CLICK HERE if this site has been useful to you
This issue doesn't directly affect anyone but myself. I just wanted to bring it to as many people's attention as I could, and give them some more food for thought before they decide whether they want to do business with this company. YOU decide if I'm right or not. Thanks for your attention, whatever you decide about them.
10-14-04 note: I have received so many emails complaining about these guys that I have started a forum just for the purpose of posting your bad experiences with them, and working together to bring them to justice of some kind. CLICK HERE to visit the forum.
UPDATE: FCC has cited Wholesale for multiple violations - click for details
It came to my attention quite some time ago (spring 2003) that this organization had copied, word-for-word, modifications that I wrote up for the DTB Radio site, and posted them on their cobra mods page. The specific link is http://www.wholesalecbradio.com/cobra_mods.htm. The plagiarised mods are at the bottom of the page, starting with the "Cobra 148 GTL and F-GTL" list. Proof of the plagiarism can be seen by looking at the tips and tricks section of this site, at http://www.dtbradio.com/tips.html. The plagiarism is SO blatant that the link on the 142 GTL section for the channel chart STILL points right to my site. (Incidentally, ALL of the mods listed on my site are resulting from my own research and notes, and NOT copied from any other source.)
10-13-04 Note: They recently changed the chart links to their own write-ups.
I emailed the shop, bringing the problem to their attention, and asking them to give proper credit. I received no reply at that time. This morning, several months later, I took another look, and found that the copied mods were still posted on their site, and credit still had not been given, with the exception of the simple line "by Dave" added to the mods list for the Cobra 19 Plus. I emailed them again, and here is the complete email thread: (the original message I sent is at the bottom, and the thread progresses up from there)
UPDATE: Since posting the original email, I have had more word from this organization. The latest emails appear first, then the original thread as mentioned above. I've also received a number of emails from third parties concerning the situation. I've posted them at the bottom of the page.I have posted their complete Cobra mods page as it appeared this morning (9-24-03), in case they edit it to hide the plagiarism. Click Here to see it.
NEW UPDATE as of 2-17-04: Wholesale CB is apparently under investigation for multiple fraud complaints by the sheriff's office of the county they operate in. I've received emails from more than 1 source indicating that Wholesale CB has been avoiding phone calls, and has disconnected 2 of their 3 phone lines. It looks like they're going to reap it....NEW UPDATE as of 3-12-04: Received yet another email about Wholesale's plagiarism/theft of copyright material. Instead of trying to keep all the emails grouped, i'm just going to add new ones at the bottom. The dates will let you know which was first, etc.
NEW UPDATE as of 6-29-04: Just found out that Wholesale changed the link to the channel charts referred to above from pointing to the one I typed up and posted on my site to one that they typed up and posted on their own site. I still have proof that they were linking to the chart that I posted. Just Click Here to see the page as it was when this all began.
