Marc,
I am very, very sorry for your misfortune. Thank you for taking the time to
explain
things. Only one thing I can add is..try to remember, the only time you are
beaten is
when you give up. You can pull out of this and come out better for the
absolutely,
crummy, rotten experience. I know, sounds trite, but along with many, many
others...Been there, done that.
Good luck,
Guy
Tempe, AZ
Marc Sayer wrote:
> Les sent me copies of recent posts from the list on the subject of ZCCD
>because
> he knew I was not subscribed. I decided to withdraw from all the Datsun lists
> and give myself some time off. At Les' suggestion I have resubscribed to the
> Roadster list (and only the Roadster list) and am including a copy of an
>email I
> recently sent to a ZCCD subscriber who was asking the magazine's status and my
> personal situation.
>
> > ZCCD is officially dead. Between an 85% drop in renewals, and distributors
> > and advertisers pulling their support and/or not paying what they owed, the
> > company is broke. And so am I. In fact I am worse than broke, I am in debt
>to
> > the tune of about $50k. In addition to working w/o pay since I took over the
> > mag 2 1/2 years ago, I personally guaranteed or arranged loans to the
>company
> > and will have to pay these off or file personal bankruptcy.
> >
> > When I sent out the renewals back in Sept. things looked good and
>production of
> > the first CD was scheduled for an early Nov. mailing. But since then the
> > company's situation has deteriorated badly. Based on the dismal renewal
>rate,
> > and the company's current financial situation, I decided people did not
>want a
> > digital magazine and that ZCCD just was not going to make it. I felt it was
>best
> > to stop accepting subscription payments and close up shop, rather than
>getting
> > the company and myself deeper in debt. Because it has never been my
>intention to
> > take money for subscriptions I didn't believe I could fill, I had delayed
> > sending out renewals/billings in 2000 until I was confident the CD idea was
> > going to work. As soon as I came to the realization ZCCD was not viable, I
> > stopped processing subscription/renewal payments, and pulled the website.
>Had I
> > been able to foresee the course of things, I would never have sent out that
> > Sept. mailing or taken in any subscription/renewal payments at all.
> >
> > I feel badly that things worked out this way. I tried my best to make this
>work.
> > I wish there was something I could do to fix it. But it just didn't work
>out,
> > and now both the company and I are broke.
> >
> > As you can tell this has had a major negative impact on my personal life.
>It has
> > ruined me financially and almost cost me my 21 yr. marriage. I wish like
>hell I
> > hadn't ever tried to save the mag, and had let the Hazens be the bad guys
> > that shut the mag down and left subscribers holding the bag.
> >
> > All I can offer you and the other stalwart supports of ZCCD is a personal
>and
> > heartfelt apology for how things turned out and a sincere wish for a happy
> > holidays. Not much I am afraid, but all I have left to give at this point.
>
> Any email regarding the magazine should be sent to me at editor@zcarmag.com,
> which is my personal address at the magazine, and has been for at least 3
>years.
> I check this once a week or so, as time permits. It will remain an active
> address at least through the end of 2001, though I can't guarantee you will
>get
> a reply to emails sent to it. I am busy trying to find work, sort my life out
>in
> the aftermath of the failure of ZCCD and complete the shut down of ZCCD, and I
> do not always have/take the time to answer ZCCD related emails. This email is
> handled on the company computer which is completely different than the one for
> my own use.
>
> Personal email should be sent to me at marcsayer@home.com. That is my personal
> email address and arrives on my own personal computer. It is part of a full
>time
> connection that we pay for out of our own personal funds, that services both
>my
> wife and me, and as such I will not allow it to be used for ZCCD business,
>just
> as I will not answer ZCCD questions on my home phone. I hope everyone can
> understand why I am doing this and will abide by my request. Those who do not,
> will not get an answer and their email will go directly to the trash can.
>Sorry.
>
> I am very thankful to those of you who have remained supportive through all
> this, and have found a way to forgive me for the mess. For those who are still
> angry with me over ZCCD's problems and ultimate failure, what can I say? I am
> truly sorry.
>
> I can't really express how badly I feel about the failure of ZCCD, especially
> for the Roadster and 510 communities, as they do not have a replacement
>magazine
> as the Z crowd now does. Despite many requests from people in the know, asking
> that I share the details of ZCCD's demise with the Datsun community, I have
> decided it is best to keep silent and let people draw what conclusions they
>may,
> based on who seems to have profited from ZCCD's withdrawal from the market. I
> assure you though, that it was not me. If I find work soon enough, that pays
> enough, I may not end up in bankruptcy court because of it, but I certainly
> didn't benefit from it.
>
> I will pass on one tidbit, though. Charlie Dever of Sunset Automotive in
> Montrose CA stiffed me for over $600 on back issues he got and never paid for.
> Some of you may remember him from a flap on the list not too long ago
>involving
> him and Mike Carrion. It was about his selling Mr. K autographed items,
> including copies of ZCCD. I urge all of you not to do business with him, and
> especially not to buy back issues of ZCCD from him. If you do happen to deal
> with him, you might ask him why he felt it was okay to rip me off :-). I will
> eventually be suing him over this, more for the principle of the thing than
> because his money will make any difference to ZCCD or me. If anyone wants back
> issues. Les has access to all of them and has said he would gladly handle
>sales
> of back issues. CDM will be the only outlet for back issues from now on.
>
> BTW on a completely different subject. I recently was forced to learn quite a
> bit about Windows based home computer security and how to set up your computer
> so that you are not at risk while on-line. I have run a small home network for
> years and found out the hard way how poorly Win9x deals with that situation
>when
> someone launched an attack on our network--in fact I found out how poorly
>Win9x
> deals with computer/net security period, and how much you need to do yourself
>to
> ensure you are safe. I was appalled to find out that the default settings for
> many Win9x options leave you wide open to attack. And for those who are
>assuming
> it was because I was on a cable modem, think again, this was prior to my
>switch
> to @home.com. In fact it was one of the reasons we switched ISPs. Ultimately
> that attack cost me hundreds of dollars in hardware and software, forced all
>my
> computers down for almost a full week, resulted in considerable permanently
>lost
> data, and cost me more time than I care to consider. If anyone is interested I
> recommend the following sites;
>
> https://grc.com/
> http://nanoprobe.grc.com/x/ne.dll?qg0diq1u
> http://webwasher.com
> http://www.thelimit.org/
> http://www.moosoft.com
>
> --
> Marc Sayer (who *loves* this fast cable connection)
> 82 280ZXT -the slushbox demon of Thunderhill :-)
> 86 Ford Van -comes with its own zip code it so damn big
> 71 FJ510 -in boxes at CDM
> Roadster -in my dreams at this point :-(
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