In May, I received a call from Gene's attorney, M Berns. I told him that I
wanted to be a licensed seller and would do whatever necessary to become a
licensed seller. I asked him at that time if I had to shut down my website,
.. and his exact words to me were: "No, I'm working out a deal with Gene &
Williams, which will take awhile, so go ahead and keep doing business as
usual."
A week later Wayne starts sending me emails, while I was waiting to see what
happened with Gene. A few weeks later, I called IPB asking about my
discussions with M Berns and their status, of which Kim says "I don't know
because I've never heard anything about this". So I repeat the whole story,
.. and she says "Why don't you send a sample decal, and I'll show it to Gene
and get back to you by Mon/Tues". She also told me, "if I were you I would
not sell while we're doing this." (I chose to do what Gene's lawyer told me
and that was do "business as usual") I packed up a decal , sent it Priority
Mail,... and waited, ...... and waited.
In the meantime, Wayne is still emailing me, .. telling me that to be
licensed thru him: "Each Item needs to be inspected and approved. 10% of
retail sales or 15% of Wholesale sales is the fee to us. The item's must
also be supplied to us at your cost + 10% for our distributor sales. The
item's will then carry a Made under Licence Sticker on the item or
packaging."
While waiting, I also asked him if I had to stop selling my decals? He said
..." We have "not" been Shutting down people who we are trying to work with,
as you.. " "Some have spoken about putting their prices up (higher) to pay
the royalty to us, this is up to the individual as to what you sell these
for, most have a nice margin and have kept them the same"
Samples were sent out Global Priority to Wayne for approval. 5 days later I
talk to him, and he tells me all the decals look great, .. and he would put
together a license agreement for me to sign.
Another week goes by so I decide to call Kim. She said that "I shot myself
in the foot by attempting to sell decals". I told her that M Berns had said
"it was ok to keep doing business as usual" .. and that Wayne had also told
me the same thing. I again asked her what were the license fees??, .. etc,
etc. ... and she couldn't answer? I told her if they ever put a plan in
place to call me, because I would rather do business in the US than send my
money off the Australia.
After asking for even more samples, Wayne finally emails me the License
Agreement Draft. I was shocked .... The fees, went up from $25 (for a $250
decal) to $60 per decal... plus the agreement stipulates that I have to
purchase 200 licenses up front ($12,000) for the license priveldge to sell
the Whitewater Cabinet Decal set!!!! To sell other decals, the same up-front
payment would have to be made!!! I reminded Wayne that he had said that the
fees were to be 10% and not 22.3% (of retail), .. and asked him to
reconsider.
He replied: "The pirate days are over, we paid 900k for for rights and you
complain about 22.3%, wake up this is not a playground it is big business
and we will inforce it as such". I emailed back one last time, telling him
that it was not right to change a "stated agreement" from 10% to over 22%!
His last reply to me was "It is not work me stuffing <worth me messing> with
10%, I make more money suing people. Now you will make nothing." Wayne's
next move was to make a post on the ng, saying that "he's tried to work"
with resellers????? ... but has no choice but to make and sell himself!!!
(and we sent him all the decals that we sell, as did everyone else, wanting
to get licensed) He has everyones art for free and who even knows if he sent
anything to WMS?
Yesterday M Berns calls me again regarding the website, so I go over the
above "chain of events" for him 'again', and told him, that I would like to
be licensed to sell my products, .. or sell them to IPB, ... I don't mind
paying a fair license fee for the privilege, .. and will do whatever is
necessary. He said that he would talk to the powers that be (Gene?
Williams?) and get back to me.
So, ... as you can probably tell, ... I'm at my wits end. Maybe, just maybe,
...if everything works out, IPB will be selling my products, like they are
Jeff's. I'm sorry for this long post, but at least felt that I needed to
tell you my side of the story.
Thank you all.
Allen
I've given up great chances for money/success in my life because I
don't want to work with or support people with Wayne's attitude. He
should be welcoming people who can help the hobby/business instead of
chopping their head off.
