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Recap: The computer
It seems like there still are some people that thinks that nothing is strange about Medison, or at least that there actually will be computers shipped. There are still news and blog posts about this incredible bargain, with no references to any of the strange circumstances that there actually are.
So I thought, why not recap the most annoying fact that has to do with the actual delivery: The computer itself!
So I thought, why not recap the most annoying fact that has to do with the actual delivery: The computer itself!
- The computer Medison is selling as Medison Celebrity is manufactured by the Taiwanese ODM Clevo Computer Company. Clevo's name for the specific model is MobiNote M540V.
- The above information was not revealed by Medison, because they refuse to say who the manufacturer are because it "could damage the manufacturers relations with other partners". Instead, this was found because the specifications on Medison's site are copied directly from Clevo, including misspellings like "2.2Kg with 6 cells Lithium-lion battery".
- Clevo is one of the lagest ODM's of laptop computers in the world, and their computers are sold by everything from small local resellers to OEM's like Alienware and other large resellers.
- Clevo's computers are generally considered to be high quality products in the more expensive segment, and not low priced budget computers.
Now, you would think that Clevo either would say that they were the manufacturer or not saying anything because they would be under a NDA. Now, here comes the interesting part, Clevo's answers has been things like: "Hi, We believe this customer is trying to mislead the customers in Sweden. None of people in Clevo is able to provide USD 150 for that machine. We have passed this to our legal team. They will take action for this. Thanks Best Regards, Constance Lin Sales Department. CLEVO CO., ". It's not the only time they have answered it this way. To the Danish website comon.dk, they said that they believe that Medison is a scam. Another interesting quote from Clevo was "they got one pcs sample from our customer and not paid" that a poster on Sweclockers got as a reply.
Would a manufacturer really say those things about a partner, even if they were under a NDA?
Some other things that people have speculated about is that Medison could get the computers from one of Clevo's partners, or that they are from the spot market or likewise. On those theories I would just like to remind you that Valdi has said that they have orders of over 300 000 computers. That's nothing that you can get on the spot market or from a third party partner without the manufacturer knowing about it...
Some other details:
- Medison claims that they do have margins on each sold computer.
- Medison claims that they pay the same price for parts as everyone else.
- Despite that it says "Specifiactions [SIC] on the laptop can change without notice" on the website, Valdi claimed on the press conference that everyone would get the exact same model as specified on their site.
- The laptop that they showed at the press conference was the same unit specified on their website. It had the serial number scratched off, and had a Czech keyboard. This is the only demonstration unit they have.
So, if the manufacturer of the actual product say that they don't manufacture the computer for Medison, how does it all work out? And why won't they say who the manufacturer is, if the computers was supposed to be delivered today (as they were planned too) the buyers could figure that out anyway...
Delivery delayed for two weeks
As many readers have pointed out, Valdi has posted the following on Medison's "own" forum over at Yahoo:
Delivery of the first Medison Celebrity Laptops is delayed. New date for delivery is August 31, which means still within the promised time of 4-6 weeks.
Thanks for your patience.
/ Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President
Medison Europe Limited
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/212
I guess no one saw that coming?
Delivery of the first Medison Celebrity Laptops is delayed. New date for delivery is August 31, which means still within the promised time of 4-6 weeks.
Thanks for your patience.
/ Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President
Medison Europe Limited
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/212
I guess no one saw that coming?
Monday, August 13, 2007
First delivery tomorrow!
Yeah, a bit slow on news. With Valdi stopping his stupid press comments (and all other communication too?) nothing new gets out, and what gets out are already covered in this blog.
So, anyway, according to Medison them self the first deliveries should take place tomorrow according to their initial announcements. What do you guys think will happen?
So, anyway, according to Medison them self the first deliveries should take place tomorrow according to their initial announcements. What do you guys think will happen?
Friday, August 10, 2007
Medison have a new shipping partner!
I noticed that Medison has removed the reference to EMEA Services on their site now since the deal was canceled. The new text reads:
"Shipping and handling is taken care of by our partner ___________ with its network reaching out over several continents."
Congratulations Medison, and let's hope that ___________ doesn't cancel the non-existing contract too!
