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Photo Forum / Film Photography / 35 mm / November 2006Gray Market Cameras And US Law
Article from June 1988 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n13_v27/ai_6449250 Discounters win one; court OKs gray market - parallel importing of goods at lower prices Discounters Win One; Court OKs Gray Market WASHINGTON -- In a major victory for the nation's discount retailers, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld controversial Customs Service regulations allowing the "parallel importing" of billions of dollars in bargain-price "gray market" merchandise. Siding with attorneys for K mart and New York City camera discounter 47th Street Photo, the high court ruled 5-to-4 that Congress intended the 1930 Tariff Act to protect only American businesses--not multinational firms that make goods abroad and then attempt to monopolize U.S. distribution of those products in this country. The immediate impact of the ruling will be to lift the cloud of doubt over the legality of parallel imports stemming from a 1986 federal appeals court decision that struck down those gray market Customs Service rules. As a result, the demand for gray market watches, cameras, fragrances and other heavily parallel imported products is expected to rise as word of the Supreme Court's action spreads through the U.S. retail community. More importantly, though, the decision upholding the legality of parallel imports assures the nation's discount chains of an uninterrupted stream of popular, brand name imports--even if the foreign manufacturer's U.S.-based marketing subsidiary refuses to sell directly to off-price retailers. Advertisement At issue in the case: long-standing Customs Service regulations under which Section 526 of the U.S. Tariff Act has been interpreted to permit parallel imports of genuine U.S. trademarked goods without vendor consent. In general, that section of the law authorizes U.S. trademark holders to petition the agency to exclude imports of identically trademarked goods by unauthorized sources. For the past 50 years, however, the Customs Service rules implementing that law have contained an exception denying foreign manufacturers and their corporate relatives in the U.S. the right to exclude imports by unauthorized parties. After failing to convince Congress to enact, "corrective" legislation, the Coalition to Preserve the Integrity of American Trademarks--an organization of multinational vendors--filed suit challenging the Customs Service's interpretation in federal court. Earlier this year the Supreme Court issued a preliminary jurisdictional ruling in the case, holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade is not the only federal court empowered to hear cases involving tariff disputes. That ruling was considered a setback for discounters since the CIT had ruled consistently in favor of parallel importers. Significantly, though, the high court called on attorneys for both sides to re-argue "the merits" of the case, and the final decision, handed down earlier this month, is a result of that showdown. In the majority opinion written by freshman Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court held that the language of the 58-year-old Tariff Act is sufficiently ambiguous to permit the Customs Service's pro-gray market interpretation. In a concurring opinion, Justice William Brennan agreed that Congress never intended for the 1930 Tariff Act to protect foreign producers or the "shell" corporations that they form in the U.S. to hold their trademarks. "The most blatant hint that Congress did not intend to extend [the law's] protection to affiliates of foreign manufacturers is the provision's protectionist, almost jingoist, flavor," Brennan wrote. "Its structure bespeaks an intent, characteristic of the times, to protect only domestic interests." The limitations imposed by Congress to prevent non-U.S. firms from taking advantage of the Tariff Act's provisions would serve no purpose, he said, "if a foreign manufacturer might bypass them by the simple device of incorporating a shell domestic subsidiary and transferring to it a single asset--the U.S. trademark. "If a foreign manufacturer could insulate itself so easily from the competition of parallel imports, much of [the law's] limiting language would be pointless," he maintained. Brennan also argued that the decision to uphold Customs' policy toward parallel imports is "further buttressed by the deference owed to an agency interpretation that represents a longstanding agency position." As a result of Customs' rules on gray market imports "a multibillion dollar industry has emerged around the parallel importation of foreign-manufactured merchandise bearing U.S. trademarks." Significantly, however, the high court further ruled that not all gray market imports may be protected by the agency's regulations. A U.S. firm which authorizes or otherwise licenses an unrelated foreign firm to produce its U.S. trademarked goods abroad may, indeed, seek the Customs Service protection. Additionally, the Supreme Court held that domestic firms which purchase the right to distribute imported goods from an unrelated foreign manufacturer may also secure government assistance to exclude unauthorized parallel imports. > Article from June 1988 > http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n13_v27/ai_6449250 > Discounters win one; court OKs gray market - parallel importing of goods > at lower prices > Discounters Win One; Court OKs Gray Market Here is a link specific to the Mamya situation: http://www.supnik.com/parallel.htm This article is somewhat technical, but it does offer a more comprehensive discussion of the issues affecting gray market imports, which are often overlooked: http://foxweb.marist.edu/users/prema.nakra/graymarketing.html GRAY MARKETING: A STRATEGIC THREAT OR A TACTICAL MARKETING PROBLEM? ABSTRACT The issue of Gray Marketing is often viewed by the multinational corporation as a tactical problem. The corporation whose products are subject to gray market activities may ignore the problem, encourage the activity in over to meet short term sales goats, or try and find a legal remedy. Quite frequently, the issue needs a strategic response since it can have a damaging effect of the corporate image, as-week-as the relationship between its distributor; and customers. This paper focuses on the causes and effects of gray marketing recommending several strategic alternatives. INTRODUCTION If you live in Europe, you would be interested in leaming more about Wolfgang Trenz. Approximately 112 miles north of Munich, Germany is a place called Weiherhammer, where Wolfgang Trenz has a deal for you. Trenz's American Motors Trenz GmbH sells Grand Cherokee limited for about $46,342, or 1790 less than the official price of the car in Germany. Stocking almost exclusively Jeeps and Voyager minivans, Trenz sold 1,000 new cars and 200 old cars in 1994 (Murk 1995). How can Trenz undercut the other dealers? Tranz is a 'Gray Marketer,. but you might want to call him "carbitrager" or a "parallel Importer." Tranz uses communication technology to tap into the network of Chrysler dealers in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia or any where else where he can find the cheapest price He pays retail but knows that he can sell it for more. Once the product is in his possession, Trenz spends $10,000 per vehicle to install new lights, to adjust the electrical system and change the tires to meet German vehicle specifications. He then overrides a computer chip that limits the North American Cherokee's top speed to 112 miles an hour. Finally, Trenz sets aside $1,100 per vehicle to cover warranty costs. After paying transportation, duty and sales tax, and the adaptation and warranty costs, each Cherokee sold by Tram provides him with a profit of $3,370 (Murk, 1995). Trenz is not the only 'Gray marketer' in the world, and automobile industry is not the only industry where gray markets are developing so rapidly. . UNDERSTANDING GRAY MARKETING In the international context, gray marketing or "parallel importation' refers to the legal importation of genuine goods into a country by intermediaries other than the authorized distributors. Gray marketers are typically the brokers who buy goods around the world from manufacturers or authorized dealers in countries where prices, taxes and the trade margins are low and sell them in countries where prices and markups are higher. Gray market goods typically sell for 25 to 40 percent less than Imports handled through authorized distribution channels. Parallel importation does not Involve the selling of counterfeit products. The question of the legitimacy does not involve the legality of the products, but the legality of the means by which the product Is distributed. When goods intended for marketing in one country are diverted into an unauthorized distribution network which then imports the goods into another country, gray markets develop. INDUSTRIES AFFECTED The diversity of products sold in the gray markets is quite broad. The products notably affected by this method of operation may be as expensive to the consumer as automobiles or as inexpensive as chewing gum. The IM includes many premium priced goods such as autos, tire and construction equipment, watches, cameras, furs, jewels, liquor, prescription drugs, baby food, upscale clothing and perfumes. Also affected by the gray market activities are highly technical products such as disc drives, computers, computer chips. Many well-known companies such as IBM personal computers, Seiko Watches, Nikon, Minolta and Olympus cameras, Duracell batteries, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, even Opium, the world's best selling perfume, find their products sold in gray markets. (Duhan, Sheffet 1988). The size of gray markets has grown steadily and substantially, from 2 percent of imports in 1979 to 20 perm in 1981. In 1986, the total value of products distributed in the United States through gray market channels exceeded $10 billion (Daeger, Dunkin 1988). Industry sources indicate that about 1090 of IBM's PC sales and 20% of Sharp Electronic copiers are accounted for by unauthorized channels. The phenomenon is not restricted to Europe and the United States. Japan, for example, is witnessing gray markets because of the high value of a yen and the subsidization of cheaper exports through high taxes(Koeppel 1989). Asian countries in general, and Kong Hong in particular are favorite targets for gray marketing because wholesale prices there are usually much lower than elsewhere. Gray marketing activities are also flourishing in Western Europe, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Turkey, Zaire