I’ll mark this down as one of those when-I-find-the-time projects, but I want to write a feature story about the failure of iFulfill.com, an order fulfillment company that was undercapitalized and, some say, mismanaged.

Former owner Paul Purdue caught a lot of heat for blogging about the abrupt closure instead of spending time helping clients retrieve their inventory from his soon-to-be-closed warehouses. I was engrossed with the story itself, the comments on Purdue’s blog, and posts on a Yahoo! community forum.

Other fulfillment companies swooped down like Superman, rescuing Purdue’s desperate clients by offering to pick up and deliver inventory languishing in his warehouses. Angry and heartbroken clients, some close to financial ruin, had to break the bad news to their customers. It seems that most items were recovered and returned to worried clients, but the ensuing financial loss is still mounting, I’m sure. At least one company or person has filed suit against Purdue.

This BusinessWeek article (also see the magazine’s blog for more information) angered Purdue’s clients even more. A seemingly nonchalant Purdue is photographed smiling. A subplot in the drama is the role of Purdue’s blog consultant. Clients and others place some of the blame for their predicament on the consultant. They say Purdue’s blogging (a waste of time?) contributed to his business’s failure, although the consultant was not aware that his company was failing.

Implications and questions abound, particularly for blog consultants: Should we bear some of the blame for advice that may not be in the best interest of the client? Is it prudent to blog the failure of a business? As blog consultants evangelizing about “transparency” and “honesty,” how transparent and honest are we when it comes to our businesses? Are we exempt? If so, why?