"Shipping and handling is taken care of by our partner ___________ with its network reaching out over several continents."
Congratulations Medison, and let's hope that ___________ doesn't cancel the non-existing contract too!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
New legal information on Medisons site
Like some people already has noted, Medison has finally published new "Terms of use" on their site. The new terms doesn't give any clarity at all about the questions about shipping, taxes, warranty etc, just some random privacy stuff that can be found all over the net, at 2co's site for example. So just another quick copy/paste job.
Whats interesting is that Valdi, as late as of yesterday, said that they have been working together with a legal council to write new terms and other legal information. What happened with that?
http://www.medisoncelebrity.com/legal/privacy/
Whats interesting is that Valdi, as late as of yesterday, said that they have been working together with a legal council to write new terms and other legal information. What happened with that?
http://www.medisoncelebrity.com/legal/privacy/
Medisons service partner sceptic
A reporter at "PC för alla" has yet again spoken with Medisons service partner Infocare. They are quite sceptical towards Medison and have given them two to three weeks to come up with proofs that there actually are any computers. They also say that their condition towards being their service partner is that they won't need to take any economical risk at all, i.e. not have any stock of spare parts etc.
The most important part in this article is that it seems that not even their key partners has seen any real proofs that there will be any computers...
http://pcforalla.idg.se/2.1054/1.115831
The most important part in this article is that it seems that not even their key partners has seen any real proofs that there will be any computers...
http://pcforalla.idg.se/2.1054/1.115831
Medison stops talking to media
In a press release today, Valdi writes that they will stop talking with media since they have destroyed their relations with several partners.
Valdi, maybe you should put your cards on the table instead of speaking so much bullshit? That should lessen the speculations if you actually for once could say something that is true and that can be verified by facts.
The full press release:
"Medison Press Release August 9th 2007
We at Medison have been very generous talking to the media,answering questions when we have been able to do so and kindly asked to leave out people and companies who have no insight into the Medison organization and the Medison business plan.Unfortunately this has not been respected by some individuals and also some journalists. Their actions have lately even ruined important relationships for Medison.Therefore we see no other way than to stop answering questions temporarily from media and we see no better way to answer the critics and rumours than simply do our best, which is delivering our product to our customers. In the very beginning, that is what we intended to do all the time and the Medison business idea always was to do this for its customers.
Sincerely,
Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President Medison Europe Limited"
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/123
Valdi, maybe you should put your cards on the table instead of speaking so much bullshit? That should lessen the speculations if you actually for once could say something that is true and that can be verified by facts.
The full press release:
"Medison Press Release August 9th 2007
We at Medison have been very generous talking to the media,answering questions when we have been able to do so and kindly asked to leave out people and companies who have no insight into the Medison organization and the Medison business plan.Unfortunately this has not been respected by some individuals and also some journalists. Their actions have lately even ruined important relationships for Medison.Therefore we see no other way than to stop answering questions temporarily from media and we see no better way to answer the critics and rumours than simply do our best, which is delivering our product to our customers. In the very beginning, that is what we intended to do all the time and the Medison business idea always was to do this for its customers.
Sincerely,
Valdi Ivancic
CEO & President Medison Europe Limited"
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/123
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Todays articles
So, today Jnytt published two articles on Medison/Valdi with some semi-new stuff. Since the articles already are translated, I will just post the most important things and my views of them.
- The quote that was reported as a misquote was misquoted. See the earlier post about this. Now Valdi claims that either he never said to "PC för alla" that he was misquoted, or that it was a misunderstanding, or that he "said the wrong thing". Tommy's notes: There is however no details on why he made the original statement, including the part with the server upgrade that never was needed since the low traffic doesn't need it. I have also had an conversation with the author at "PC för alla" and he claims that it is a 100% correct and exact quote from Valdi that they published.
- Valdi again claims that they will pay VAT/sales tax in every country, but no other import fees or taxes. Tommy's notes: This means that the money they get from each sold computer to for example Sweden is $120, since our VAT is 25%. That should, except 2co's about 10% fee, also cover all other expenses in addition to the manufacturing price. Remember that Valdi has said that they actually earn money from each sold computer...
