scottc@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Scott Craig) (09/18/88)
Has anyone ever heard of "Utilites Unlimited Inc."?
Let me help you. They advertise a lot in RUN magazine.
Here's there address:
Utilities Unlimited Inc.
12305 N.E. 152nd Street
Brush Prairie, Washington 98606
Their office hours are only 10am - 4pm weekdays.
But I've always had trouble reaching the right people to talk to
about my software submission after they've received it.
Once in a while... I would. Mainly in the beginning such as March or
April of this year when I started dealing with them. From there
I've been thrown around a lot. I do know they deliver you exactly
what you order, so as far as buying anything from them they're fine.
In fact, they have a lot of utilities people may be looking for. They
advertise they're looking for software submissions. Well... I sent one
in. I heard they rarely accept them. But they had accepted mine. In fact
they claimed they were impressed. I had taken precautions such as
sending myself the program with documentation by registered mail to myself
before sending them any copies. I would send it to them certified mail with
receipt even. Well.. they liked the first copy which was a program to run
on the C-128 in 128 mode 40 or 80 columns. They wanted me to write up
documentation for the program. I did... about 10 printed pages of
detailed information to use the program. Then they wanted a C64 version of
it which I did without too many changes. They liked that to.
I was then promised a check. Before I sent it I asked:
"Once you receive this and you like it, when will I get my check?"
A: "I see no reason why not right away after that."
After they received it and liked it:
Q: "When will I get my money?"
A: "I'll put it in the processing tomorrow right away."
Q: "How long before I get it in my hands?"
previous anser: "As quick as the mail can send it."
now : "it takes about a month to process."
Then I got the run around about the company being owned by a new owner
and the current owner always out of the office, taking the day off, or
calling me back. Never called me back. NEVER. Once right after he recvd
the first copy he called me back within 5 mins because he said he couldn't
get it to work. The problem was a faulty disk so I sent another copy and it
worked. Well... after all of that hassle, he ended up remaining in the
ownership and having a new partner. Not even the guy who was suppose to buy.
All along after my complaining about not receiving my check after a
month and a half, I was told that summer was there slow months and that
was why they were holding back giving me money.
Well... they did promise me money. Then.. they claimed they didn't have enough
funds to buy it from me. Then I complained some more... and even
threatened the power of Usenet news which they knew nothing about.
Well... then they remember promising me.
Here are some facts:
1) They claimed to spend around $10,000 a month on advertising
2) A contract was made up on their terms, which I typed with a few basic
things, ich I signed and sent to them. I never got a copy with their
signatures on it.
3) This deal was made for $1400 to be sent to me. $1400 is nothing.
4) They were going to sell the program for about $15 in a package with
some others once it was out. The previous copy of a simliar program
sold about 4 yrs ago was done in BASIC, never compiled, short, hardly
any options and sold for $29.95 for a long time. Claimed to make around
$30,000+ on it. I don't remember specifics on that.
I was only getting $1400!
I was going to list more but can't remember right now.
Anyway... I was promised the money again... and just this past week they
told me they'd have to forget about it again and to call back in a month
in case they get more money.
Oh yeah... more facts:
5) They don't even have an 80 col monitor to test the program in 80 col
mode
6) They just got a 1200 baud modem to test things on in May or June
Why can they still advertise Program Submissions wanted if they can't
afford to buy?
Why do they spend $10,000 a month on advertising, and can't afford
to give me $1400 in order for them to make good money.
The program itself I wrote, could be a little controversial on
legal terms in case it was misused. Many of there programs could be.
There was a disclaimer in it about certain laws in different areas.
If you have anything to help me out with, or are more curious, send me
net mail since I won't always be able to check this newsgroup.
Oh yeah, there phone # is 206-254-6530
I have doubts about getting my money. And I feel this issue should be
heard!
They've never been nasty to me though. In fact they've been really
nice when I can reach the right people or even just the person who
answers the phone. The 2 partners who make decisions are:
Reggie (the past owner also)
John
I don't know their last names, but could find out without any trouble.
