CMC#64 Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 HA... If found my e-mail, sent 21 April .... I'm calling them on Monday to inquire my order request.. this out to be fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6nut Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 This is the email that I sent to NASA Biz Development and cc'ed Konig: Hi, I read the "news" this morning regarding the ending of the NASA/Konig Wheel deal "NASA and Konig regret to announce that the discount program that was announced earlier this month must end today......" There are a lot of us who made inquiries to Konig weeks ago and never even got the courtesy of a reply (or got the Bum's rush when we called them). Are we included in the group who Konig will honor the agreement with or are we left out in the cold? I think you guys need to get some more info (like how many wheels were in the "allotment") out there on the website. I know several SCCA guys who were inticed into the NASA fold because of the deal, and the way this was handled (offer a benefit for membership, then retract it retroactively a month later) borders uncomfortably close to fraud. You also might point out to Konig that this thing has taken on a life of its own on the Internet and has the potential to be a public relations nightmare for Konig (as well as a credibility issue for NASA). Surprise, surprise, I've gotten no answers from either NASA or Konig. When folks are on the up and up, they usually do not hesitate to defend themselves. When folks are down and dirty, they usually don''t have the ability to defend their actions (because they are indefensable). The silence is deafening...... Perhaps a call to the CA Attorney General's Consumer Fraud unit might spur some answers from either party? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#64 Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Good job on the e-mail tr6nut... if you don't get a reply by Monday eve post up and we'll start making some calls... Like I posted before I'm calling them on Monday ref. my e-mail 2 weeks ago, I'll post up my results. When I called Konig last week I noticed they are out of NY, so I don't know if calling the CA Attorney General will do any good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6nut Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 NASA's main office is in Richmond, CA and Konig does have a business office/warehouse in Southern CA (3681 Walnut Avenue, Chino, CA 91710 (909) 591-6221). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASA Jim Posted May 7, 2005 Author Share Posted May 7, 2005 so I don't know if calling the CA Attorney General will do any good... I don't think it will do any good anyway unless you gave them money and they didn't deliver the product. I was the very first to send them an email for wheels, I know because I was the one who posted the news story and I sent my email request before I posted the story! People that called seem to have had priority. I don't know the allotment, Konig certainly hasn't told me the number, although I have not been in direct contact with them other than to ask about my order. All I got was an email from Ernie Manansala saying that there will be a form to send my credit card via email. (BTW, you should never send your credit card number via email!) I still need some wheels for my racecar, but I have already put an order in with a local dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6nut Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 NASA is the one with the fraud problem. They put the announcement of ther deal on their main page. This enticed folks to join (and pay NASA $$). Now that they've joined, the deal is announced as a no go. Additionally, your email exposes the lies. 1. You were the first to send them an email and you didn't get any wheels?, But hey on the NASA webpage it says ""Members who have already ordered wheels through the program will get their wheels, but the offer unfortunately cannot be extended any longer." Gee, looks looks like a lie - if you were one of the first and didn't get to order - who did? 2. Manansala told you (and others) to wait for a "form" to be posted - now there's no form and the deal is cancelled. Another lie So we can establish that Konig/Ernie Manansala are a bunch of liers. Why would anyone believe anything else they have to say? Why would you want to buy wheels from Konig and risk your butt out on the track relying on products from liers. If they lie about this, maybe they would lie about the suitability of their wheels for competition use. Unfortunately NASA has chosen to befriend themselves with these liers and apparently is seeking further alliances with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkyllama Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 I dont think NASA did that on purpose. I think its all konigs fault. Also on one of the URLS somewhere in this post of the other forums one member said they did recieve there wheels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krid80 Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 NASA is the one with the fraud problem. They put the announcement of ther deal on their main page. This enticed folks to join (and pay NASA $$). Now that they've joined, the deal is announced as a no go. Yep. That's me! I called and got the information that a form would be posted. After I paid my $40 to NASA for a membership that I'll likely not be able to use now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6nut Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 I dont think NASA did that on purpose. I think its all konigs fault. That's why NASA needs to come clean. Instead they're trying to put a "spin" on it. If it's Konig's fault, they should just say so and then tell Konig that they'll not have anything else to do with them. Instead, by remaining aligned with Konig, they are, at the very least, guilty by association. It comes down to "do you tell the truth and solve the problem, or do you perpetuate the lie and have to tell more lies just to cover up the original lie?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FocusTed Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 I don't think this is a fraud. Because Fraud means intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right . I don't see anything intentional here. There could have been a mistake...but no fraud. plus NASA hasn't officially issued anything....so how can it be a spin?? right now all we can do is wait for an Answer from NASA? Spinning things into lies isn't going to get us anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASA Jim Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 (edited) NASA is the one with the fraud problem. They put the announcement of ther deal on their main page. This enticed folks to join (and pay NASA $$). Now that they've joined, the deal is announced as a no go. Yep. That's me! I called and got the information that a form would be posted. After I paid my $40 to NASA for a membership that I'll likely not be able to use now. Then NASA should definitely refund your membership. Just send a note National with your details and they'll process it. The deal was intended as a reward for NASA Members; there's really no value for NASA to have a member that just joined to get wheels that won't participate in any events and certainly won't renew for next year. Edited May 9, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASA Jim Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 (edited) 1. You were the first to send them an email and you didn't get any wheels?, But hey on the NASA webpage it says ""Members who have already ordered wheels through the program will get their wheels, but the offer unfortunately cannot be extended any longer." Gee, looks looks like a lie - if you were one of the first and didn't get to order - who did? I didn't order wheels. I just sent an email requesting to be part of the deal. I didn't even specify which wheels I wanted. 2. Manansala told you (and others) to wait for a "form" to be posted - now there's no form and the deal is cancelled. Another lie Ernie works for Konig. His email wasn't something that was authorized by NASA and I can't vouch for any claims he's made. He did however approve the original Press Release, so I don't know why he changed his mind on the deal, but likely it was because there was much more demand than expected. So we can establish that Konig/Ernie Manansala are a bunch of liers. Why would anyone believe anything else they have to say? Why would you want to buy wheels from Konig and risk your butt out on the track relying on products from liers. If they lie about this, maybe they would lie about the suitability of their wheels for competition use. Unfortunately NASA has chosen to befriend themselves with these liers and apparently is seeking further alliances with them. It seems that there's no amount of explaining that will satisfy you on this subject. If you'd like, I'd be happy to refund your NASA Membership and I apologize that we could not provide this deal for you. Edited May 9, 2005 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slammed_93_hatch Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 personally im glad to see this deal get cancled out, WAY to many people were becoming NASA members just to get the deal. Which is bullshit this was IMO MENT FOR current NASA members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonT Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Wow. Sounds like no one wants another wheel deal! The Konigs didn't work for me , but I would love an OZ, SSR, or BBS deal. With this kind of response, I'll never see it. I have no association with Konig, and I don't know anyone at NASA HQ. So I don't know the specifics of the deal. However, Konig was obviously selling these at or below cost, and perhaps wanted to move some overstock in certain wheels. This may be why they cut the original deal. Certainly I doubt if their goal was to have every single NASA member running Konig wheels and stickers (who would be there to see the advertisement that wasn't already running Konigs?). So they got in over their head and backed out. Shame on them for doing so, but they obviously had the legal right to do it or NASA would be all over them to honor the commitments. I think the real problem lies in the writing of the deal. NASA needs to be certain that a wheel supplier will be able to meet a certain demand level, even if it is only a limited number or a limited time. They also need to define exactly which wheels are part of the deal. IMO, they should also only offer it to existing members first. Perhaps NASA would be better off doing this as a group buy instead of a discount code purchase with Konig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slammed_93_hatch Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 i can't comment on what konig's costs are for wheels but i do know that several other companies have sold 15 inch wheels around the price of 50 bucks a wheel. ATS comp lites- were sold off by ATC for 200 a set, and to my knowledge this was ATC cost of the wheel Esses- had a deal going were if you showed a license you could get a set of there speed master orange wheels for 200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6nut Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 It seems that there's no amount of explaining that will satisfy you on this subject. I think that's the point. NASA has not provided a candid, complete explaination of what transpired. If you guys jumped the gun and posted an incorrect initial announcement of the deal, then just say so. If Konig got cold feet when the inquiries and orders started coming it, just say so. As it currently stands, the way NASA has handled this appears less than candid. Perhaps you will disagree, but I think NASA owes that to its members. I didn't join just for the wheel deal. I joined so I would have an additional outlet for motorsports participation (other than SCCA, which I also belong). The wheel thing was just icing on the cake. However, the way it was handled has given me the impression (perhaps false) that NASA is a "Ready, Shoot, Aim" kind of organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuperdave Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 I'm also one of those who wrote to the Konig "point man" expressing interest in wheels. I was probably going to buy two sets, all for the track. I never got the courtesy of a reply and now there is no explanation of why the deal evaporated. The lack of an honest explanation ("Gee, we overestimated the demand" or whatever) and the lack of an acknowledgement of my inquiry bugs me more than the reasons the deal went away. P.S. I'm looking for 14" and/or 15" wheels for a 1992 Honda Civic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASA Jim Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 The lack of an honest explanation ("Gee, we overestimated the demand" or whatever) I'm sorry if the truth doesn't satisfy you, but that's the word we got from Konig. I could send you every piece of email correspondence I received on the subject, but it isn't going to make things any clearer for you and you'll just be saying that I'm still hiding something. I don't know why Konig underestimated demand; I don't know how many sets of wheels they provided for this deal; I don't know what their goals were for this promotion. If that isn't enough for you, then I am sorry, but that's the way it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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