- Shipping is extra and should maximum be €25. However, this price was used after discussion with EMEA Services, that no longer wants anything to do with Medison. Tommy's notes: There is no mention if €25 is only for Sweden or all countries.
- Valdis answer to why not all fake partner ads where removed at once when they were notified about them, but rather first after every individual company contacted them and asked for removal is simple: Because they didn't have time! Tommy's notes: Wouldn't it be faster to remove them all at once, instead of waiting for all the calls and editing the page five times extra??
- Valdi uses 2co's ability to cancel orders as an excuse to not have correct information on their own site from the start. They do not know when the site will be updated with correct information.
- Valdi still doesn't know, with a week left to the first shipment, how or from where the computer will be shipped.
- Some computers will be assembled by Mastiff Technology in Brazil. See below post on this.
- Valdi says that the discussions on his and Medisons trust on the Internet takes up too much of his time, and considers to stop talking to the press. Tommy's notes: One start would be to fix the site, and to show something real about the computers...
Request for help
Hey everyone, I'm working on translations and research on today's articles about Medison, this will be posted later tonight CET.
In the meantime I would like you to help to find a company called "Mastiff Technology". It's supposed to be located in São Paulo, Brazil. This is the partner company that is supposed to assemble Medison's computers according to Valdi, but it's hard to validate if this company exists or not. Anyone who can help?
In the meantime I would like you to help to find a company called "Mastiff Technology". It's supposed to be located in São Paulo, Brazil. This is the partner company that is supposed to assemble Medison's computers according to Valdi, but it's hard to validate if this company exists or not. Anyone who can help?
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Medison's shipping company cancels partnership
"IDG/PC För Alla" now writes that they have contacted the CEO of EMEA Services that is stated on http://www.medisoncelebrity.com/ as their shipping partner. They say that they only have had initial talks with Medison, but now has canceled the partnership completely. This is due to "Commercial reasons". PC För Alla has tried to contact Valdi for a comment, but has been unable to reach him.
http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.115657
Update: Jnytt also verifies this, and adds a comment from EMEA Services CEO that Valdi was "chocked and sad" when he was informed about them canceling the deal.
They also write that they will publish an article tomorrow with an interview about the false hit ratings, and that interview was made before he got the words from EMEA Services.
http://www.jnytt.se/Read__9781.aspx
http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.115657
Update: Jnytt also verifies this, and adds a comment from EMEA Services CEO that Valdi was "chocked and sad" when he was informed about them canceling the deal.
They also write that they will publish an article tomorrow with an interview about the false hit ratings, and that interview was made before he got the words from EMEA Services.
http://www.jnytt.se/Read__9781.aspx
Valdi misquoted... Again! (2 updates)
Forgot to post this earlier:
"IDG/PC För Alla" contacted Valdi about the quote in Jnytt about traffic and the fact that their own numbers from http://medisoncelebrity.com/webalizer/ doesn't match. His answer to this is simply that he was misquoted, and that he never said those numbers. I wonder if the quote about that they had to upgrade their servers to cope with the traffic also was made up by the journalist, because with the actual numbers, there really isn't anything that needs to be upgraded, at least not on a web hotel that charges them $2 a month for hosting...
http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.115585
This is just one of the claimed misquotes. Some of the other has been that he never said that they had manufacturing plants in Brazil, and that the prime minister thing was blown out of proportion by the tabloids (check the transcript below and the election-page and make up your own mind if it's correct or not..).
Update 1: I saw that "Mats" translated the most important part in a comment to the earlier post about this:
"Valdi: -I must have meant hits. You can see in the statistics that we've had about 1,2 million hits. I can't remember speaking about unique visitors.
PC för alla: -But in the article where you are qouted you say that you've had 1,5 million unique visitors each day. And that you've had more than 10 million in a week.
Valdi: -What? I've said no such thing. And i haven't mentioned any weekly statistics at all.
PC för alla: -So you say you've been misqouted?
Valdi: -Yes I have."
Update 2: I just got a mail from the chief editor of Jnytt, and she writes that they have contacted Valdi regarding the misquote. His answer was that he "said the wrong thing" to IDG/PC För Alla...