and Kazastan. REASONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GRAY MARKETS Price discrimination - To maintain the image of quality and exclusivity, strategies of some products included high profit margins at each level of distribution, different prices among markets, and limited quantities, as well as distribution restricted to upscale retailers. All these factors create opportunities for gray marketers(Ono 1993). Eastman Kodak prices its film higher in Japan than in other parts of Asia. Enterprising merchants buy Kodak film in South Korea for a discount and resell it in Japan at 25 percent less than the authorized Japanese Kodak dealers. (Wall Street Journal, 1994). Exchange rate fluctuation - Variations in the value of currencies between countries frequently leads to conditions that make parallel imports profitable. Europe's gray market for cars is flourishing especially because of the currency swings producing price gaps of up to 50 percent on individual models from one country to another (Woodruff, 1995). Product shortages - Gray markets also emerge due to the inability of a firm to synchronize demand and supply in various country markets. In the event of product shortages, the buyers, especially the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) turn to gray marketers. In 1988 many computer manufacturers had to turn to gray marketers to secure their supply of DRAM's or else watch their production lines grind to a halt (Cavusgil / Sikora 1988). Channel member integrity - In almost all of the cases involving gray marketing, someone in the authorized channel commits a diversion, thus violating the agreements signed. If the distributor's margin is disproportionately large relative to the marketing tasks it performs, they are likely to be the cause of parallel importation. Trade Barriers - Restrictions brought about by import quotas and high tariffs provide an attractive opportunity for gray marketing. India has a three-tier duty structure on computer parts ranging from 50 to 80 percent on imports. As a result, estimates are that as much as 35 percent of India's domestic computer hardware sales are accounted for by the gray markets (Reuter 1994). STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF GRAY MARKETING a.. Gray market goods can severely distort local country marketing plans, erode long term brand images and eat up costly promotion dollars. Unexpected expansion of gray market imports disrupts forecasting accuracy, pricing strategies, merchandising plans, positioning statement, and other marketing efforts. b.. Gray marketing can obviously damage authorized dealers by siphoning off sales. The authorized distribution network provides back up, spare parts, repairs, and promotional support that are not provided to customers who buy through gray markets. Thus, the gray market grows under the umbrella of services provided by the regular charnels (international Executive 1991). Some of the unhappy channel members may drop the product and seek out other manufacturers who have not been adversely affected by gray marketers. Others may pursue the "If you can't beat'em, join'em' approach and become gray marketers themselves. c.. Parallel imports can deceive consumers by not meeting U.S. standards or their normal expectations of after-sale-service. Consumers who unknowingly buy unauthorized imports have no assurance of quality of the item they buy, of warranty support, and of authorized service or replacement parts. When the product fails, the consumers blame the owners of the trade mark and the quality image of the product is sullied. (Engardio et. al. 1988). This could lead to legal liabilities it an accident occurs due to the equipment or product manufactured by a particular company which finds its way into these markets through parallel importation. REACTIVE STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES Hedging - Creative marketers and strategic global players sometimes price their products in a foreign currency which they believe is more stable than their home currency to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations which lead to gray market opportunities. Thus sales contracts can be made in the dollar or Swiss franc even though the parties are neither American nor Swiss (Weigand 1991). Price cutting and Price incentives - Some companies have introduced price incentives to consumers. Hasselblad, the Swedish Camera Manufacturer, offers rebates to purchasers of legalized imported serial numbered camera bodies, lenses and roll filled magazines. Termination of violators - The manufacturer could stop selling to distributors who resell the products to unauthorized resellers. It might be difficult to implement this strategy since products are likely to be manufactured and distributed in so many countries around the world. Promotion of gray market product limitations - Marketers may advertise the warnings to consumers against buying the gray market products on the grounds that these products may be obsolete, worn out models or models designed for different countries or regions, and that the consumers might have problems with their warranties. Minolta ran advertisements to inform consumers that gray market cameras had an inferior warranty. Collaboration and Buy-Backs - Some of the gray marketers can be added to the authorized dealer network if mutually acceptable