Below is the complete text of a message I got from Arin Baharian, who sent
out the original carparts.com "spam." This was in response to my politely
asking him what the source of his mailing list was. Gosh, that was easy,
wasn't it?
Arin's message follows:
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From: Arin Baharian <arin@carparts.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 10:34:50 -0800
To: "'bloring@tirerack.com'" <bloring@tirerack.com>
Subject: CarParts.com, I hope this clears things up.
Dear William,
First off let me apologize, I am very sorry that you received the
E-mail that I sent out twice. I am also very sorry that my letter bothered
some of the SCCA members. We did NOT purchase any list from the SCCA or
anyone. All the E-mail addresses that I sent out were very clearly posted on
the SCCA regional sites. I compiled the E-mails and tried to offer the SCCA
a discount and an Affiliates program offer. As an automotive enthusiast
myself I always try to do my best by offering discounts, coupons, and better
pricing to true Automotive inclined people. The SCCA has been around for a
long time supporting drivers, Mechanics, and Race Fans. I wanted to offer
all SCCA members a discount, that's why I sent that E-mails out. I have
received both good and bad press from this situation. I want to let you know
that I have stopped all my send outs. Not all SCCA members received that
E-mail. I am a firm supporter and fan of the SCCA, and that's why I made
that offer to their members. I hope that this has helped clear up any
misconceptions that SCCA and its members might have. I meant to do no harm
by sending out the offer. feel free to post what I have said in this letter
to anyone that wants to know the truth. I have also posted my information
for anyone that wants to contact me.
Thank You for Your Time.
Arin Baharian
Arin@carparts.com
www.CarParts.com
Affiliates Team
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Arin's message ends.
Me again:
I will take Arin's response at face value. I firmly believe that his
intentions were/are good. I also have no problem at all with his methods. I
think he's a sincere individual, trying to offer a good deal to an
organization that he likes. Targeted marketing happens all the time. You're
going to get junk mail, so wouldn't you rather it was junk mail that might
relate to your interests?? The only reason I can see that carparts.com got
trashed on this list is because they are not personal friends of "the powers
that be."
If anyone here had actually bothered to find out the truth, you might have
avoided the childish displays that we saw here in the last 48 hours.
All too often, I find myself ashamed to be a part of this mail list. I stay
for a few reasons: Occasionally, team.net members have questions relating to
The Tire Rack's products that I can answer for them. I also feel that The
Tire Rack needs a representative here to provide accurate information, and
to dispel any misinformation relating to products/services that they sell.
Given this recent display, I see that sticking around is a good idea, no
matter how distasteful it might be at times.
This is not to say that everyone on team.net is to blame. The vast majority
of people on this list are fine and well spoken, or they lurk.
William Loring
**** My comments do _NOT_ represent the opinions of The Tire Rack, they
are mine, and mine alone. No connection should be made from these
personal opinions to The Tire Rack. If this letter makes you angry,
complain to me, not to them.
**** The Tire Rack has their own privacy policy, which you can read at this
url: http://www.tirerack.com/about/privacy.html
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