"IDG/PC För Alla" contacted Valdi about the quote in Jnytt about traffic and the fact that their own numbers from http://medisoncelebrity.com/webalizer/ doesn't match. His answer to this is simply that he was misquoted, and that he never said those numbers. I wonder if the quote about that they had to upgrade their servers to cope with the traffic also was made up by the journalist, because with the actual numbers, there really isn't anything that needs to be upgraded, at least not on a web hotel that charges them $2 a month for hosting...
http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.115585
This is just one of the claimed misquotes. Some of the other has been that he never said that they had manufacturing plants in Brazil, and that the prime minister thing was blown out of proportion by the tabloids (check the transcript below and the election-page and make up your own mind if it's correct or not..).
Update 1: I saw that "Mats" translated the most important part in a comment to the earlier post about this:
"Valdi: -I must have meant hits. You can see in the statistics that we've had about 1,2 million hits. I can't remember speaking about unique visitors.
PC för alla: -But in the article where you are qouted you say that you've had 1,5 million unique visitors each day. And that you've had more than 10 million in a week.
Valdi: -What? I've said no such thing. And i haven't mentioned any weekly statistics at all.
PC för alla: -So you say you've been misqouted?
Valdi: -Yes I have."
Update 2: I just got a mail from the chief editor of Jnytt, and she writes that they have contacted Valdi regarding the misquote. His answer was that he "said the wrong thing" to IDG/PC För Alla...
More translations
Dan has provided us with some translation of Swedish news articles:
EXPERTS: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE COMPUTERS THAT CHEAP
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/107
MEDISON'S NUMBERS DO NOT ADD UP
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/106
Translated transcript from the press conference with whe prime minister plans:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/108
EXPERTS: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE COMPUTERS THAT CHEAP
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/107
MEDISON'S NUMBERS DO NOT ADD UP
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/106
Translated transcript from the press conference with whe prime minister plans:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/108
More fun stuff from medison.se
So, there has been some digging on medison.se, and some fun stuff has been found:
http://medison.se/val2006/indexex.html
Valdis page he created to the election 2006 in Sweden when he was running for prime minister. Contains some fun stuff like "The campaign will only be a week long since the voting is on Sunday!"
http://medison.se/medisonshop
Medison Clothes Shop
"In short Medison will be selling Armani, Dolce&Gabbana, Versace and DKNY among other big fashion clothes brands in the Number One Fashion City in South America." Make sure to visit the link to Medison Clothes Collection 2006...
Update: I forgot this one, quite interesting too: http://medisoncelebrity.com/a4desk.swf
http://medison.se/val2006/indexex.html
Valdis page he created to the election 2006 in Sweden when he was running for prime minister. Contains some fun stuff like "The campaign will only be a week long since the voting is on Sunday!"
http://medison.se/medisonshop
Medison Clothes Shop
"In short Medison will be selling Armani, Dolce&Gabbana, Versace and DKNY among other big fashion clothes brands in the Number One Fashion City in South America." Make sure to visit the link to Medison Clothes Collection 2006...
Update: I forgot this one, quite interesting too: http://medisoncelebrity.com/a4desk.swf
Medisons real traffic
So, yesterday in jnytts article Valdi said that Medison received 1.5 million unique visitors each day. Today we can present the real numbers, trough the hosting company's own tools:
http://medisoncelebrity.com/webalizer/
http://medison.se/webalizer/
Let me put it like this: So far in august, medisoncelebrity.com has received about 70 000 hits...
Update: There is already a mirror of the webalizers available at http://dump.plux.se/ if the statistics would be removed. And thanks plux for providing all the links and mirror.
Update 2: A reader made us aware of the fact that the page thanks.html that you should be redirected to when you have finished the order process only has received about 3500 hits. That doesn't look like any 300 000 orders to me...
Update 3: Jnytt has published an article about that the numbers from Valdi and the ones from the Webalizer doesn't add up. They have tried to contact Valdi for a comment but has not been able to get in contact with him. http://jnytt.se/Read__9770.aspx
http://medisoncelebrity.com/webalizer/
http://medison.se/webalizer/
Let me put it like this: So far in august, medisoncelebrity.com has received about 70 000 hits...
