Last Saturday, I followed Devi to StoresOnline – Internet Marketing Conference at JW Marriott. It was advertised in newspapers with “Free dining experience”, “Free MP3 & organizer” – which reminds me, I have to redempt my business organizer! – with free entrance!
I was going to work during the weekends so I couldn’t join her. As luck would have it, I had resigned from the job before I was given the offer letter. So I was free to join her. Besides learning more about E-Commerce is good, I can get new ideas for my handmade and imported jewelleries, original fragrances business in De Mystic Box. ;)
In the online version, there was a 9AM so we thought it would start at 9am. Devi had called the phone # provided in the newspaper several times and FREE 90 minute dinner conference in your area but nobody answered! Terrible service..
I asked Devi, “Is this for real? Free food and advice? They’ll get us to buy something later.”
So we arrived at Kommuter at 8am + with blur eyes. So not enough sleep. *yawn* The night before, I had celebrated Sam, T-Bone and NeverZzz’s birthday with friends.
When we reached there, we saw the sign and arrived there 9+am but it had started! We checked the schedule with the staffs at the lobby and found out the time for the next session. The friendly staff told us usually the registration and food were done 1 hour before starting.
The organizer was a novice? There was no schedule listed in the newspaper or email, whatsoever.
We decided to check out the conference anyway and found our way through the halls and peeked through the ballroom’s door slit. There were only about 2-3 rows filled for the 1st session. So few people!
So we walked around the area since Devi had never shopped around there, except – passing by Low Yat Plaza and once at Times Square! A city gal who rarely venture out to the city. :)
Most of the shops weren’t opened yet. Borders was opened!
“Want to watch movie?!” Devi asked.
“Sure!!!”
We went to GSC but it wasn’t opened yet. Lots of horror & CNY movies.
We checked out the magazines and then left for the conference. The staffs were Caucasions in suits.
Tea and coffee were available.
There were more people this time.
The instructor was a Lance Robinson. He was funny but it was a typical marketing conference to make money.
He pressed the importance of 3 words:
- Find
- Like
- Buy
As for the specific steps to the magical 3 words, you’ll have to attend the real conference at RM150 + free guest. He claimed all the sessions were “SOLD OUT” but “if you can’t make it, you can talk with our staffs at the back if we can slot you in.” How SOLD OUT is that?
If you go to the Real conference, Lance said, “You’ll get a DVD which you must view before coming to the real conference and there’ll be a team from US to consult you personally.”
He touched briefly about The Benefits of E-Commerce, Business Model package that StoresOnline offer, ePublishing and Drop Shipping (establish direct business with manufacturers).
Business Model package:
- Programming & Software (SW) fee (1 time only) RM5 800
- Hosting & Support (annual) RM5 600
This is valid if you have attended the Real Conference. Better yet, you’ll get #1 Programming & SW fee (1 time only) RM5 800 waived off. Hah.
Since there weren’t enough Business Organizer to give to us, we had to enter our codes in Success-Event.
It’s clever that they are giving free conference as a lure to get you to buy their products & services. It’s probably cheaper and faster than hiring marketing and sales staff to attract clients one-to-one.
For listening this, we got a lump of chicken/fish with bits of salad and witnessed 2 audiences pocketed RM50 each.
We didn’t buy the Real Conference but almost 1/2 of the audiences did. In fact, a man sitting next to me let us see his box which contained a DVD and some papers about StoresOnline.
Lance did mention that appearing at the top of search engines are SUPER important. “If you are not at the top, words and description are very important.” The word “FREE” is the catcher.
Google search “Storesonline internet marketing conference”
I am Rainbow 
Your friend is correct that your website needs to appear at the top of the search engines. That can’t happen with a storesonline website. They do this on purpose so they came back later and use their affiliate PMI to solicite repairing your websites (Marketing) for about $16,000.00 U.S.. The Mormon mafia got me for the initial 6 websites and add ons for around $6400.00 but I didn’t get stuck for the PMI fees like a fee unfortunate souls I spoke to. I advise anyone reading this to go spend $5.00 or $6.00 on a fast food value meal so you don’t get ripped off by the Mormon Mafia for 5 or $6,000.00.. Their websites don’t work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Screwed over, that wasn’t my friend. That was what the speaker said. What happened to your websites now? Did you get refund?
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Did you ever get your MP3 player? Was it an iPod shuffle like the one they show on their letter?
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Didn’t get that or expect to. I know these companies put more ‘honey’ to their ads than actual before I went.
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I went to an event very similar in the Sacramento, California area. The same guy gave the presentation here.
