dealing with some flake.
Website people = flakes. Every last one of the bastards.
I agree. None of them want to do anything. They are the experts, but they want you to tell them exactly how you want it. Once you do that, they say "ok, pay me and I'll do it." You ask for any type of sample or proof before giving them money and they basically tell you no. God forbid someone spend 3 hours making an example so you can get some sample before you hand $3000.
I found one local woman that isn't, but she wants a TON of money for SEO and a moderate amount of the design/programming work. She's quoting that for me to get high on google, it's 3 months at $750/month for her to go in and do SEO. To me, that's a large sum of money. It also isn't a guaranteed service so even after she does that, I might still be on page 4.
If I could use an out of the box install of Zencart, OsCommerce or any of the other options, I would. I need custom features done. It's not an option otherwise.