Update: There is already a mirror of the webalizers available at http://dump.plux.se/ if the statistics would be removed. And thanks plux for providing all the links and mirror.
Update 2: A reader made us aware of the fact that the page thanks.html that you should be redirected to when you have finished the order process only has received about 3500 hits. That doesn't look like any 300 000 orders to me...
Update 3: Jnytt has published an article about that the numbers from Valdi and the ones from the Webalizer doesn't add up. They have tried to contact Valdi for a comment but has not been able to get in contact with him. http://jnytt.se/Read__9770.aspx
Monday, August 6, 2007
More strange stuff from Valdi
In an interview with Valdi today in "Jnytt" we can find even more strange things coming out from his mouth:
- They have until now received over 300 000 orders in different forms.
- Their website receives 1.5 millions unique visitors each day.
- They need to upgrade their servers to cope with the traffic.
- Valdi sees Microsoft as a future partner to get money from, and he says "It would be strange if Microsoft would just sit and look at us when we sells hundreds of thousands of computers with Linux pre-installed.". Microsoft would pay Medison to be shown as a partner on their website so customers could buy windows directly when ordering the computer.
- Orders made from Europe will be sent directly from the manufacturer in Asia, and orders from America will be assembled in Brazil and ship from there.
These answers and claims just adds more questions than answers really. They have earlier said that they have a capacity of manufacturing 5000 computers per month, this would make the delivery time 5 years for the orders coming in now. And how are they supposed to upgrade THEIR servers when they are hosted by a company that charges 2 dollars per month for hosting? Could 1.5 million unique visitors really be true? Will customers have to pay for the shipping from Asia?
Over all, this article just publishes even more bullshit from Valdi, without one ounce of criticism towards the answers. Weak, very weak. And they even call the article "Medisons CEO against the wall"...
http://www.jnytt.se/Read__9766.aspx
Update, someone posted a translation over at Medisons forums: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/medisoncelebrity/message/97
Saturday, August 4, 2007
A video...
(No, I'm not the author)
Edit: I do understand the criticism for posting this video. I posted it just before I went to bed yesterday and should have supplied more information about it.
The reason I posted it was that I try to collect all information regarding Medison here, whether or not it is "completely correct". As long as I have a source for the information I don't see any problem with it.
Now about the video, it really isn't as funny (and actually a bit true in a sad way) if you haven't listened to the press conference, which I guess most of you haven't since it's in Swedish. It's very spot on, and dealing with many of the strange things Valdi said. I really do believe that it's a good entry to the discussion.
Edit: I do understand the criticism for posting this video. I posted it just before I went to bed yesterday and should have supplied more information about it.
The reason I posted it was that I try to collect all information regarding Medison here, whether or not it is "completely correct". As long as I have a source for the information I don't see any problem with it.
Now about the video, it really isn't as funny (and actually a bit true in a sad way) if you haven't listened to the press conference, which I guess most of you haven't since it's in Swedish. It's very spot on, and dealing with many of the strange things Valdi said. I really do believe that it's a good entry to the discussion.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Even more about shipping (and 2CO)
Valdi has confirmed on their forum that they will charge extra for shipping and that it will be done trough UPS globally. They don't know how they will charge for it, but either C.O.D. or payment in advance in some way (Hmm, some way to get money after all?). They still don't know how much it will be however.
2co has also changed their view somewhat and saying that Medison hasn't been clear enough about the shipping charges. They are still trying to figure this out with Medison, but in the meantime they say that customers can refuse the delivery if there is any charge for shipping, and receive full refund for the purchase.
Now, this opens up for another question: Since Medison don't have any initial economical assets, what happens then if loads of customers refuses the shipment and Medison is charged them self with double shipping for thousands of orders? Is the shipping partner aware of that economical risk?
2co has also changed their view somewhat and saying that Medison hasn't been clear enough about the shipping charges. They are still trying to figure this out with Medison, but in the meantime they say that customers can refuse the delivery if there is any charge for shipping, and receive full refund for the purchase.
Now, this opens up for another question: Since Medison don't have any initial economical assets, what happens then if loads of customers refuses the shipment and Medison is charged them self with double shipping for thousands of orders? Is the shipping partner aware of that economical risk?