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| Subject: wholesalecbradio.com Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 23:29:14 -0800 From: "Steve Thomas" <stevethomas@lycos.com> To: <dtbradio@dtbradio.com> First and foremost, I am not a lawyer, so the best thing for you to do would be to ignore me. :) I read your page concerning the theft of your copyrighted work. It's sad and unfortunate that the people at wholesalecbradio.com chose to steal your work and not give you proper credit, especially when you were gracious enough to offer to license your work to them for free. You don't need permission to refer to their website or to link to it. How else are you supposed to refer to them when describing the situation? That's covered in the Fair Use Doctrine. Had they actually contacted their lawyer as they indicated they did, he would have told them this. I can only assume that they don't have an attorney and that they were trying to intimidate you. Don't let them. Your work is covered by U.S. copyright law as soon as you put it into a "fixed and tangible form of expression". Web pages qualify as a fixed form of expression. You own the material. If they want to use it, they MUST work out a deal with you, if you're willing to let them. Keep detailed records of every communication you have with them. Make copies of their infringing pages, and note the date and time those copies were made. This will be important in case they change their site. If you have an attorney, I highly recommend using up some of the retainer you've given them. If your site gets as much traffic as you say, you have a very legitimate legal case that could possibly result in significant damages being awarded. You are losing revenue by them having your work published on their site, as it draws Internet searchers away from your business. I wouldn't normally suggest being very aggressive about something like this, but they earned it with their attitude. Take them to the cleaners and don't give up until you've got the shirt off their back. Good luck with all this. These things really push a button with me (if you couldn't tell). To steal your work and then respond with such an arrogant attitude when confronted about it is reprehensible. Nail 'em to the wall. Regards, Steve Thomas ----- Some useful info: US Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/ Copyright basics: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html "Whois" info for wholesalecbradio.com: SMITH & JACKSON INC. (WHOLESALECBRADIO-DOM) 1032 N. Birch Sand Springs, OK 74063 US Domain Name: WHOLESALECBRADIO.COM Administrative Contact, Technical Contact: Jackson, John (JJN351) brandonjjgs@AOL.COM SMITH & JACKSON INC. 1032 N. Birch Sand Springs, OK 74063 US (918) 855-7181 fax: (918) 245-5346 Record expires on 11-Oct-2005. Record created on 11-Oct-2000. Database last updated on 15-Nov-2003 02:00:30 EST. Domain servers in listed order: NS1.VIRTUAL-2000.COM 64.179.93.227 NS2.VIRTUAL-2000.COM 64.179.106.98 Webhosting company (the infringing material is sitting on their network - it's very likely that they'd pull the plug on the site with just a simple cease and desist letter from your attorney): Choice One Communications Inc 100 Chestnut St. Rochester, NY 14609 1-716-853-1331 |
| Subject: WholesaleCB Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 13:26:53 -0500 From: "Josh Dunnigan" <planetcb@mychoice.net> To: <dtbradio@dtbradio.com> Dave, They changed their page didn't know if you knew it or not... now instead of simply "By Dave" It is now By "Crybaby" Dave. I have also sent them an email because they stole a couple of graphics which I made on photoshop from http://www.planet-cb.com They have since removed them - Josh Dunnigan Planet CB planetcb@mychoice.net http://www.planet-cb.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.525 / Virus Database: 322 - Release Date: 10/9/2003 |
| Subject: wholesale radio Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 13:45:14 -0700 (PDT) From: MARIA BURCHARD <mburchard@snet.net> To: dtbradio@dtbradio.com I am glad someone is taking a stand against someone stealing their hard earned experience. I looked at the link you posted and there it was; your exact mods listed word for word. Also liked the fact that they call you "crybaby" Dave as well. Maybe they think this hurts you in some way. As far as I am concerned, I won't do business with a "shady" company. I hope you win the battle. That said, I would like to thank you for the VERY informative tips and tricks on your site. It is well thought out and easy to navigate. Thought you'd like a nice email for a change!. Have a great day. Bill Collins |