Time for someone else to start up a pinball company I guess.
Brian
thaks
Allen
"ATL FUN" <Atlf...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1123624086.8...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
You might not have totally burned your bridge with IPB but I think the
route you are taking now is the best step. Good luck and keep your chin
up. It will all work out in the end.
I sent a private e-mail to Wayne and if he treats/speaks to all the
non-RGP potential customers the way he relayed his message to me he
will definately never make back the 900K because he will lose his
customers before he ever gets them!
Eric A.
Andy
"Treasurecove" <Treasure...@iglou.com> wrote in message
news:w39Ke.237367$_o.235915@attbi_s71...
John!
Hmm... best of luck enforcing that :/ Namco has been trying it for
years with video art.
I'm afraid the only thing we are going to end up with is high prices,
and very little product. The quality is another matter all together. (
I know how picky I am and I know you guys are the same) After all we
have really been spoiled with Darins repros, and the likes up until
now. Remember there are no promises the quality will be what we are
used to. Not to mention SERVIVCE!
If you ask me this type of attitude is going to get him is more
pirated art, and parts.
Tom
and said that while I waas waiting, .. I called you and asked a ...
but what actually happened was that Wayne sent me an email saying that he
was "gonna tell" on me, and had copied you in the CC; line.
and you were nice enough to call me in a few hours stating that you had no
choice but to 'turn me in' (because of Waynes email), .... it was then that
I reiterated my story and you suggested sending off a sample to you.
Again, I apologize, .. you were very nice, .. and I didn't mean to mis-state
the facts.
Allen
<K...@IllinoisPinBall.Com> wrote in message
news:1123627851.2...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Mr. Shope,
> If you intend to bring my name into a post please make sure your
> information is accurate. This was a definite misrepresentation of the
> facts concerning you and me.
> While I will not debate private business on the news group, if you
> would like to discuss the facts, you can contact me, this time.
>
> Kim
>
Baffled by everything I hear . . . Did Wayne and Gene both take business
classes ? ;-) Seriously its not funny . . . you in the back stop laughing
right this instant young man. "Bueller . . . anyone Bueller"
BIG BUSINESS ?? All of pinball parts sales worldwide is what 15 million a
year . . . Seriously . . . Trust me this is a very small playground and
getting smaller by the year. As someone who has seen several lawsuits over
intellectual properties I can assure you the lawyers are the only winners.
Same as in a war. Someone claims victory but everyone loses big. If the
plan is to win bunches of money from lawsuits then your lawyers have been
selling you a heck of a line. Stastistically for every 10 million won in
intellectual property disputes 8 million goes to legal fees. That ROI sucks
!! Worst ever !! Its incredibly hard to prove damages and then to take 10
times the profit IF you win after lawyer fees works out to about 10 bucks.
My buddies last big win in court cost him 50K . . . and he won !
Man I'm probably alone here but I'd like to see everyone work together for
the benefit of pinball. Then again maybe its time to find a new hobby . . .
anybody want to buy 20 mint perfect pinballs and 100K in parts :-) . . .
--
Kerry Stair
Mantis Amusements "Its all about Pinball"
<EastIowa...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1123627166.9...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
[...]
>
>If you ask me this type of attitude is going to get him is more
>pirated art, and parts.
I like the fact that all of Wayne's parts (should they actually
materialize) will have security holograms on them. That should make it
easy to know which parts to avoid.
I also feel sorry for you guys at TreasureCove for having to use
CorelDraw.
Andrew
Matt McKee wrote:
>
> I also feel sorry for you guys at TreasureCove for having to use
> CorelDraw.
>
Hey! :P heh heh.. I used to love Corel Draw! Illustrator had a much
steeper learning curve but in the end, better tools :)
--
Cliffy - CARGPB2
A passion for pinball!
http://www.passionforpinball.com
I'm glad I bought my AFM cabinet decals when I did.
1) I got into the hobby (1998) when it was exciting, fresh, affordable, and
NOS E*BD playfields were $400.
2) I never got into 90's stuff, so I did not, nor have to give a hoot about
licensed artwork and the political snafu that is currently gobbling up the
hobby as we knEw it
3) I have GREAT memories of what pinball USED to be - note the word "used"
Chris
"Munch" <bpin...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:1123635452....@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
-- Ed
"Treasurecove" <Treasure...@iglou.com> wrote in message
news:w39Ke.237367$_o.235915@attbi_s71...
I think IPB and Wayne or being bozos like everyone else. But them sell
you the rights? LOL Yeah, right! Are you going to trade them your
frozen Han Solo! ;-)
Pinlicious ( ...there is no spoon.)
pr
I'm predicting a high initial price and then once the suckers have been
shilled, you will see the price lower to move more product.
That is just a guess, but my guess.
Kirb
They are not his unless you GAVE them to him as a gift.
First of all we only received part samples of cabinet decals, one side
marked as a second for Whitewater, no complete set, no customer quality only
seconds.
Other suppliers had offered us 25% to do the same decals as Treasurecove
that cost $60 a set to run in 100 Quantity's, so 20% of retail is say $50 if
sold for $250 a set.
Lucas Films want 20k up front for us to make IJ cabinet decals and are not
prepared to budge, same with Viacom and paramount, so to be able to bring
all of these to market and pay the above license fees we feel with the
margin of $190 a set $50 is fair.
Now the other option is we make these decals Treasurecove make ourselves.
Any License requires an upfront payment and a qty to base the royalty.
Any business dealings and Treasurecoves discussions are confidential and he
has signed an agreement as such which he has broken.
We are busting our gut to get parts made for you guys and work with
suppliers, you will find more parts become available from IPB and ourselves
as time goes on.
We are not going to get drawn into this debate any longer, if people want to
make copyright parts obtain permission from US or IPB as we both have many
suppliers working with us otherwise seek legal advice.
Wayne Gillard
Facts are good.
--
Fred
TX
CARGPB#8
******************
"Mr Pinball Australia" <sa...@mrpinball.com.au> wrote in message news:6eeKe.78033$oJ.3...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
He gathered the facts, processed the data, and came up with an
informative retorte.
LOL
Daivd...
Your nose is growing Pinocchio.
I like it better when it was only IPB. We all knew they had parts and allot
of the folks here were making there own parts cause IPB wasn't moving there
ass. Now some guy named Wayne comes in and buys out Williams. Tells us he
going to make it all better and get us parts. Instead, all we got was a
better website for IPB showing us decals that were available all ready. I
haven't seen anything from Wayne for sale. All I hear is he going after
everyone who made this hobby better.
It's was a sad day when Wayne acquired Williams license.
Now what ever happened to Big Bang Bar?? Were they ever built? Anyone ever
get one??
-Kevin
"russjo97" <rnie...@sgtruss.com> wrote in message
news:1123647551.1...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Kenbo <Ke...@NOqsolvJUNKMAIL.com> wrote in message
news:a5bif15dcb1mdfmbt...@4ax.com...
> Unfortunately, that's what happens to honest guys who try to deal with
> dishonest schmucks. I will continue to support the underground.
> > First of all we only received part samples of cabinet decals, one side
> marked as a second for Whitewater, no complete set, no customer quality only
> seconds.
So? Did you return them when you were done with your "evaluation"?
> Other suppliers had offered us 25% to do the same decals as Treasurecove
> that cost $60 a set to run in 100 Quantity's, so 20% of retail is say $50 if
> sold for $250 a set.
The world is full of dumbasses. A $50 royalty for a non-themed decal set
is robbery, and you are the robber. Plus you expected the supplier to sell
to you for 10% over their manufacturing cost, and then have to compete with
you in the marketplace? What a joke. Only a sucker would go for a deal like that.
> Lucas Films want 20k up front for us to make IJ cabinet decals and are not
> prepared to budge, same with Viacom and paramount, so to be able to bring
> all of these to market and pay the above license fees we feel with the
> margin of $190 a set $50 is fair.
Indiana Jones is a Billion dollar franchise that is still active. Whitewater
is a 12 year old pinball machine. 7000 exist and that is all. To ask more
than 1% of what Lucas wants for IJ is robbery, and you are the robber. Sure,
a company the size of Viacom may need $20K to get them motivated to draw up an
agreement, but are you saying you are as big as Viacom? Your ego, maybe...
Your "legal department" can take a break from sweeping the floor in the shop
and dash off a simple agreement in minutes.
> Now the other option is we make these decals Treasurecove make ourselves.
Can you write even one coherent sentence? You come across as stupid and unprofessional.
So go ahead, make whatever you want. The problem is that you are OBSTRUCTING
people that had a TRACK RECORD of MAKING THINGS. All you've put out so far
is a bunch of threats and hot air. Can you name one "pirate" that hasn't expressed
a desire to do the right thing when it comes to licensing? In return, you have
poured on the threats and unreasonable deals. Bad move. Yeah, waste your time
making things that have already been made. Waste your time alienating and shutting
down quality suppliers. And turn off many of your potential customers with your crappy
way of doing business.
> Any License requires an upfront payment and a qty to base the royalty.
Absolutely not. Your are simply lying about this, or you just dont know shit.
And are YOU providing the artwork for your suppliers, or are you relying on
them to create the artwork for your own stuff? If they are the ones putting
in the hours to create the artwork, YOU are the one who should be paying THEM
for it. Instead you demand a deal-breaking royalty and terms.
> Any business dealings and Treasurecoves discussions are confidential and he
> has signed an agreement as such which he has broken.
Looks like you lied about this one as well. And that hasnt stopped you
from saying whatever you please when it suits you.
> We are busting our gut to get parts made for you guys and work with
> suppliers, you will find more parts become available from IPB and ourselves
> as time goes on.
Great. Make parts. Make lot's of parts. If they are good, people will buy
them. If you think you'll make enough decals and playfields to pay back your
$900,000 to WMS, you're deluded. The people that you are attacking are the ones
that put in the time and money to make parts that people needed for little
or no profit, and now you want to make them the bad guys? You may have
the law on your side in SOME cases, but the list of people that will NOT
support you is growing everyday. Just because you paid for non-exclusive
rights for some parts means that anyone is obligated to support you in any way.
And its becoming more and more clear that doing so would be a mistake.
> We are not going to get drawn into this debate any longer, if people want to
> make copyright parts obtain permission from US or IPB as we both have many
> suppliers working with us otherwise seek legal advice.
As usual, you'll talk when it suits you. You have no problem
using RGP when you need something, or to spew your self-serving drivel.
Fortunately, you can't control this forum.
Everyone should remember that ONCE OCTOBER ROLLS AROUND, ANYONE WILL BE ABLE
TO OBTAIN A LICENSE FROM WMS TO MAKE PARTS. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE
GENE AND WAYNE SHOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. And at this point, who in their right mind
would want to? Here's hoping someone else will come around with reasonable
supplier terms.
The best thing that could happen to the hobby is for Wayne and Gene to fail,
since they don't have our interests in mind, just thier egos and pocketbooks.
WMS (the rights OWNER) is still around, and someday soon Gene will sell off the
last of his pallets of old WMS stock and will then probably shut down. And the kangaroo
guy will LOSE his WMS rights when reality strikes and he can't make his follow-up
payments to WMS which were based on his pipe dream business model. Nobody in thier
right mind should be supporting or depending on either of these guys.
-D
>We are busting our gut to get parts made for you guys and work with
>suppliers, you will find more parts become available from IPB and ourselves
>as time goes on.
"I make more money suing people." -Wayne Gilliard, to Allen Shope
Suuuuuure you're working on parts, you lying sack of shit. Why bother when
there's no money in it, after all...