We did receive something that looks like an mp3 player. However, but it was not the iPod Shuffle like they advertised. It’s a knock-off of the 1st generation iPod shuffle made by a company called Flair.
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Hey, good info! Keep up the good job!
Hope we can share some ideas on internet marketing, blog me at Internet Marketing Blog For Newbie
Or visit me at Internet Marketing Strategies Revealed
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Man lets keep this article going. My wife and I got screwed over by StoresOnline for $4000 (yea we got the 6 stores for $4000 instead of $6000) because we were on our way out the door and we got one of those “hold on and let me see what I can do….” BLAH BLAH BLAH. Here are a few things they don’t tell you … you have 3 days (TOTAL) to cancel and it is written only – they will not announce this but after 3 days to get your money back you might as well ask your dog for the refund.
Also they will not tell you how to get to the top of Google if you come to the FREE seminar… The big HAHA joke is that if you buy their $6000 website you will know but it you don’t buy from them “GOOD LUCK!” was their words exactly. And their big secret to get to the top of Google in 24 hours is Google ADWORDS. It is a paid program google offers and you can read about it anywhere.
Also after you pay $4000 or $6000 or whatever amount of ridiculous money for what they give you, plan on spending $25 a month (PER WEBSITE) just for hosting it. I pay $5.95 a month at hostmonster.com for 300 gb of space and bandwidth and host currently over 50 domains. ALso they will tell you that you can host it wherever but basicalyl you lose all the stats, merchant services and everyhting else you paid $6000 for if you do that. BUT YOU CAN!!! HAHA Right!
IF you email me right now I’d be happy to sell you my 6 websites today for $2500 as they are 100% transferrable. It’s cheaper than hte $6000 if you just want to give your money to them anyways. My email is goodpasture@gmail.com
I challenge everyone who has bought from storesonline (Stores Online Inc. or is it LLC) to write a comment here telling us of your experiences.
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I went to the stores online confrence hoping to learn to market my exisiting website better. I learned nothing in the one hour session but it was fun. They offered an ipod for $20 if you signed up moneyresourcenetwork. Money Resource network is supposed to pay you back for your purchases at sponsered stores like petsmart, etc. The kicker is, you can only get your “rewards” the following month and have to have an active subscription which is $24.95. So in order to get your rewards you have to pay $24.95. I fell for that, and I signed up for the all day seminar.
I paid a freelance designer about $1000 to have a nice website designed. My purpose of attending the seminar was only to learn some of these great marketing stragegies they seemed to freely be offering. A woman who was in the audience had come around during a break to answer questions. I told her their cost of $2800 for hosting was enormous and I would never pay that, since my hosting is $25 a month. The lady said the seminar would tell me how to find my niche, and how to find suppliers.
The day before the confrence I was looking at storesonline’s website. I followed a link that said “if you have already attended our all day seminar and want to attend our BOOTCAMP, click here”. I clicked, and it included things I thought was supposed to be in the all day semiar (such as finding dropshippers and chosing a product). I googled and read many complaints that the all day seminar was a big sales pitch, and the personal consultation was a high pressure situation, not free advice.
I decided not to attend and forfeit my $20. I had no intention of buying 6 websites or spending thousands of dollars. I really just wanted some marketing info. Others who attended said there was some useful information in the all day seminar, but about 20 minutes worth, and it cost you an entire day in a sales presentation to get it. I would have liked to had the useful info, but I’m sure there are books or tapes on it somewhere for a lot less. If anybody has some great marketing ideas or links, feel free to email me through my website! http://www.exclusiveimagehairclinic.com
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I bought three (3) websites from StoresOnline last August after I lost my job. I was hoping I could make money in a short period of time before my unemployment nsurance expires. Got excited with everything they said at the seminar because they made it sound so easy. I chose selling blank shirts for the printing industry and started working with my first of the 3 websites. After several months of working on this, I realized it involved so much work and attention compared with what they said that one can start running their website in a span of 3 months! I was also surprised to receive a fone call from a company affiliated with StoresOnline telling to get their service in promoting my website for $16,000! I told them how will I need your service if I couldnt even finish my sight inspite of me working on it fulltime? So I changed my mind and wanted to quit StoresOnline but they said I already passed the 3 days grace period. I believe it meant its either sink or swim in it cause once you signed their contract you have alreay made a pact with the devil. I can sell to anyone my 3 websites for $700. If you want it just e-mail me!
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Hi guys,
You might also want to visit my storesonline review site.