| Subject: Wholesale CB radio Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 14:36:44 -0600 From: twelvevolt@thequackshack.com To: email@dtbradio.com Thought you might want to know, this same place has been caught by us at www.thequackshack.com stealing our bandwidth as well. They were stealing images via our bandwidth, he could have saved the image and placed it on his own site, with no problems at all. We cured this. Next time, or if he still is, using any of your images, change the names of your own images, and redo your code to reflect the name changes, then make new images with the old names. Make the images say something like "Bandwidth Thief" and make sure to throw in a nice quick little advertisement for your own site. This made him remove ours in a couple days. You could also change your path on your site a little but it's not quite as fun as this approach can be. Chock another one up for the guys over at Wholesale CB radio! |
| Subject: wholesale cb Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 10:37:50 -0600 From: taftr@my.amigo.net To: email@dtbradio.com noticed in going over the plagerism data that an address for Wholesale CB is listed as on 1032 Birch st. in Sand Springs, OK. Actually according to the Sand Springs police dept that location is a private residence in a residential area and is related to the real location of Wholesale CB which is north of Sand Springs in Osage County at 5320 sr-97..more to follow later.. Ramon Taft |
| Subject: Wholesale CB Radio the big wannabe Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 00:40:06 -0600 From: jeanne.fern@verizon.net To: email@dtbradio.com I'm so glad that I found someone else who has dealt with Wholesale Radio. They are a scam at best. They do alot of business on ebay. they are just cheap ripoff's at best. They know all the dirty little tricks in getting you to pay twice for your auction wins, not shipping product, shipping inferior products that show up not working, not replacing these products with working ones, and you name it, they've done it. I know this first hand. I will not do business with these wannabes ever again. Just rude and crude imposters of CB people if you ask me. Just plane theft. I've reported them to ebay, but, as all companys with money, everything is bought and paid for. And they are still out there. So, if anyone else has had personal dealings with this so called company, I'd like to compare notes sometime. I just wonder why they are still in business anyway? Thanks and 73's Stovebolt/6 SoCal Desert |
| Subject: Re: WHOLESALE CB RADIO Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 19:47:36 -0700 From: "r taft" <taftr@my.amigo.net> To: "DTB Radio" <email@dtbradio.com> References: 1 , 2 GOT WORD TODAY FROM SAND SPRINGS,OK.. THAT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS IS CORRECT...WHOLESALE CB RADIO 1032 N. BIRCH SAND SPRINGS ,OK. 74063 BRANDON SMITH AND JACK JOHNSON (ALIAS???) THEY WILL NOT ANSWER THE TELEPHONE ALTHOUGH IT RINGS FOREVER AND THE 1-800-699-3922 GOES TO A TAPE RECORDED.. AM SENDING YOU IN ANOTHER MAILOF MY INFO FROM BAKER 95 TODAY..MAYBE WE CAN SQEEZE THEM A BIT BY HAVING OTHER VICTIMS CONTACT BAKER 95 ALSO.. RAMON----- Original Message ----- From: DTB Radio To: r taft Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 6:31 PM Subject: Re: WHOLESALE CB RADIO I'm definitely interested. have had several comnplaints about them as far as not sending the product that someone ordered, and the customer can't locate them r taft wrote: FOUND SOME INFO TODAY CONCERNING THIS PLACE.. I NOW KNOW WHERE THEY ARE AND HAVE HAD THE ADDRESS VERIFIED BY "THEIR" LOCAL P.D.. IF YOU AND JACK ARE INTERESTED -I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PASS THIS INFO ON TO YOU.. RAMON -- David T. Bupp DTB Radio |
| Subject: Re: WHOLESALE CB UPDATE Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 16:31:13 -0700 From: "r taft" <taftr@my.amigo.net> To: "DTB Radio" <email@dtbradio.com> References: 1 , 2 WHICH CATAGORY??? THE FIRST ONE??? ----- Original Message ----- From: DTB Radio To: r taft Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 4:18 PM Subject: Re: WHOLESALE CB UPDATE No, thats fine. In fact, you can also post at http://www.cbradioforum.com/ and alert people to the fraud. r taft wrote: TALKED TO SAND SPRINGS ,OK PD A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO.. THEY REFERRED ME TO THE COUNTY SHERIFF OF OSAGE COUNTY,OK... TALKED TO AN INVESTIGATOR FOR THE SHERIFF DEPT.. TOLD ME HE PAID THEM A VISIT LAST WEEK BASED ON COMPLAINTS THEY WERE GETTING... AS A RESULT HE TOLD ME THEY HAVE DISCONNECTED TWO OF THE 3 PHONES... 1-800-699-3922 AND 918-245-4333.. I CALLED A RELATIVE (UNCLE) AND HE WAS PRETTY UPSET WITH THEM AND DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM.. I STILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL 3-13-04 TO FILE A TRACE ON MY POSTAL M.O SO WILL BE FOLLOWING THEM ON THE WEB..BY THAT TIME I WILL OR SHOULD KNOW MORE.. WAS THINKING ABOUT PRESENTING A QUESTION ON THE FORUM AND ASK IF ANYONE ELSE HAD BEEN TAKEN BY WHOLESALE CB.. WOULD THAT BE OUT OF LINE??? THAT WAY I MIGHT GET MORE NAMES OF VICTIMS WHEN I GO FOR THE BIG MOVE...I DID THAT VERY THING ON THE AMATURE WEB PAGES AND IT WORKED OUT WELL... CATCH YOU LATER!!! RAMON -- David T. Bupp DTB Radio |
