Starting A Going Out Of Business Sale, The Easy Way

Normally, when something like this goes viral on the net, I resist posting anything about it. I figure if there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people posting about it, and I don't have anything new to add to the conversation, what purpose is there to post it?

But, the part of me that believes in using consumerism and boycotts as an effective means of showing my disdain for morons, says I should post this…

Sgt. Jason Hess, who serves in the 1st Cavalry Division and is currently stationed in Iraq was looking to order some new mats for his fellow soldiers to sleep on. So he sent the following email to Discount Floor Mats of West Allis, Wisconsin.

From: SGT Jason Hess
Sent: Tue Jan 16 3:25

Do you ship to APO address? I'm in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we are looking for who ships to APO first.

A perfectly good email, asking a perfectly good question. Some companies will not ship to an APO, so it was smart of Sgt. Hess to inquire about their shipping policies before ordering the items, right?

Check out the response he received…

From: contact@discount-mats.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Feedback: from discount-mats.com

SGT Hess,

We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.

Bargain Suppliers
Discount-Mats.com

That's one way to start your "going out of business sale". Their website has been down all day, as you can expect with something like this.

Now. I for one, would never have done business with this company in the future anyway, so it makes no sense to call for a boycott. What I do recommend, however, is contacting them to let them know your opinion of their "response".

Their phone numbers:

phone: 414-736-8394
fax: 414-543-9634

Their mailing address:

Bargain Suppliers
3259 S.106th Street
West Allis, WI 53227

You can find out more information (including the contact information for the domain) by visiting Euphoric Reality, they have been updating their post on the subject all day.