Sumo World - Still missing and my solution (got my money back).

[Richard Pardoe <rpardoe@pacbell.net>]

Well, another basho (the third of this year) and still no sign of Sumo
World.  Having tried several times to get a response from Sumo World,
Mr. Newton, "Patrick430@excite.com", I finally contacted Kagi.  Kagi
(in case you don't know) is the internet company that processes Sumo
World's subscription requests and allows one to pay by credit card.
While Kagi stated that they could not help with the non-delivery of
the magazine, they did say something magic to my ears.  They offered
to refund my subscription money.  I promptly took them up on this
offer.  (An excellent policy, considering that I re-subscribed (if
only I had known) back on December 3, 2001.)

Checking my credit card statment on line, the money was promptly
refunded by Kagi at the time they said it would be.  And I just hope
the money was removed from the coffers of Sumo World's account with
Kagi.   I just rationalized that if I don't get a magazine, why should
they get my money.  I now pass along my results for anyone else who is
frustrated and perhaps would like to see their money returned.  Who
knows, if enough of us get our refunds, perhaps someone at the
magazine will take notice (but see my final comment for a potential
twist in this whole tale).  So, if you used Kagi to pay for your
subscription, you may want to refer to Kagi's comments at:

http://faq.kagi.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ViewFAQs.woa/wa/specificFAQ?FAQ
=nonDelivery

I tried the e-mail route, but never got a response.  When I called,
the customer service representative handled my call promptly and
efficiently.  Therefore, if you do contact Kagi, calling is the way to
go.  If you do decide to call, be sure to have your Transaction ID as
that will enable Kagi to find your order and reverse the charges.  If
you didn't save your receipt, you can go to https://info.kagi.com and
request a copy of your transaction details.

So after much patience and frustration, I have found my own
satisfactory ending to the troubles receiving Sumo World magazine.
And thus ends my collection of Sumo World Magazine.  I have every
issue from the Jan 1973 through November 2001.  Yes, some are
reproductions as I started with Sumo World with the July 1990 issue.
I was fortunate, that when I ordered the complete back issues, they
were promptly packaged and sent to me.  So almost exactly 12 years
after I started with Sumo World, I now say good bye.  My next decision
is what (if anything) I will do with the back issues.

Final comment - Is anyone else having trouble accessing
www.sumoworld.com?  Every time I try, I get a Cannot find Server/DNS
error.  So at least to me, it appears that not only has the magazine
disappeard, but so has the website.

RPardoe