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Is there anyone really "in"-business on the web?

 
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy


Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah

PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2005 8:55 pm    Post subject: Is there anyone really "in"-business on the web? Reply with quote

Over the past few days I have been searching for several items via the net (big mistake).



Of SEVEN sites I researched, 4 are no longer in business - they just haven't taken their site down cause they paid for five years worth; two went into bankruptcy - yes, they still have their sites up and running - the sites look good; and the last one - although it falls into a similar catagory as the bankruptcies - they bought several other dot coms in the last year, got bought out by an oil company, got sold off (on paper only) and has since been closed down...



I won't go into the research I did to find out this information, but suffice it to say it was intense. These companies did not answer emails, did not have working phone numbers, did not have the patents they claimed to have, did not ---well, just did not do business in a way which might have kept them in business.



Finally, isn't it interesting these days how everyone seems to have a patent on something? Do the research, you find no patent issued or it's for something totally different than what is promoted via the good ol' web.



There ought to be a law....



(Just a rave and a rant from a disgruntled internet junkie... )



Frank F
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billelder
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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Frank,

Sorry for your troubles. But, this is exactly what the internet is and does. You said
Quote:
Over the past few days I have been searching for several items via the net

Maybe you were looking for a rare item or a real bargain? A friend gave me a Tascam Reel to Reel deck but with no 10" hubs. So, I did an internet search. Even bought a pair on E-Bay that didn't fit because I didn't look closely enough at the design. Finally found just what I was looking for on a company web site.

People can (and do) represent themselves any way they want. Regardless of who owns them or has bought them, you've hit a good rule of thumb. The internet changed the world in some good ways and some bad. But it all boils down to you doing what you did. Homework.

And about patents. I see a commercial all the time (with hired voiceover) telling me to be sure to register that great idea for a belly-button cleaner or else someone else will and steal my fortune. So, I'm not surprised at the volume of patents.

Reminds me of my domain name. It's my name. But it was bought and owned by a gentleman in Alabama. It was his preacher's name. He bought it because my name was also an artist for Mad magazine and drew a cartoon for Playboy. He didn't want anyone on a site to Google his preacher's name and find out that information. (The flaw is you find it anyway even without the domain.) Try as I might he wouldn't release it...but he would sell it to me for a handsome sum. This is after he asked me to write a letter explaining about myself so I could be deemed worthy of a domain with my own name. I was declined, but kept checking the availability. (The domain didn't even lead to a web site.) I suspect his preacher moved on because one day it was available. Know what? As long as he owned it, there was nothing I could do.
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