Hundreds of comments left there so far..
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I ALREADY HAD A WEBSITE TOO. THEY GAVE ME A TURKEY SANDWICH AND A GLASS OF ICE WATER FOR TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS I GOT TO GO TO AN ALL DAY SEMINAR. MY MOM IS 75 Y.O. THEY F@#KED HER OUT OF 5,000.00. I HOPE ALL THOSE MORMONS INVOLVED GO STRAIGHT TO HELL. YOU CAN GET ME INVOLVED WITH A GOOD LAWYER. USPALMS@YAHOO.COM JIM
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Reading through this blog has not provided me any real information that I found helpful. I can get this type of “advice” from a bunch of gossips in the coffee shop – what people need is real information and real help. This is where they can get it.
If you want real help with your StoresOnline site or have something to say, I recommend the following sites:
http://storesonlinesuccess.wordpress.com/
http://storesonlinesuccessblog.blogspot.com/
http://storesonline-review.blogstream.com/
For “Jim” who just posted on June 19th, if your Mom needs real help or you want to do the gallant thing and contact someone who can actually help; here is the info:
Mari Silva
Director of Customer Relations
Stores Online Inc.
Phone: (801) 227-0004
Fax: (801) 426-6712
Toll Free Fax: (888) 416-7370
Email: msilva@storesonline.com
Negative blogs like this one are just another means for irresponsible promotion of fear on the internet, enabling those who would rather complain than seize the right to their dreams, and giving bad mouthed excuses for why a person would rather choose failure than greatness. It’s a pity that this is more the standard than the exception.
I challenge you to be different – find out what is true for yourself – get real answers – you owe it to yourself to find what is true.
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There have been questions on the blog about getting in touch with Mari Silva. In order to contact her directly, you need to call 801-234-5976 or email her at msilva@storesonline.com. Mari is working with merchants and others who have questions about StoresOnline and seems to be very passionate about her work. She is someone you can talk to and get help from, so I recommend that you get in touch with her.
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ummm… so, you all got screwed over. storesonline, as corrupt as it may be, is just another company. how could anyone believe someone out there is giving free advice away? these people need money, too…
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Are there any positive comments out there…anyone who has had a good experience with storesonline? I attended a conference & workshop and everything and everybody seemed pretty straight up to me. I got the free gift mentioned in the letter (an MP3 player, not an ipod, and it specifically stated on my letter that it was not going to be an ipod), a pretty decent meal at the initial conference & a great meal at the workshop, along with a lot of good information. At the 90 minute conference I ended up purchasing the storesonline express package which is basically just the website with none of the tools or anything included for $28 and got to attend the workshop for free and I still pretty much believe everything that they said is possible. The workshop was entertaining and educational in my opinion. They never promised that anyone would “get rich quick” and said that it would take a lot of work to get positive results. There was no BS and I actually believe the things they said even more now just from reading all of the comments posted here. They are definitely making their money, but they have put in their work to get theirs’.
Judging by everything I have read and experienced I can see that they have improved a lot since they first started. I mean, they are a business, and if you look at it, their business is just selling websites. All the rest is stuff they have added to improve their business. Can you really knock that?? And at some time everybody on here had to believe that too, or they wouldn’t have invested in it.
Anyways, bottom line…I am a single parent who has been struggling for quite some time…no child support…government assistance due to job loss with the current economy…(you get the picture), and I do want to change my current situation. I am willing and able to invest the time that I feel is necessary to make the investment work, but I just didn’t have it to invest at the time (especially for the amount). And for those who are curious… the one site “StoresOnline Pro” (at the time of the workshop I attended) was $3400, and they have an unlimited multiple sites certificate now for “StoresOnline Pro Platinum” (with all the support, tools, and bootcamp included) for $6400.
All I can say is…if anyone wants to get rid of theirs, or would be willing to donate it to someone who could use it, please let me know. I am jobless right now, but I could possibly even buy your site/s in the future for a reasonable price.
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Went to the seminar this morning and paid $38 for the next step – full day seminar. Have no idea it will lead but will post next update after attending Jan 24 seminar in Houston. Sorry to say have not seen positive remarks and will keep that in mind.
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StoresOnline has discovered Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Very disturbing to witness several people giving up their hard earned money for a contract that will likely result in nothing.
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Storesonline has made it to Lafayette LA. I went to a seminar with a friend, we got the free lunch and MP3 player (a tiny thing made in China), and both of us signed up for the express package. Upon arriving at home, I was convinced by hubby to cancel the transaction, which I proceeded to do via email. One can get a much bigger website through other companies and you get more services.
