[tramov]

Magento's largest problem is that most people who look at it assume it is like Wordpress. Download, click install, change the theme somewhat and get started.

Very unlike Wordpress this is hard. So you either shell out cash to outside developers (a healthy enough marketplace exists) or pay the price in learning how to program it yourself.

Enough decent materials on how to do this exist but it is definitely not aimed at weekend programmers.

[aleachjr]

I don't think anybody would disagree that Magento has a pretty healthy learning curve. Additionally, there are too many companies out in the world who are just looking for the cheapest developer that they can find. This combination creates a huge problem. I would venture to guess that most weekend PHP developers think that they are capable of developing in Magento. I mean, do you think you can take on any new PHP project and figure out how to make it work? While some may have skills to do such, it is the large marjority that do not have the drive, desire, or knowledge to do this the right way. In the end, it is this group of people who are giving others in the Community a bad name. They hack Mage code, lack even basic development skills, and leave projects in an even worse position than when they started. The Magento community can only do so much in education and help. Additionally, Magento recognized that this was a huge problem and started providing training with Magento U. While this may not be cost effective for every developer in the world, at least Magento has acknowledged that this need exists and continues to provide training and new programs on an ongoing basis. TLDR, Magento is complex, and complex systems are not meant for every developer in the world. Pick your developers wisely and they will not burn you with bad code. Magento representation in 26% of the market sure does not seem dead to me.