Kevin
BTW: I wonder what Sterns thoughts are on all this that's going on, they
must be loving it.
"Kevin Rigsby" <wisper9999@.c.o.m.c.a.s.t.net> wrote in message
news:ALSdnRvvQ5N...@comcast.com...
Generic parts that fail---like dmds---will continue to be readily available.
Otto
CARGPB11
My web page: http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-Ottoslanding
"Sojourner353" <sojo...@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:42f9...@news.comindico.com.au...
Make more money suing people huh? Thanks for caring about the hobby
Wayne. You dont even beleive that shit yourself? at least I hope not
You plan to sue all the little guys and then what jackass? Good luck
selling that piece of shit Crock Hunter or whatever its called game
here in the US. I have purchased the last 4 Stern games NIB, and you
could produce the best game on earth and you WONT find it on my
gameroom. If I saw it on a route I wouldnt even drop a penny into it.
If I found a credit on it, I wouldnt even play it.
None are built 100% so far.
>Anyone ever get one??
Only the original 13 or 14. The repops were getting the underside of
the PF assembled. That was before Bearcave shut down the forum.
Kirb
I realized all of this from the very beginning, and
accept the fact. Someday, you may have some very pretty,
(and BIG), "nightlight".....
This is just one of the consquences of choosing to
purchase an old pinball machine for your home. Do not
expect it to live forever without some cost or that it
dosen't have an "Achille"s heel" somewhere.
Fred
TX
CARGPB#8
==========================
I got into this hobby recently and I would definitely say I am not
hardcore, but I can see how this would easily switch me to stop looking
at Williams/Ballys games. However, I doubt the price increase would
reach a point of no return.
I do see the problem with the "hardcore" collector. They getscrewed
pretty hard if the parts dry up and price increases due to this
debacle.
The casual pinball hobbyist (myself included) will likely move on if
things get out of hand.
I hope some of the good games come into my price range soon.
>The casual pinball hobbyist (myself included) will likely move on if
>things get out of hand.
Some of us have everything we need for the games we have. Any future
games might require a little digging, or just buy GTB ems and support
the people who have been REASONABLE at granting people to make repops.
Kirb
It would be nice...even after your post, but I don't think any of us
are delusional enough to think we will get both sides of the story.
Kirb
They're illegal reproductions of copyrighted art, that were mailed to
the copyright holder.
Gene is under no legal obligation to pay for them.
biting my tongue on this. lets see how long i can really hold back from
giving my side too.
> Other suppliers had offered us 25% to do the same decals as Treasurecove
> that cost $60 a set to run in 100 Quantity's, so 20% of retail is say $50 if
> sold for $250 a set.
>
> Any business dealings and Treasurecoves discussions are confidential and he
> has signed an agreement as such which he has broken.
>
you see there you go again. pot calling the kettle black wayne. you had
the nerve to tell allen the % we discussed and now you make it public?
who is breaking the confidentiality agreement between you and me? youre
the one that made me sign it so i made you sign one and now youve
broken it not once, but possibly twice. while giving others legal
advice, perhaps you should consult your attorney (if you really have
one) about the ramifications of your actions
>
Kirb, I do love your posts ;-)
>No worry.
>Generic parts that fail---like dmds---will continue to be readily available.
But how about processors (like the 6809), EPROMS, etc. Eventually they
will all fail. Will there be replacements for this technology?
On the other hand, I've got a few EM's that are 50 years old and still
going strong. It's not a stretch to imagine that the EM's will be fine
for years to come. There will probably always be springs, ball bearings,
grease, and 110 VAC (or something to convert it). Rubber rings might be a
problem. In light home use the rest either won't wear out, or might be
fabricated.
Like Otto said, "No worry." :)
Orin
--
Orin Day | Women's Basketball Photos at http://www.dwhoops.com
lobster @ |
lobsterdevil | no quote today
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