Tomorrow I’m letting my friend know she needs to consider cancelling her transaction as well. What seems too good to be true usually is.
I told someone about the $24.95 webhosting fee and was told it was too high. My husband has a site he pays only $9.95/mo for and gets more for his money.
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My friend invited me to be her guest to one of the stores on line seminars. We figured free lunch and free MP3 player. I googled stores on line the night before and found out about all the lawsuits and negative comments about SOL. I printed the stuff out and took it with me to the seminar. I told people around me about the lawsuits and actually got up and walked across the room to where a man was getting out his check book. I showed him the copies of the lawsuits and he was shocked. He had been ready to buy into this. Some people did buy into it but when I left I stood by the door and told people to google SOL when they got home. Also the MP3 players were crap made in China. Nothing like the picture on the brochure. One guy said he wanted to go home and discuss it with his wife . The guy told him if he did that he wouldn’t be eligible for the “deal”. Probably figured the guy might find out about how crooked they were when he left. They probably would have thrown me out if they had know what I was doing. There were a lot of elderly people there and it’s just not right to take advantage of them.Get this…they even called my friend the night before and told her to dress semi professional..Ha ha.
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I have been with StoresOnline since 2004 and have two retail sites: http://www.HealthyHeartHelp.com and http://www.AllNaturalElements.com.
As of today, I am on page 1 (natural listing, for FREE) for thee following Google searches:
– sphygmomanometers
– medical supplies diagnostic
– supplies diagnostic equipment
– stethoscope retail price
– stethoscopes sphygmomanometers
– stethoscope retail
– stethoscopes sphygmomanometers medical
– sphygmomanometers medical supplies
– palm aneroid sphygmomanometer
– blood pressure equipment
– diagnostic equipment stethoscopes
– candle holders sconces
– holders sconces
So anyone saying hat it’s not possible to get to the top with a StoresOnline website, didn’t know how or didn’t apply the techniques and wait for results. There is no magical way to get to the top over night.
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People people people!!!!!!
I notice that you allways refer to ShopOnline as SOL. Well where I come from SOL stands for “Shit outa Luck”.That should tell you something.
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I attended a workshop in Houston last year and had a great experience. The sales pitch was a bit much but expected, how else would they make there money? I ended up shelling out the $6,000 and didn’t make a single dime the first 6 months. I was angry and upset and It wasn’t until my wife blew off the dust and starting from step 1 of merchant services and follow it step by step that we began to see results. It takes time but stick with it. The internet is real and you can make money using SOI’s program just keep at it and if its not doing anything try another idea. I’m not rich but I’ve already made over $21,000 with my SOI websites.
Stop pointing the finger at SOI and get to work because you can do it. Just be realistic, for a few thousand dollars you can start a business. If you wanted to open up a store in your town how much would that cost? Probably ten times that.
Oh and if I read another comment about Mormons on here I’ll throw up. WHy do people even bring up that up? Probably just because there based in Utah. If you ask me that’s ignorant. Best of luck everyone.
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this is both hilarious and very sad at the same time. I slithered out before they came to me face to face for my registration form. Sadly i saw several people writing out their cc #’s on the form when I left. I didn’nt really want the lunch or their sad mp3 player. this was in Burlington VT on tuesday 8/19/09. the speaker named Joanna seemed a seasoned pro scam speaker–should get into infomercials. Kinda hot, when she took her jacket of at least. No Mormon overtones but tons of the money they make sure goes there i would bet.
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StoresOnline is pure ripoff!!
RIPOFF!!
Do NOT do business with this company!
They promise they will get your website to appear at the top of a Google Search but being moderately web savvy, I saw the flaws in that and the examples they used in their presentations. Geez, if it really worked like they promised, there would be a million millionaries walking around. With many other websites selling the same type of product, everybody can’t be at the top of the Google search.
Anyways, if you want an indicator of how trustworthy ShopOnline really isn’t, just look at their presentation tactics. They promised Dinner and an Free iPod. “Dinner” was a cold turkey wrap sandwich with a tiny bag of potato chips. The mp3 player was supposed to be a choice of a (totally free) generic mp3 or an iPod mp3 (you pay shipping). Ha, I never even had a choice. Very last minute they handed everyone a card to order your mp3 at their website. There was no option for the iPod!! I would have paid the shipping. Eight weeks later, I got my mp3 player (if you can call it that!) Ya, it’s generic but I never knew they could make them that small or that cheap (and I’ve seen my share of cheap/cheesy). The “thing” is the size of my thumb!!!!! No directions other than On/Off, Play, Volume. Nothing about the battery, Do’s and Don’ts, etc. Heck, it’s even too small to put “Made in China” on it!!!
So, even if I was thinking of buying their program later, their tactics show their lack of integrity, honesty, or trust.
Not only would I not put my website with them, I would not buy anything from anyone’s website with them! Any person who does buy a website from these people may deserve my pity, but not my business!
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I had a very simular experance with the SOL, your right no option fot the $50.00 MP3 player. Just all around BS
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I had a very simular experance with the SOL, your right no option for the $50.00 MP3 player. Just all around BS
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My mother, who lives on a very fixed income and has serious medical issues, bought into this after I told her it was a scam. I am now trying to cancel and at least..she has only lost $500 but I can’t tell you how upset I am about this.
They prey on people who don’t know how websites work and if someone knew how to google -‘their name’ + scam – they would be able to see for themselves it is not worth it. Thanks for posting this and for all the comments.
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I used to work for Storesonline, and as a company they are definitely NOT the greatest. I worked their for 3 years and finally had to leave because I couldn’t handle the way they ran their business and cheated people out of their money. As an effort to try and help those who have purchased the software I’ve put together a website that offers free tutorials on the software, http://www.storetuts.com. My goal is to help people get something out of their investment. Check out the site and let me know what you think. You can also email me if you would like help trying to get something out of your investment. Good luck to you all!
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Hi-
While I do agree that storesonline is way overpriced and there are much better options out there (wish I had known them before I bought), you are able to achieve top rankings. My site comes up on page one for many keywords.
I am still however looking to move my site so someone who can preserve my information. Its ridiculous to have to pay $30 a month for every single site when places like Hostgator will host them all for one $14 a month charge.
Had I known about other providers in advance (my fault for not doing my homework), I certainly wouldn’t have gone with storesonline. But the money is spent, can’t get it back. I can either move forward and find a new host provider or sit and complain and pay storesonline more money than they deserve.
Just my take.
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I attended a conference meeting on Jan. 12th and was given two slips for mp3 players and i filled them out andhave had no response. If there is a number or if you can tell me what is going on that would be great. My number is 269-397-6455
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Well, I worked for Storesonline.com as one of their field reps and I also worked for Crexendo, their business division. I will say two things:
1. About 50% of the employees I worked with were Mormons (one was a VERY active Muslim who prayed five times a day on the road with me), but NEVER was I forced or even FELT any pressure or solicitation from any of them, in fact it was the opposite. The irony is I’m a Mormon but I was hired from outside Utah. AND, I was singled out due to a trip to Ohio where a lady kept asking questions and I did my best to avoid answering, but finally gave in after everybody else was gone. I ended up having to meet with the President of the company (who was out of line in how he handled it, a Mormon, too) but they are bending over backwards to NEVER allow their beliefs to become known or even discussed. Period.
2. Their website storefronts, of themselves, are overpriced in that you can get websites for significantly less money, but you are ALSO getting their shopping cart, etc, AND their SEO and SEM expertise. I know their core people and I know what they can do. They are easily a top 20 company in skill and knowledge when it comes to SEO and SEM for both B2C and B2B. But, if you don’t move your little finger nothing will happen. As for getting good drop-ship advice good luck going somewhere else. So, the package is seemingly overpriced, but together it is very affordable on their payment plan.
Scam? No. But, if you’re lazy just don’t go. You know the truth about what you’ll do when given the chance to actually work or sit on your behind. I have two FREE licenses from my work there and I STILL haven’t done anything with them.
You can criticize and mock their marketing effort, but they are for real and have a legitimate product. If you think they are scamming or dishonest keep this in mind: EVERY WORD the speaker says is recorded, archived and critiqued. They have to do that due to a lawsuit with a particular State Attorney General. So, if you think you were scammed put up or shut up. You can sue them and hear the actual recording of your presenter in your very own city. I personally know Clint Sanderson and Che’ Oliver, etc, and these guys keep their word. You may not like how they market, but they’re not scamming anybody.
So, if you’re gonna criticize at least be fair and accurate. Can you get the tools, training and support for less than $4000.00 somewhere else? No. At some point you’re going to realize that doing online business is a multi-discipline package–and Storesonline.com offers it.
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The amounts you pay these agricultural workers would be reported on Form W-2 and
not on Form 1099-MISC. All this talk about quantum thgis and quantum that doesn’t
need to be complex. Perhaps you’re retiring, or want to relocate to another city or town.
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