Do you shop at REI??

none ^ | 10/20 | me

[wewillnotfail]

Do you shop at REI or Barnes and Nobel or Clearcreek?

If so, you might want to reconsider or at least drop them a line and let them know how you feel about their businesses raising money to defeat President Bush.

shoptodropbush.com

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Ah....so he wouldn't have to worry about legal donation limits. At least he gave it some thought:)

[Richard Kimball]

The guy can't even spell Barnes and Noble (Barnes and Nobel?) Okay, here's the question. Should we let this guy continue to scam Rats out of their welfare checks when we KNOW he's going to pocket the money himself and it won't do the Rat party any good? Decisions, decisions.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I just received the exact same message from REI. They are listening. In addition I have written to a couple of the other places to let them know about this. I suspect they will all be yanking the links shortly. Thanks Freepers for making a MOUNTAIN out of a MOLEHILL (even if it pisses off someone who thinks we should find something else to do).

[MeekOneGOP]

Ah, a Washington State Company. I'm sure that this creep is all for it then, eh ?? ...

Uh...did I say something wrong?...

---

Doh !

Send Senator "Taliban Patty" Murray (D-Wa)
an e-mail asking her to resign her Senate position

Taliban Patty
A short audio excerpt of her comments

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/811813/posts?page=13#13

Murray to Press - "Patty Tired!"
AP - December 2002 - Dateline Seattle Zoo

An irate Patty Murray swung angrily from her tire here today, denouncing her critics' negative reviews of her remarks praising Osama bin Laden.

"Patty tired!" Day signed as the hirsute congressthing shrieked in rage and flung her feces at rapidly retreating critics. Murray, through her interpreter added "Apple not love tired Patty!"

Zoo officials were at a loss of explain her behavior.

[bmwcyle]

I just e-mailed michael@shoptodropbush.com and told him to get a lawyer. I told him that many people were closing their accounts at these sites and they should be looking for him soon.

[wewillnotfail]

A bump for your contact numbers!

[ModelBreaker]

If you are a customer who needs help or has a question, please contact the store nearest you or:

Customer Relations Department

Telephone: 800-422-7717

E-mail: customerrelations@bn.com

If you are a reporter seeking additional information about Barnes & Noble, please contact:
Mary Ellen Keating Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
Telephone: 212-633-3323
E-mail: mkeating@bn.com

If you are a research analyst, shareholder or require financial information, please contact: Andy Milevoj, Manager of Investor Relations
Telephone: 212-633-3489
E-mail: amilevoj@bn.com

If you are a reporter seeking additional information about Barnes & Noble.com, please contact: Carolyn Brown, Director of Corporate Communications

Telephone: 212-633-4062

E-mail: cbrown@bn.com

[Hootch]

Here is my reply from REI. Sounds like they're gonna shut 'em down...

---

Dear Lee,

I am writing in regards to the REI Affiliate program.

We thank you for bringing this website to our attention. REI has an affiliate program in which any person can earn money by putting our link on their website. If a customer used their link to purchase with our company, they earn a small percentage of the sale.

REI IS NOT donating money to an anti-Bush campaign. This site has broken several affiliate program rules. The situation is currently being reviewed. It should only be a short time before the account is disabled.

We hope you understand that in a free country in which people can say anything they want, they may not always be telling the truth.

Wishing you happy outdoor adventures!

[JesseHousman]

I'm getting immediate responses from all those listed...including the venerable Hickory Farms. I sent them copies of this imbecile's website message and believe that with persistence this will blow up in his face. I sent him an email as well.

[bmwcyle]

Keep up the good work!

[gaspar]

Screw Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Borders, etc. Instead, go with http://www.abebooks.com Its a great exchange and you can find numerous book offers by many small/medium book stores.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I'm saying there is nothing to this. Time will tell. Knock yourself out.

It appears you were correct. There is nothing to see here, move along. lol. It looks to me like there WAS something here, and we'r receiving messages from the linked companies that they had no knowledge of what this guy was doing, nor do they condone it.

Therefore there WAS something to this. And it looks to me like the Freepers score another point for "Free Enterprise". LOL

[soozla]

I just went to "live help" and a very nice person on the other end assured me they will "bring it to the attention of their internet dept."