| From: <jwill32@bellsouth.net> Date: 2004/03/18 Thu PM 08:57:13 EST To: <dtbradio@dtbradio.com> CC: <jwill32@bellsouth.net> Subject: Wholesalecbradio I too am a victim of wholesalesbradio's scam. They Ripoff Artists and I will never deal with them again. I never received the package that I ordered. UPS has paid them for the item but they never reimbursed me and they will not answer their phone. I have sent them certified letters but they never respond to my letters. I would encourage everyone not to do any business with them as they will rip you off. If you have anyone who needs to know who has beeen ripped off by them please feel free to share my E-mail and information. My name is Willie Hardwick and I live in Atlanta. |
| Subject: wholesalecbradio.com Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2004 22:44:44 -0500 From: yogibear749@sbcglobal.net To: email@dtbradio.com You need to list this ***hole on the black list. About 5 Times will do. I`m here in tulsa and we give him a truck load of crap every day. So Keep writing we love it. Thanks Roy |
| Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 09:25:16 -0500 To: email@dtbradio.com From: leslier37@earthlink.net Subject: leslier37@earthlink.net Mr SandLadin of WWW.WHOLESALECBRADIO.COM still remains to have the greater than thou attitude. SandLadin and I used to modulate on the radio quite often.Whenever I stumbled across this information and read his responses to your emails I knew it was not a lie.His attitude remains the same.He is arrogant,and cocky always putting himself on a pedstal above others,boasting of his financial gains,and still rejecting the plagiarism.He concludes and swears that you have copied your modifications from a book.Yet SandLadin copied your work for his benefit without a thank you. SandLadin is as arrogant on the c.b. as he is on the web.I have refused to modulate with him or support his business since I ran across this information. Sidetrack 263 |
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 20:26:57 -0500 To: email@dtbradio.com From: nobob_noprob@hotmail.com Subject: wholesalecb radio thieves I wish I had seen your words about Wholesale cb radio before I gave them 344.00 of my hard earned money. They acknowledged that they got my money, but they never bothered to send me the items I paid for. This was in september, and I have tried to contact them to no avail. I did report them to the BBB in Oklahoma for claiming to be members of the online BBB. There doesn't seem to be much I can do, but if I can get an exact address for these dicks, I will pay for the flight from calif. to Oklahomo so I can pick up my purchase in person. I will of course take whatever P.D. is interested with me. These guys need to have some law explained to them. Anyways, thought you'd be interested..anyone got a positive address on these ***holes? |
From: K Hinds To: brandonjjgs@AOL.COM Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 7:48 PM Subject: Re:order #5945 I have reported you to the BBB in Oklahoma, I have reported you to the Federal Trade Commission, for fraud, and if you go to the ftc.gov site you may wish to find out that what you have done is illegal and punishable by law. You guys are thieves and real ***holes. I am sending e-mails to every site I can find that might be interested, about how you Brandon Smith, and John Jackson are ripping off the public. I am also telling everyone else that has been ripped off by you how to file complaints with the FTC. Your days are numbered. |
| From a business rep who wished to remain anonymous Date: 10-16-2004 Sent in reply to a notification I sent him about the new Wholesale CB discussion forum: I have inside information that I guarantee they ripped off a major distributor for around $1800 worth of merchandise. Apparently, they had 3 boxes shipped to them, and it was about $3600 worth of stuff shipped COD. UPS accidentally marked 2 of the three boxes at $3600 each, and it was supposed to be total. Wholesale CB refused those two and took the other one without payment. The distributor dropped them because they also cannot contact them on the phone, or any other method to try and get payment for the box they didn't pay for. You can use this text, but please do not attach it to me or my business, as it could cause problems for me and the distributor involved. I'm trusting you to do this, as you have been good to us so far in this matter concerning Wholesale CB. |
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