You can also reach me through netmail as "scottc@jolnet.UUCP"
probably.elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green) (09/19/88)
in article <814@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US>, scottc@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Scott Craig) says: > Has anyone ever heard of "Utilites Unlimited Inc."? > Let me help you. They advertise a lot in RUN magazine. Not surprisingly, I wouldn't trust these people further than I could throw them. The Commodore community has a long history of companies such as Megasoft coming in and suckering in developers, then screwing them... and when heat starts coming down, they take the money and run. What we need, instead of such for-pay things, is a registry of public domain/freeware programs. Alas, the only way that would work would be something like the Fish Disk collection for the Amiga -- a popular Amiga magazine (Amazing Computing) regularly publishes information on how to get a complete catalog of the Fish Disks, how to order, etc. Another point is cost of acquisition.... which is why I do not count TPUG as being a valid collection point (when floppy diskettes were $1, they were charging $5 for one! As does Fish, but we're talking 3 1/2" diskettes with 880K, with useful programs...). -- Eric Lee Green ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509 MISFORTUNE, n. The kind of fortune that never misses.
wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (09/19/88)
In article <814@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US>, scottc@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Scott Craig) writes: > Has anyone ever heard of "Utilites Unlimited Inc."? > Let me help you. They advertise a lot in RUN magazine. > > Their office hours are only 10am - 4pm weekdays. > But I've always had trouble reaching the right people to talk to I sold a program to another company, Academy Software, a few years ago. Of course, things have changed quite a bit in the market since then. At first, either of the two main guys would be there anytime I called. As the software market got soft, it seemed like one guy went out and found a job somewhere... > ... I had taken precautions such as > sending myself the program with documentation by registered mail to myself > before sending them any copies. I would send it to them certified mail with > receipt even. Good precaution... looks like you've done all you could. You might consider filing an official copyright on it, but legally you're already protected by taking steps to prove ownership. The copyright process only costs $10, though, so you might go ahead and do it. Call your local Federal Information phone number. > I was then promised a check. Before I sent it I asked: > > "Once you receive this and you like it, when will I get my check?" > > A: "I see no reason why not right away after that." To quote Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on." > 2) A contract was made up on their terms, which I typed with a few basic > things, ich I signed and sent to them. I never got a copy with their > signatures on it. Then you don't *have* a contract. When Academy sent me a contract, they'd already signed it. If I had decided to add some clauses, it would have been necessary for both parties to initial the clauses for them to become legal and valid. > 3) This deal was made for $1400 to be sent to me. $1400 is nothing. I am slightly confused. Was the agreement to sell the program outright for $1400, or was the $1400 an advance against royalties? For the C64/128 market these days, $1400 is probably a pretty good payoff for a freelance utilities-type program. In fact, they may have decided that $1400 was too much. If it were considered an advance against royalties, the final contract probably would have had a clause requiring you to pay back the unearned portion of the advance. In any case, they promised to send you $1400 and didn't... > 4) They were going to sell the program for about $15 in a package with > some others once it was out. The previous copy of a simliar program > sold about 4 yrs ago was done in BASIC, never compiled, short, hardly > any options and sold for $29.95 for a long time. Claimed to make around > $30,000+ on it. I don't remember specifics on that. > I was only getting $1400! My initial royalty agreement with Academy Software was for 15% of the "out the door" price... in other words, if they sold it direct to a customer for $30, I got $4.50; if they sold it to Toys-R-Us for $15, I got $2.25. Later, when the market went soft, I volunteered to drop my royalty to 10%. I never felt "stiffed" by 15%. That was the going rate at the time, as I had offers from 10-15%. What did they do with their 85%? They put together a *very* nice package, advertised in all the magazines, and used they contacts with the major distributors to get my program picked up. One guy gave me a hard time, a few years back... he was trying to do it all himself. I used to see his program at one local computer store, where he hand-delivered disks in baggies with xeroxed copies of dot-matrix documention. Then I'd go to Toys-R-Us, where they had a BBIIIGGGGG poster advertising my program. All I had to do was collect royalty checks All right... say they made $30,000 on the combining of your program and another on one disk. 10% is $3,000, of which you'd get half: $1,500. *If* the program sold that well, their quoted $1,400 is quite reasonable. But in this day and age, I doubt if any "hole in the wall" software house could do that good, expecially on a utility. As they say, "It sounds too good to be true..." > 5) They don't even have an 80 col monitor to test the program in 80 col > mode 80 Column monitor? I get along quite well with my trusty 1702. > Why can they still advertise Program Submissions wanted if they can't > afford to buy? Advertising, typically, is sold many months in advance. Take a look at it from their point of view. Here's this guy nice enough to send them an excellent program. If they sell it without compensating you, it's up to you to hire a lawyer and take then to court. If Academy had screwed me, there would have been very little I could have afforded to do. The only other thing you might have done is ask for references from the other folks whose software they market. Talking to those guys directly might have given some indications, but when a company is in trouble, all sorts of stuff can happen. Heck, Academy gave my name to a couple of folks a couple of years ago. They called and I said all sorts of nice things about Academy. Then the market fell through... I doubt if they sold very many copies, because five programs of that time hit the market at the same time. Gee, I hope they don't blame me... :-) Anyway, you don't have a legal contract with those clowns. Tell them to pay up, or you'll go somewhere else. Then do so. Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja)