Because we deliver all our products electronically (we consider both e-mail transmission and Web site access to our publications to be forms of electronic publication) they are especially vulnerable to piracy and electronic re-transmission.  We believe most piracy is committed unintentionally.  To clarify issues for people who might otherwise commit unintentional piracy, we require ALL customers to send us a "Promise & Affirmation" note (we will provide the required wording) BEFORE they place their order.  Those who order Stops, must affirm that they have read and agree to the terms of the "License Agreement" for that product.  Before we send ANY product, we must receive a "Promise and Affirmation" note by e-mail to which the customer has affixed his or her name (a typed name is acceptable).  Without this promise, we will not deliver the product.  To avoid additional charges, send us your "Promise and Affirmation" BEFORE you place an order.  You may not have any extra charges if you send the "Promise and Affirmation" immediately after or at the same time you place your order, but you should see FAQ number 6 for an explanation of how an extra charge might arise.  We expect the name affixed to this promise to be the same as the person who paid for the subscription or license and also the same as that of the only authorized user/subscriber.  The required wording of that "Promise and Affirmation" note can be found by clicking on "Contact Us" on the navigation bar.  A link to the License Agreement can also be found there.  Our products are also protected by copyright.  

^.

FAQ 4, 5, and 6 give a more complete explanation.  Rather than refer you to that location, we have reproduced those items below.

^.

4.  What's the "Promise and Affirmation" all about? 

The real problem we face is cheating or stealing.  We base our whole operation on trust.  We can’t afford to get beat up in the market place because our customers send free copies of our products to friends.  If people are not honest with us, we will either have to go out of business or significantly increase our prices.  Some people think that because they send a copy of our product to only one friend, it cannot make much difference, but it does.  Every paying customer counts for us, especially since our company is not a huge conglomerate.  We are a small but dedicated operation.  We have been producing The Valuator in hard copy for over 18 years.  Even though we are small, we are not fly-by-night.  You might call the electronic provision of our products an experiment.  It enables us to be more efficient and to pass significant savings on to our customers.  However, we must adapt to survive.  We do not want to limit the availability of our publications to printed versions only, but we will if we cannot trust our customers to honor our copyrights.  That would mean customers would no longer be able to use a spreadsheet to sort stocks.  If we have to print on paper, our delivery will be slower, and our prices might be more than double what they are now.  Instead of sending free copies to a friend, why not tell the friend how useful the product is and recommend it?  That’s the way the system is supposed to work.  (Please read #s 5 & 6)

^.

5.  Why do you require customers to promise they will not forward or otherwise send your products to another person?  Won’t they do it anyway?

We believe that people are essentially honest and that most cheating occurs when people do not really think about what they are doing.  They do not think of the fact that they are stealing something that is ours in order to give it to a friend.  Only the customer has a right to use our product.  The customer does not own the copyright.  The copy they send to a friend is a stolen copy.  Sending a copy to a friend is similar to going to a magazine rack, paying for a copy of Newsweek or Money, and stealing an extra copy to give to a neighbor.  The requirement is intended to focus their attention on the issue and to cause them to commit to being honest with us. Actually writing their name to the promise and sending it to us will mean something to honest people.

^.

6.  So why do you ask people to e-mail you their promise before they order? 

If a person orders a product, the product will not be delivered until the promise is received by us.  If the customer refuses to send the promise after paying for the order, we will have to give a refund.  If the individual has paid by credit card and we are asked to process the refund through the credit card company, we must charge the customer for any processing fees charged to us.  The company that we have contracted to process our Web site fee transactions charges extra to process a refund, and the credit card company itself will charge a fee.  Therefore, to avoid unnecessary aggravation and expense for the customer, we ask that the promise be sent before the order is placed.  If an individual is not going to send us the promise, we might as well find out beforehand so we can avoid having to pass those expenses along to the customer.  If we can pay the refund by check, however, there will not be any "processing fees."  In that event, the amount refunded will be the amount paid by the customer minus the amount we were charged by the customer's credit card company when the original payment was made. 

To get to this notice, you came from one of four places. 

^.

Return to:    Home    Contact Us    Fees & Refunds    FAQ