terms can be reached, thereby increasing control of the channels of distribution (Weigand 1991, Cavusgil/ Sikora 1988). Another solution is to buy up the merchandise bought in by gray marketers to protect the authorized dealers. Though this gesture would send strong signals that the manufacturer is committed to protecting the interests of the authorized dealers, this approach could be expensive if it encourages dealers to bring in even more merchandise. Legal Recourse - Marketers need to take an active role in getting the new laws enacted. The concern for public health and safety prompted Congress to pass the Prescription Drug Marketing Act to stop what the industry calls "the diversion market.' The new law provides that' . . . no drug.. which is manufactured in a State and exported may be imported into the United States unless the drug is imported by the person who manufactured the drug." PROACTIVE STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES Product Differentiation - Developing different versions of a product to suit different local tastes, national health and safety rules, packaging requirements, technical standards, income levels for different markets would curb the gray market activities to a great extent. Minolta Camera Company, for example, markets an identical camera in the United States and Japan but it gives it different names and warranties. (Armstrong et. Al. 1988) Posche makes its cars for the US market more powerful and better equipped in order to reflect the higher price. Like other strategies, however, the use of multiple brands affects the economies of scale and increases the production, inventory and marketing costs. These costs need to be weighed against the opportunity costs of gray market activities. Strategic pricing - Gray marketing of a product within a market often takes place because of the channel structure and margins. A manufacturer who wants to eliminate the potentially profitable gray marketing activity should reevaluate is pricing and discount structure. The most effective way to eliminate the gray markets is to eliminate the price and margin discrepancy between the markets. One major problem with this strategy is that it adversely affects the products prestige image and brand value. Certain brands are successful because of their snob and exclusive appeal and they must be promoted as luxury articles that must be expensive. Long term image reinforcement - HILTI is one of the leading manufacturers of drilling devices in the world. It follows a global high price strategy based on superior quality and direct distribution. Its products are more expensive than those of all competitors wherever they are sold. Nevertheless, HILTI's prices in Japan are only 55 percent of European prices over all its product lines because of necessary adaptation to local price levels. FINAL WORD The response to the problems posed by the gray marketing has been varied. While some manufacturers are simply absorbing profit losses to gray markets as an acknowledged cost of doing business, others are taking more aggressive stands, through privately funded fraud investigation, litigation and even corporate guerrilla tactics. Despite the Supreme Court ruling in May 1991, to legitimize gray markets in the United States, foreign manufacturers, US companies manufacturing abroad, and authorized retailers have continued to fight the practice (Klein 1991). The gray market activities can create serious problems for the manufacturers of the products involved if the practices are widespread enough to disrupt the manufacturer's ability to manage their marketing channels (Levin 1985). There is obviously no easy solution to the problems associated with the gray marketing activities, since it is illegal for manufacturers to dictate prices charged by their channel members. Manufacturers can exercise even less control over the pricing practices of unauthorized dealers and distributors. The authorized dealers insist that they should be able to block imports of merchandise intended for foreign markets because of quality differences of goods intended for their customers. Parallel importers, on the other hand insist that they should be able to roam the world for best buys. Gray marketers claim that the main beneficiaries of gray marketing are consumers who benefit from lower prices, resellers, warranty and service centers, and discount distributors. For the US market, all US registered trade mark owners are protected under the Tariff Act of 1930 and Section 42 of the Lanham Act. These laws are not much help to curb the gray market activities. The US supreme court has ruled that gray market importation is legal. Courts in other countries often take the same position. Japanese judges repeatedly rule for gray market importers. In E.C. countries, parallel imports cannot be prohibited. The British Fair Trading Act allows wholesalers to sell to any retailers, who in turn can buy from any wholesalers. Germany stimulates the practice by rebating all import duties and local VAT for reexporters. Paris' Roissy airport is popular with international brokers because of its duty-free warehouse space for transshipments, which are not tariffed. The airport also allows quick delivery because goods simply flow through without any encumbering intermediate delivery. The dilemma faced by the multinational marketers will not be resolved