WRX Daddy
10-13-2001, 02:57 PM
As can be expected from a company that has long lacked a sense of integrity and personal responsibility, JC Sports once again is unfairly placing the blame on someone else instead of admitting their own incompetence. Although I realize that most of the people on this board who have been ripped off by JC Sports are not likely to buy the latest of their excuses, as the former jcsportsinc.com webmaster I wanted to set the story straight. After purchasing an exhaust from JC Sports in early January, I began discussing a redesign of their website with Joe, the owner of the company. I was willing to give him a good deal on the site by agreeing to barter for Subaru parts. Joe told me that if I gave him the e-commerce website he wanted, I would get everything that I wanted. Before the site went live at the end of January, I presented him with a list of all the products I wanted, which was under $10,000 retail value, and would cost him only a fraction of that because he is the manufacturer of a majority of the products on the list. When Joe went to purchase the domain name, all of his credit cards were rejected, so he asked me to purchase it for him, with promises that he would pay me back for it. I then purchased jcsportsinc.com and jcsportsracing.com with my own credit card.
During the first 3 months after the website went live, I received a number of the barter items from JC Sports including an air intake, front strut tower bar (prototype, unpainted), all 4 sets of clear lights, a pulley, a rear strut tower bar (which Joe later took off to ‘prototype’ and then sold), rear differential mount, an 18 mm rear sway bar, and an STI “I” badge. I also participated in a 3-car trade with my struts and springs, where I got the used ones from Joe’s car, Joe got a ProDrive suspension setup, and the other car got my stock struts and springs so the guy could trade it in for a new WRX. Over the course of 8 months (Jan-Aug), I developed the 200+ page e-commerce site for JC Sports, maintained the site, and constantly adding new products. I also spent many days coming into the shop to gather requirements as well as answering phones/customer service and helping with shipping. I even displayed my dedication to JC Sports by loaning Joe $500 to bail him out of trouble when a guy from Canada was coming down to trade his turbo kit for his money back (buyer’s remorse), and Joe did not have the money to pay him. Joe only repaid me after a month with 2 checks that bounced, and then one that finally went through. The entire time that I was helping JC Sports out, I was constantly asking Joe when I would receive my IHI Turbo and 4 Pot Brake set to make the barter complete. Joe understood that these items were the remaining part of the barter, and would always tell me that he was working on it. I warned him that I could no longer make changes to the site until the terms of our barter were met, yet Joe would constantly call me demanding website changes right away.
By August, I was fed up with JC Sports’ empty promises. After seeing how many checks JC Sports bounced every month, how the company’s employees were not getting paid, and how many customers had been ripped off, I decided it was time to cut my losses and turn off the website. I felt that considering how much money JC Sports had made off the website, and how I had been paid with less than $2,000 worth of good for my months of dedication to them, they had gotten the better of me, and all I could do now was take back the product that they had not paid me for, the website and the domain name. I never demanded $12,000 dollars or made any threats of posting a derogatory website. JC Sports was aware of the consequences of not fulfilling my barter.
After the website was taken down, Joe could have either gotten me my turbo or called me up to negotiate a more manageable bargain (which he could have done in the first place instead of telling me for 8 months that I’d get my turbo in 2 weeks or so). Instead, Joe called the police, telling them that all the parts I had on my car were stolen and that I was threatening to destroy his business unless I received $10,000 by the end of the day (all lies). He was trying to get me arrested and the car repossessed, but of course the police simply laughed after they heard my story and found out that I own the domain name. Now he is threatening to sue me for shutting down his business. Considering the serious financial debt that JC Sports was in at the time, and all the bridges they had burned with vendors and customers, it seems ridiculous to blame all their problems on the removal of a website that they never paid for. In my opinion, JC Sports needs to stop worrying about suing me, and worry more about fulfilling the many obligations they still have to their customers. JC Sports has never taken responsibility for it’s own poor business decisions, and probably never will.
During the first 3 months after the website went live, I received a number of the barter items from JC Sports including an air intake, front strut tower bar (prototype, unpainted), all 4 sets of clear lights, a pulley, a rear strut tower bar (which Joe later took off to ‘prototype’ and then sold), rear differential mount, an 18 mm rear sway bar, and an STI “I” badge. I also participated in a 3-car trade with my struts and springs, where I got the used ones from Joe’s car, Joe got a ProDrive suspension setup, and the other car got my stock struts and springs so the guy could trade it in for a new WRX. Over the course of 8 months (Jan-Aug), I developed the 200+ page e-commerce site for JC Sports, maintained the site, and constantly adding new products. I also spent many days coming into the shop to gather requirements as well as answering phones/customer service and helping with shipping. I even displayed my dedication to JC Sports by loaning Joe $500 to bail him out of trouble when a guy from Canada was coming down to trade his turbo kit for his money back (buyer’s remorse), and Joe did not have the money to pay him. Joe only repaid me after a month with 2 checks that bounced, and then one that finally went through. The entire time that I was helping JC Sports out, I was constantly asking Joe when I would receive my IHI Turbo and 4 Pot Brake set to make the barter complete. Joe understood that these items were the remaining part of the barter, and would always tell me that he was working on it. I warned him that I could no longer make changes to the site until the terms of our barter were met, yet Joe would constantly call me demanding website changes right away.
By August, I was fed up with JC Sports’ empty promises. After seeing how many checks JC Sports bounced every month, how the company’s employees were not getting paid, and how many customers had been ripped off, I decided it was time to cut my losses and turn off the website. I felt that considering how much money JC Sports had made off the website, and how I had been paid with less than $2,000 worth of good for my months of dedication to them, they had gotten the better of me, and all I could do now was take back the product that they had not paid me for, the website and the domain name. I never demanded $12,000 dollars or made any threats of posting a derogatory website. JC Sports was aware of the consequences of not fulfilling my barter.
After the website was taken down, Joe could have either gotten me my turbo or called me up to negotiate a more manageable bargain (which he could have done in the first place instead of telling me for 8 months that I’d get my turbo in 2 weeks or so). Instead, Joe called the police, telling them that all the parts I had on my car were stolen and that I was threatening to destroy his business unless I received $10,000 by the end of the day (all lies). He was trying to get me arrested and the car repossessed, but of course the police simply laughed after they heard my story and found out that I own the domain name. Now he is threatening to sue me for shutting down his business. Considering the serious financial debt that JC Sports was in at the time, and all the bridges they had burned with vendors and customers, it seems ridiculous to blame all their problems on the removal of a website that they never paid for. In my opinion, JC Sports needs to stop worrying about suing me, and worry more about fulfilling the many obligations they still have to their customers. JC Sports has never taken responsibility for it’s own poor business decisions, and probably never will.