TRS-80 (Enrico, Bill, and anyone else that cares)

From: Cord Coslor <coslor_at_pscosf.peru.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 25 13:29:10 1997

Enrico:
        
This has got to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. After
being out of town for _Thanksgiving_ (I am a full-time college student and
am now with family for a short break) I decided I might telnet back in and
check my e-mail. Boy, am I glad I did. I wouldn't have wanted to miss you
telling me that I was purposely trying to avoid you. You say in the second
message from you, "I see that you are playing hard to get AGAIN." Yes,
you're right, Enrico, I am scared of you (not really). Anyway, I will
respond to both of your e-mails... one dated Nov 24 the other Nov 25. Boy,
I certainly shouldn't have missed a day of checking my e-mail.... I'd hate
to anger you for not checking the first e-mail from you immediately.

In response to the e-mail dated Nov 24: you say you are unhappy with a
transaction that took months to progress. You sent me an MSX (from UK), I
sent you a TRS-80 Model 1. To tell you the truth, I am very unhappy with
the transaction as well. First, it has been a huge pain in the rear-end
from the beginning. All I have heard from you is far-fetched reason for
bitching... just another damn ploy to stir up a little trouble? Second, a
point I have never even said to you before because I figured it might have
happened in shipping, etc., is the fact the damn MSX doesn't even work.
I'm not going to sue you though Enrico. Next, we have you saying you are
unhappy with the transaction because the computer I sent isn't the one we
agreed upon. Frankly, that's a big bunch of BS. You say in this letter
that I told you and the list I would send one without the numeric
keyboard. If I remember correctly you asked if I could send you the first
TRS-80, this is true. Then in future discussion I asked you specifically
what you wanted. You said you didn't even know what you wanted, just a
model 1. I sent you the damn model 1. Enrico, you know something.... I
don't even have a TRS-80 Model 1 without the numeric keyboard on the right
hand side. Now tell me this, why the hell would I promise to ship one to
you if _I_ didn't even have one?? Common sense (which you seem to lack
quite a bit of) would tell you that I wouldn't do that.
        Next you _claim_ the computer is cracked or some damn thing like
that. Well, I can promise that when I sent it is was just fine. No cracks,
screws floating around nothing. And I can also promise the thing worked
just great. You know how? Because I was using it up until the time I
shipped it. You sure as hell didn't even send me something that was
working. How do _I_ know... because if you knew it was working you would
have powered it up and it still hadn't even had a power cable hooked to
it. I put the correct voltage through it, I get power, but then it dies.
Again, I won't sue you, Enrito.
        Then you say that I didn't send the power supply and the
instructions. Then you say, quote, "(yes I know I told you that I was not
interested in the power supply...I did send you the instructions.) Well,
you answered your own darn complaint, Enrico. You didn't want the power
supply. If you say, as you did, that we were swapping the exact same
thing, you didn't send me a seperate power supply. :-) You did send me a
xeroxed copy of the instructions, which I appreciate... I grant you that
there. But, I honestly did not realise I was supposed to send you any
manuals. I certainly can copy some off I guess. Or, you might even be able
to check any number of web sites that contain much, much more information
that any manual I would send you contains.
        Next, you talk about the fact that my machine to you was sent
months after I said it did. It was, and I notified you the parcel was
returned to me, at my expense. I even sent you an e-mail telling yuo about
this, and that I even was going to re-use your box and packing as it would
not be as quite a fit as what I had previously sent it in. Plus the
original boxed was stamped and labeled throughout. I didn't think it'd
cause a lawsuit.
        Then you say for me to just put everything right and it would be
forgotten. Well, I don't have anything to put right... especially not at
my expense. I will agree to send you POS MSX back to you, if you'll return
my Model 1. How's that?

LETTER # 2 - Nov. 25

        Already replied to your comments about me playign ahrd to get.

        Then you say I should send you the model 1 with no numeric
key-pad. You say they are hard to find in the UK, but worth 2 pennies
here. Well, Enrico, I don't have one, so maybe someone else on this list
will gladly ship you one of those. I'm sure they'd be happy to pick up
where I refuse to continue to go. You say by me doing this, that any $$$
expense I incure will certainly be worth in terms of respectibility. You
threaten me by saying that, "I will expose the whole lot in public on the
list and in my site, and I will also write to the major Internet zines and
news sites." Well guess what, Enrico, I personally don't care. As a matter
of fact, I didn't even care enough to let your shitty side of the deal
bother me. I guess I'm just not a hot-headed trouble maker looking for
problems. Then you say, if necessary, you will ask a judge to put this
right. Go for it, buddy. I didn't do anything wrong. If anyone did
anything wrong, it was you. You didn;t even have a clue as to TRS-80s or
what you wanted, and that seems to be the only thing I could have (if I
even had one!) made different.... you would have had complete info. on
what you wanted.

        Enrico, I can't even express how much this whole deal is a giant
crock of $%!^. It is completely unrational statements by you that make
this out to be something is not. I in no way intended to make this
difficult, or trick you into sending you the 'wrong' machine or anything
else. I know you didn't intend that either. But, should I just run around
saying you had everything to do with the problems, etc., etc.? No. I don't
beleive it was anyone else fault by _our own_. That's right, I don't think
it was mine, and I don't think it was yours. What comes out of this will
be two little kids fighting back and forth. Frankly, I have better things
to do with my time. If you don't have better things to do, well, go ahead
and slander my name wherever you want to. I don't care. No one has every
had any problems with me, nor have I had with them. I sit back, read the
newsgroups and listservs I get, trying to add to my collection and learn.
I've already learned enough from doing this that I don't want to be part
of these squables that go on for months at a time. So, I say, pay our own
expenses, trade back, and it'll be over. Then you can find someone else
who will ship you a Model 1 with _no_ numeric keyboard and I won't have to
bother with you.

        When I first got into contact with you about a deal like this, it
was just after a huge debate between you and others. "others" were saying
it was hard to do these transactions over-seas. You responded on a whole
thread of messages that those people that thought it was hard to do, were
nuts, and made it into some type of international war. You know what, just
because of that thread, I thought I would try transcting with you just to
prove all my fellow Americans wrong. I had never done it before over-seas,
and thought it would be a good learning experience. I guess I wasn't able
to prove my fellow Americans wrong, but I did prove it to you. And I
certainly proved it to myself.

Love Always, Enrico.

CORD G. COSLOR

P.S. has anyone else out there ever thought I was 'playing hard to get?'
Didn't think so. Oh, for all you judges, internet zines, newsgroups,
listservs, web sites, executioners, and anyone else that's going to
hate me because of this: please, please understand I am innocent. I don't
want you all to hate me, and Mr. Judge, please don't make me pay the $18
to reimburse Enrico for silly reasons.. Please, please, please....

(the above is very synical, and like I said-- it's all set right if we
just swap back. SOund simple enough? Didn't think so, Enrico... we need to
make it _much_ more difficult.) :-) :-) <-- those are smiley faces. Ever
smile? If not, Enrico, think about it all this logically.... trust me, it
will make you smile.


//*=====================================================================++
|| Cord G. Coslor P.O. Box 308 - 1300 3rd St. Apt "M1" -- Peru, NE ||
|| (402) 872- 3272 coslor_at_bobcat.peru.edu 68421-0308 ||
|| Classic computer software and hardware collector ||
|| Autograph collector ||
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Received on Tue Nov 25 1997 - 13:29:10 GMT