by mere tactical response to the problem. The industry participants need to make a strong commitment to identify and monitor the key indicators of gray market activities. Some of the indicators for gray market opportunities are: price differentials between countries, growing inventories, sharp changes in exchange rates, and slowing foreign economies. Opportunity costs of gray marketing need to be assessed accurately and regularly and shared with the distributors, customers, and other stakeholders. REFERENCES Armstrong, Larry and William J. Holstein and Alice Z Cuneo:1988; Now Japan is feeling the heat from the gray market," Business Week (March 14), 50-51. Business Week, 1988, "A ruling that doesn't do discounters justice; (May 14), 145. S. Tamer Cavusgil and Ed Sikora:1988, "How Multinationals Can Counter Gray Market Imports, The Columbia Journal of World Business, Winter New Roman, Times, serifturn can A Yes, "Gray Market" cameras and other goods do allow a lower price name brand items for consumers. But if something goes wrong with the item, well good luck. Most "Gray Market" items do not have a warranty that is any good in the USA. Several of the major camera manufacters will not honor a non-USA warranty and will tell you to send it back to where you bought it or pay for overseas shipping and be prepared to wait. If you want it done under warranty. Draco Getting even isn't good enough. > Yes, "Gray Market" cameras and other > goods do allow a lower price name brand > items for consumers. But if something goes > wrong with the item, well good luck. It is a simple matter of being 'self-insured': if the camera is 33% less without a warranty then figure if you throw less than 1/3rd of your purchases into the trash because they break you are still ahead buying gray market. Look at the US/gray difference and figure the odds of the product breaking and the cost to repair. Most failures happen in the first 30 days and if the vendor has a 30day/doa return policy then the gray market risk is small: if it weren't then there would not be a viable gray market. > Getting even isn't good enough. But turning the other cheek is.  SignatureNicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com Great legal decision ..... but in the 'real' world the outcome may not be so keen. Nikon USA, for one, is not accepting 'Gray Market' equipment for service _ even if you offer to pay for repairs. So, if one goes out and "saves" $35.00 on a Nikon digital SLR body with a Gray Market purchase, the cost of 'air freight' to Japan (and back) for service or repair will exceed $35.00. So who wins what? = = = > > Yes, "Gray Market" cameras and other > > goods do allow a lower price name brand [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm > n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com > Great legal decision ..... but in the 'real' world the outcome may not > be so keen. Nikon USA and other importers that decline to offer any services to buyers of gray market goods are acting well within their legal rights under US regulations. The people that whine the most about not being able to demand "something for nothing" from importers like Nikon USA are probably the least likely to be worth much in terms of revenue to Nikon USA. It's a classic case of the Pareto Principle: 80% of the difficult situations come from only 20% of the customer base. Get rid of that 20% of the customers who demand the most, and who contribute the least to sales revenue, and Nikon USA is better off. Somebody that buys a camera and maybe 2 lenses, over a ten-year time span, is not the kind of customer that has much impact on the bottom line. The gray market importer can have him, and the real Nikon importer will have become better off for it. Every business has some customers for whom only price matters. No amount of bending-over-backwards in terms of service and hand-holding matters--if someone cuts the price by $5.00, those customers bail. These customers are typically the ones that grouse the most, who demand the most and whose purchases are worth the least, in terms of profitability. So, in a strange way, Nikon USA might actually derive some benefit by not having to deal with that segment of the market. > Great legal decision ..... but in the 'real' world the outcome may not > be so keen. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > So who wins what? But there are other alternatives than sending your stuff all the way back to Japan.....I have a camera repair shop here in Portland that does great work on all my Nikon stuff, and they don't care what the serial numbers are, or where I bought the stuff. If you buy stuff on eBay, you have no way of knowing yourself where it came from. Any decent repair shop will fix whatever they can...... >> Great legal decision ..... but in the 'real' world the outcome may not >> be so keen. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >But there are other alternatives than sending your stuff all the way back to >Japan.....I have a camera repair shop here in Portland that does great work Bill, Didn't you used to live in the SF Bay Area? I think the real problem is that Nikon doesn't provide even parts to independent repair shops under some circumstances. I don't remember the details, but basically if you have a problem with a recently purchased gray market item, you're screwed. If you sent Nikon a 30 year old camera or lens that you bought in Japan, say, I have no idea what Nikon would do. >on all my Nikon stuff, and they don't care what the serial numbers are, or >where I bought the stuff. If you buy stuff on eBay, you have no way of >knowing yourself where it came from. Any decent repair shop will fix >whatever they can...... Father Kodak >>> Great legal decision ..... but in the 'real' world the outcome may not >>> be so keen. [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Father Kodak Yes....I lived & worked in the Bay area from 1952 to 1996, excluding a stint in the Navy. But when I retired in '96, I moved up here to Northern Oregon, where I had friends, and the houses were about 1/3 as expensive. The repair shop in SE Portland doesn't seem to have any trouble getting parts....Perhaps they use serial numbers known to be non gray market, or, what is more likely, Nikon doesn't bother with the orders of independent repair facilities. After all, I could go into any camera store, ask to see a piece of Nikon equipment, memorize its serial number, and write it down for future reference if I needed a part for the one I own. IOW, its another unenforceable law.....Sometimes you can read serial numbers from photographs on eBay, or from equipment in store windows......I do notice, however, that the new Nikkors have tiny serial numbers engraved in black on the sides of their lenses at the front, instead of the old white numbers written on the face next to the glass.....Maybe that's why they are doing this........ >If you sent Nikon a 30 year old camera or lens that you bought in >Japan, say, I have no idea what Nikon would do. I live in Toronto and took my Nikon F [purchased in 1960 in NYC, when I lived in the U.S.] to Nikon Canada, which is located just outside Toronto near the LBP International Airport. They cleaned it and checked the timing, but could not do anything else. Reason - Nikon no longer has ANY parts for a original Nikon F! It still works fine, and has the Nikkor f1.2 58mm lens I originally got with it, and the selenium light meter that couples on the top front, also still working, after 46 years. So Nikon will do what they can, but do not expect them to have parts on hand. I have NO idea what the camera or lens are worth, today, but they still perform perfectly... RsH > If you sent Nikon a 30 year old camera or lens that you bought in > Japan, say, I have no idea what Nikon would do. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >knowing yourself where it came from. Any decent repair shop will fix > >whatever they can...... > Father Kodak There is a Nikon repair/warehouse in Melville NY which is about the size of a hot rod shop. I believe that is the main repair facility for the US. I used to pass it a couple of times a day and never saw anything happening except security guards. One gets the feeling that they have no intention of fixing anything they don't absolutely have to. Meanwhile there is , about 1/2 mi. east, a new Nikon U.S.A., 20? story tinted glass office building. That's where the action is. If I were to buy a new Nikon something, I would def. buy grey and if it broke, send it to Essex. The alternative is paying Nikon USA for the repair before it broke, and then fighting it out to have it fixed. Bob Hickey > a new Nikon U.S.A., 20? story tinted glass office building. > That's where the action is. And that's where your money goes if you buy a genuine USA model. > Nikon repair/warehouse in Melville NY which is about the size of > a hot rod shop. I believe that is the main repair facility for the US.' And that is where you would hope your money is going to pay for the warranty. Anybody want to take a guess on the percentage of price over gray market that goes to supporting warranty service: rent on gas station divided by rent on office tower * 100? SignatureNicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com >> If you sent Nikon a 30 year old camera or lens that you bought in >> Japan, say, I have no idea what Nikon would do. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Nikon USA for the repair before it broke, and then fighting it out to have > it fixed. Bob Hickey Exactly.....Once people have your money in their pockets, there is no longer any incentive for them to do anything for you. > > Getting even isn't good enough. > But turning the other cheek is. > > -- > Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Nick, My tag line is not about revenge. It is about doing better. If you start at zero or "even", then go foward and do well going back to even isn't good. Going backward or below "even" and then fighting your way back to zero isn't good either. So when you are getting to even it isn't as good as succeeding and doing well. I try and do this every day. Sometimes I succeed and other times I don't. Turning the other cheek is well and good. Until the person who wrongs you continues. Then you kick their butts. Draco Getting even isn't good enough. > Turning the other cheek is well and good. Until the > person who wrongs you continues. Then you kick > their butts. Karma. The Universe is _absolutely_ fair ... that's what gets so many people really pissed off. SignatureNicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.nolindan.com/da/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com |
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