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From: usenet@saturn.ucsc.edu (Usenet News Account)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.misc,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Shrinking Software
Message-ID: <1985@saturn.ucsc.edu>
Date: 17 Feb 88 02:18:30 GMT
Organization: U.C. Santa Cruz, CIS/CE.
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References:<8055@g.ms.uky.edu> <174@piring.cwi.nl> <39450@sun.uucp> <39910@sun.


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From: avalon@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Scott A. McIntyre)
Path: ucscb.UCSC.EDU!avalon

+-In article <2281@charon.unm.edu>, hansb@ariel.unm.edu.UUCP (Hans Bechtel) wrot
e:-
+----------
|
| I know of a store in a big city in New Mexico that after they buy the
| software to sell, they open up the package, copy it, and pass it to
| a few of their friends, shrink-wrap it again, and put it back on the
| shelves for sale.
|
| I won't mention any names here, but I think it is wrong to do the above.
|
| Hans Bechtel
+----------


I agree.

I used to work for a company in Southern California whose policy it was that
if a customer was in any way not satisfied with the product, the could return
it, if they keep the receipt, for a full refund.  We would then test it, make
sure all of the docs were there, then re shrinkwrap the product and place
it back on the shelves.

MOST of the time we never had a problem with this.  Most customers were able
to realize that the policy was set there for those that REALLY did not like
product, or felt that they had not gotten their money's worth, and did
not abuse it.  There were, however, a few people that would buy at one of
our stores, and return at a different one.  Every return is fully documented,
whether or not we give cash or store credit back, and sometimes, if the
sales person, or the manager thinks that the return is not quite on the
up and up, he or she will phone other area stores and inform them that we
have had a return, and they may want to be on the lookout for a series
of them by the same person/people.

The worst case of this abuse was a customer that purchased the FULL doctor's
office manager, and several other IBM brand software packages, at different
times, then proceeeded to return them within two days.  The first time we
said ok, the second we grimaced, and the third we informed that they were
no longer allowed to return a product unless it was defective, and we would
be happy to test it on our machines before they left the store so that
we would know right off if it was defective or not.

Overall, this policy, of being able to reshrink has a great number of ad-
vantages, but it is too bad that some feel that this is an opportunity
to "rip off" software manufacturers, authors, and dealers.

Scott

DISCLAIMER:  The above mentioned opinions are nothing more than just that,
             opinions.  They in no way reflect the feelings of others, unless
             by choice.

                                                                     

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