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UN-believable! Nobody can be THAT naive…

5 May 2008 by 7 Comments
UN-believable! Nobody can be THAT naive…

…or can they?  It was hillarious reading the thread on real estate webmasters initiated by Mr. Ron Park.  Mr. Park was miffed about the results of his $10,500 outlay to try and clone Redfin. 

He hired a low-cost provider to do it for him.  Then, when he didn’t get the results he hoped for, he proceeded to dispute the charges on his credit card and asked for help on a  public discussion forum at realestatewebmasters on how to get unstuck.  He was kind enough to conveniently provide full reference about his intent to produce a “…Redfin.com clone, in all functionalities and appearance…”

>>”My name is Ron Park and I have been working with a service provider…to create my real estate mash-up site. My project…was for a Redfin.com clone, in all functionalities and appearance. They were supposed to finish the site by January 25th, 2008 but yesterday, 4/24/08, I told them I’m through with them. The site is nowhere near being a Redfin clone, and they’ve just been problematic from the start. I have given this company a total of $10,500…” <<

Redfin caught on.  It’s not clear if they’re taking any next steps.  But on one of their blog posts last week, they so appropriately pointed out the most laughable feature about Mr. Park’s clone:  at the bottom were the words:  “Copyright 2008 Tareu.com”

I tried to take a look at Mr. Park’s site. Not surprisingly, it appears to be in a state of disrepair.  But, yep, there’s the copyright.  And, so was a link to “Sweet Digs,” a would-be clone of a Redfin link to Redfin’s online newsletter.  (Have you no shame?!)

tareu

Hmmm… I also seem to recall a Realtor logo on Mr. Park’s site.  I wonder how this squares with NAR’s code of ethics?

  • http://www.adeltarealty.net Glenn in Naples

    I don’t think Mr. Park did a very good job at writing his RFP or reviewing the responses.

    IMHO – I think you were too kind in saying the site was in a state of disrepair – especially after visiting it myself.

  • Mel Aclaro

    Yeah, pretty bad, huh?

  • http://stlouismo.com/blogs/st-louis-missouri-real-estate/default.aspx St Louis Missouri Real Estate

    wow – “A fool and his money will soon part ways” I think that is the old saying. =) great post

  • Ron Park

    Hello all,

    I humbly present myself to the community of RealBlogging.com and I apologize to you for what I have done with trying to create a Redfin clone.

    It will definitely sound like the stupidest thing you’ve heard, but my naiveness and stupidity was real. I had no malicious intent in my desire to have a clone, but I understand now that even though my intentions were so, that I’m still wrong at the end of the day.

    I’ve learned hard lessons from this whole matter, and have dropped the ball on wanting a Redfin. I understand and realize that as a solo worker, it is just not possible to achieve it legally and to the caliber of Redfin.

    I apologize and ask for your forgiveness.

    -Ron Park

  • Mel Aclaro

    Hi Ron.

  • Ron Park

    Mel,
    Honestly, I thank you for being so kind.

    You know, I posted the REW forum post sometime at the end of April, and I’ve felt so ashamed from the responses that I received there. I thought it’d be over, but then when I found your post, and then Glenn’s post on Redfin, my whole conscious shook. Even checking out this blog and the Redfin blog to see if there were any responses, I shudder.

    I thought you were going to crucify me even after my reply on this post, but I thank you for accepting my apology and being kind and uplifting to my current struggle.

    Thank you, Mel. Really.

    I’ll be coming to RB and subscribing to the feed.

    -Ron

  • http://www.stevesimon.us Steve Simon

    It is a cold individual that doesn’t have the ability to understand when someone has made an error and wishes to atone for it.
    People are going to make mistakes, period.
    Some are errors in judgement, some in execution, some come in other areas. There are some factors to apply to any mistake:
    In this case intent being the first (yes he may have intended to clone, but it was poor judgement that allowed that). He sounds as if he really didn’t think he was crossing the line.
    Then there how the person reacts to the mistake being aired (here this man understands he was wrong, and in the spotlight, such as it is in the internet, says he is sorry).
    Forgiveness is a dish that should be served often :)