Hi All,
I must say that my plan and intent for the calipers got out of control. The auction has been deleted. I must say that I am disappointed in the forum members in the behavior that was surrounded by it, mostly.

Everyone here went as far as sending the high bidder, who never was named, threatening emails telling him his credit would be ruined and sending him shots of his house from Google Earth letting him know they knew where he lived!

This is all over brake calipers. I spoke to the high bidder the other day and I must say that I was shocked to hear what he had to say. I let him know what my intentions of doings with the extra money received from the auction were. From here the messages gets a little long, probably, so if you're not interested now's a good time to close it!

My intent of the calipers stems from Fred Beans, the owner of the dealership, and Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Beans has flown to Bay-Waveland Mississippi several times since Katrina taking people from our area there to see the real devastation and problems. He has been trying to figure out what the best thing to do for the victims is. Most people send food, clothing, etc. What he said was most interesting, that there are stacks of clothing literally all over the place because that's not what they need anymore. They need schools for the children and most of the parents are having a hard time getting back to work because they have nowhere to place their children during the day. The daycares and schools are all gone.

Mr. Beans, and the Local Builders Group, have come up with the solution. The local builders group is going to build a 10,000 square-foot day care center in Bay-Waveland Mississippi.

Mr. Beans has given all of us employees a task of raising 100,000 to furnish the day care center. He has come up with the plan that if we have 100% participation from our employees @ 67.00 each we would reach that goal. Individual dealerships of our organization have our own goals. My hopes were that I could use the excess caliper money to help us obtain our goal and the goal of helping the victims. Here are some details to follow. These are taken right from the pamphlet.

When the Bay-Waveland Daycare Center opens this summer it will be filled immediately, serving 124 children, infants to four years.

Where Fred Beans employees come in is right here. All items must be institutional quality to last and be safe for dozens of kids to use day after day.

Here's a breakdown

18,000 for four infant classrooms serving 16 children.
16,000 for four toddler classrooms serving 24 children.
16,000 for four two year old classrooms serving 28 children
16,000 for four three year old classrooms serving 36 children
10,000 for two four year old classrooms serving 20 children
15,000 for playground area
9,000 to outfit kitchen, laundry, library and conference/training room.

At this point I'm going to start picking a couple of customers who I know were from the beginning, but not certain which order, to sell the calipers to. After those three or four people I will start on the list that was after those people.

We look to be getting another 3 sets next week. Hopefully we'll be able to start getting in major quantities to fill forum members' needs.

I'm sorry the auction didn't work out as planned. If any of you do want to give your hard earned money to our efforts of the daycare center feel free to email me.

Merry Christmas,
Gene :flag

 

Gene, I agree that the auction - without the above explaination was not the best idea and some people felt pretty strongly about it based on the "list" that was developed earlier. Perhaps had you started by explaining the Katrina relief effort and how the auction played into that you would have had overwhelming support and maybe motivated people to bid up the price knowing where the additional money was going.

You may want to edit your post to where you said "Everyone here went as far..." to read "Some a$$....". People here are for the most part good people and I hope everyone who felt strongly about the auction reads this post.

Kudo's to Mr. Beans and his employees for their efforts especially at this time of year.

Not PC but Merry Christmas.

 

I for one don't recall any mention of the excess proceeds going to a "needy" cause. Had that been the case I'd posted praise rather the resentment in regards to the auction.

However the "behind the scenes" threats to the high bidder are totally out of line.

 

Gene

Didn't even see the auction.

What you describe seems so out of character with most of the folks I see on the Forum

You have mail.

 

Please understand a couple of things...

I wanted to clear it with the auction winner first.

If I was really as greedy as I was portrayed, I would have sold them on eBay already under a false name and had the money in hand already.

Last but not least, all people are not greedy and have others in mind.

Thanks,
Gene

 

seems like an add on for all the bad press recieved

 

I think you missed a great chance to tap the generosity of the family of members here. Had you explained the purpose of the auction up front, I'd guess the response would have far exceeded your expectations.

Also, while I should not of posted into your original thread and feel bad about that, I do think you should consider rewording your "Everyone went as far" comment. If "Someone" did and that really stinks.

Good luck with your sale. I'm sure it will be a success now that we know what was behind your original post.

best regards and Merry Christmas.

3xBlack