Gary Richardson

My Most Prolific "Sales" Contacts

I've posted previous blogs and even dedicated pages on my website to the multitude of unsolicited sales contacts I've received since The Ascension Legacy - Book 1: The Shamed Ranger released back in the summer of 2020. Below are a few of the links to those pages (if you're interested):

Most only ping me 2 or 3 times before they finally get the hint to leave me alone. I have filed complaints with the BBB on a few of them for their numerous unwanted contacts. But among the dozens and dozens of phone calls, emails, text messages, and even comments on posts, only a few have been so persistent that I would consider them prolific. And it is those few prolific "spammers", I will consider them since they have pinged me several times despite my wishes, that will be the focus of this article. I want to highlight those who have opted to stand out by not opting to adhere to common decency and being incapable of following a very basic request, i.e. leave me alone.

#5 - Ryan Scott (Christian Works Media) [4 contacts]

Christian Works Media listing on my website

Ryan clocks in at #5 with 4 contacts between the dates of 4/29/21 and 6/30/23. On average, Ryan reached out to me about once every 6 months over that 2 year period of time. On each occasion I would reply to Ryan's email and request to be removed from their contact list. On the 4th and final contact I had from Ryan, my request was made in bold ALL CAPS in an oversized font and colored red. It has been roughly 9 months since then. Perhaps Ryan finally got the memo?

And if that isn't bad enough, Ryan was 1 of 4 different people from Christian Works Media who reached out to me. On some occasions, I would get emails from those others within days of getting an email from their colleagues.

In total, I've had 9 contacts from Christian Works Media with the most recent being 10/21/23. I made the same request to that person (Tina Jones) to remove me from their mailing list that I had made to everyone else. Tina replied "will do" and I haven't heard from anyone else there since. It only took 30 months and more than half a dozen requests before someone finally acknowledged my request. Shame Ryan didn't do it in any of the 4 attempts I made through him and he might have avoided making this list of shame.

#4 - Marshie Prieto (EC Publishing LLC) [4 contacts]

EC Publishing LLC listing on my website

Marshie! Marshie! Marshie!

Marshie Prieto comes in at #4 on my list also with 4 contacts. Marshie ranks higher on my list of shame than Ryan Scott because Marshie's contacts came in quicker succession. My first contact with Marshie was on 7/30/21 and my last contact was on 2/15/22. That means in roughly 6 months Marshie pinged me 4 times. That's an average of 1 contact every 6 weeks.

The first exchange I had with Marshie was vague from his end but it was essentially a pitch to engage services. I replied with a breakdown of their services listed on their website and why I wasn't interested in them. I did NOT make a request to be removed from his mailing list at that time but thought I made it clear that they had nothing to offer me. It actually wasn't until our 3rd exchange on 1/31/22 that I made my first request to be removed from their mailing list. Surprisingly, Marshie replied to that email but his only response was "Thank you for your feedback." My feedback was literally, "I'm not interested. Please remove me from your mailing list for all future offers" but whatever. Unsurprisingly, Marshie reached out just 2 weeks later, seemingly forgetting my very recent request. I was less subtle in my reply but it seemed to have worked. I've not heard from Marshie since. One of his colleagues did ping me later that year on 8/30/22 but I opted to not even reply. It seems that when I don't reply I don't hear from them as much but silence is not my preference, in case you haven't noticed.

#3 Carl Perez (URLink Publishing / URLink Print & Media) [5 contacts]

URLink Publishing listing on my website

Carl Perez is one of my more recent contacts and has managed to make this list very rapidly. My first contact with Carl was on 12/5/23 and my most recent contact was on 3/22/24 (today!). Within that 3.5 month window Carl has managed to reach out to me 5 times. Carl has managed to contact me more times than Ryan Scott or Marshie Prieto and in less time! That's something of an accomplishment, I guess.

The real difference between Carl and those who ranked lower than him on this list is that from the very first email I made it clear that I did not want to do business with this group. I tried politely and subtly suggesting that I didn't want to be contacted again but that didn't to the trick. However, flat out stating it didn't do the trick either in the next 3 emails I got from Carl. Even after my 4th request (made today), I'm not confident that 5 will be my final count of contacts with Carl. Right now, I have high suspicions that Carl may advance higher in this list before all is said and done.

Although, Carl will face some stiff competition when you see the current numbers for the top 2!

#2 Sanders? (Author Express) [7 contacts]

Author Express listing on my website

This fellow is listed as "Sanders?" because he only left poor voicemails in which it was a bit difficult to understand if that is what he was saying was his name and none of the MANY voicemails did he state a surname either. And while Sanders? may not be the most prolific contact that I've had, he definitely should be acknowledged for the absolute rapid succession of contacts. In 7 days I received 7 phone calls for 7 different sales pitches from this dude.

Between 8/9/22 to 8/17/22 this guy called almost daily with 2 phone calls coming on 8/11/22. The first 6 phone calls all went to voicemail and never received a reply from me. The hopes were that if I didn't return his call that he would get the hint and leave me alone but that clearly wasn't the case. But that 7th phone call was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

I tried to return his phone call at the phone number he left only to find that his voicemail was "full". Interestingly, he called me back almost immediately. This time, I answered. I didn't give him a chance to talk. I chastised him for the repeated calls and told him point blank to delete my name and number because there was nothing that could be said that would ever make me want to do business with him after a week of harassment. And then I hung up. Thankfully, that was the last contact I've had with Sanders? and Author Express.

#1 Kelly White (Writers Apex) [11 contacts]

Writers Apex listing on my website

Ahh, Kelly White. For a while, I considered Kelly something of a nemesis. Over the course of about 18 months between 4/14/21 until 11/23/22, Kelly emailed me on 11 different occasions with the same subject line in EVERY email, "Let's Make A Noise Of Your Book-The Ascenion Legacy".

Notice that all 11 of the emails Kelly sent misspelled the name of my book too. Its Ascension Legacy NOT Ascenion Legacy! If you can't be bothered to spell the name of book right 11 times you shouldn't expect me to think that you can do quality, detailed work.

The first email, I actually replied to and said I was open to hearing what Kelly had to say. This led to a phone call between the two of us where she kept trying to tell me that I needed to republish my books through them to lower my prices. I asked how they were planning to do that because I knew printers had a minimum cost and with my estimated royalties that the prices couldn't really get much lower. She never could offer an explanation other than "we know more than you" so I just hung up on her. I pressed her on the subject several times and told her that if she couldn't explain how they were going to achieve that result in detail that I wasn't interested. She continued to dodge the question and basically tell me that I'm ignorant of the process so I hung up and left it that.

She did not get the hint though. I guess she figured that was just 1 bad outing and I was worth trying again (and again and again and again). Starting with Kelly's 3rd email on 8/30/21, I asked Kelly to remove me from her contact list. I did the same with emails 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. After email #8, I filed a complaint with the BBB who was unsuccessful in establishing contact with the company in regards to the matter. But in the 90 days between when the complaint was first filed to when the BBB closed it due to a lack of communication with Writers Apex, Kelly emailed me 3 more times. Emails 9, 10, and 11 came AFTER the complaint was filed with the BBB.

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