Email with results to follow

[OldFriend]

Thanks. No doubt Amazon, B&N, and a few other companies would be gladly working to defeat our President and I do NOT purchase anything from them.

However, the other companies deserve a chance to respond.

[MarkL]

Please note that amazon.com is also on the list, donating 5% of their sales to the "shoptodropbush.com" cause...

I just sent the following to amazon.com's customer service department...

To whom it may concern,

I just saw that you're sponsoring the "shoptodropbush.com" web site, and that amazon.com will donate 5% of my purchase to funding a political campaign.

While I'm a Libertarian, I will NOT finance your political cause, and I was going to be spending a bit over $300 on my next purchase of books, CDs, and DVDs. And I was planning on adding some additional items as well, such as the new Primus DVD. You can check my shopping cart, if you like... I'd guess that over the last few years, I've spent well over $2,000 on your products.

Please be advised that my purchases from amazon.com have ended. As I said, I will not help finance a political campaign that I don't agree with.

Sincerely,

MarkL

[soozla]

I just went to "live help" and a very nice person on the other end assured me they will "bring it to the attention of their internet dept."

Email with results to follow

[wewillnotfail]

This is IMPORTENT!

As these firms are made aware of and cut their ties to this idiot, make sure you let them know it matters to you! As the links dissappear, e-mail everyone you wrote to and thank them for showing they value ALL their customers!

[JOHN ADAMS]

Here is the prompt, reasonable response I got from REI when I emailed them to complain:

Dear Customer,

I am writing in regards to the REI Affiliate program.

We thank you for bringing this website to our attention. REI has an affiliate program in which any
person can earn money by putting our link on their website. If a customer used their link to
purchase with our company, they earn a small percentage of the sale.

REI IS NOT donating money to an anti-Bush campaign. This site has broken several affiliate program
rules. The situation is currently being reviewed. It should only be a short time before the account
is disabled.

We hope you understand that in a free country in which people can say anything they want, they may
not always be telling the truth.

Wishing you happy outdoor adventures!

Christopher D.
Online Sales Specialist

I tried to put this up as a separate post, rather than reply #178 to the earlier thread, but for some reason I'm having trouble posting.

[maggief]

Dear XXXXXXX,

Thank you for your note. We are always happy to hear from our valued customers. While our company does not take a political stance in any way, we can certainly understand your concerns about our possible affiliation with the site you have mentioned. Please rest assured that your comments have been forwarded to our web site development team and we are looking into the matter.

Thank you for letting us know your opinion. If there is anything more we may assist you with, please do not hesitate to
contact us.

Sincerely,


Bonny E
Web Customer Service

(Coldwater Creek)

[Rick.Donaldson]

We're doing that. I already contacted REI personally. The fact is that while this might have appeared to be "nothing" to one individual who visits here, I see that it is the little things in life we "ignore" every day that allow life to become a greater challenge to us all.

Running that red light, having that extra drink before you drive and letting just one more abortion happen are all things that affect lives of others to some extent (or can, or WILL).

Letting some dufus get away with "skirting the law, but not breaking it" is much the same thing. He is probably breaking a law somewhere (probably NOT in Califorica) and if not, he is definately pushing the limits of "right and wrong".

It's the PRINICIPLE of this that makes it more of a mountain, than of a molehill.

Ignoring this sort of thing weakens the ability of other good sites (non-politically inclined sites) to use this sort of banner linking ads, which do indeed help them pay for their sites. Our own sites have used this method to fund the payment of the internet service in the past (non-politically motivated sites that is) and I certainly can see where it can be helpful to someone without the required pocket change to run the site.

If we let idiots get away with this sort of thing (and I will say if anyone on the Right did it, I'd be writing letters too!) then everyone loses.

Yeah, I'm a Conservative, and yeah, the guy has a right to his opinion, but he doesn't have the right to break the companies rules on affiliation, and he doesn't have the right to make money off of anyone (not liberals either) based on his "intent" to donate money. This is FRAUD by all the laws I have seen, and every chance we get, we fight it (we have removed people from our own web sites when they tried similar things even).

Good job, Freepers.