San Francisco Apple reseller MACadam has been forced to close its doors after 16 years of operation, saying it was unable to compete with Appleis growing number of retail stores because the Mac maker would not provide it with product in a timely manner.
Owner Tom Santos told customers in a letter that "the consistent bad behavior of our number one supplier, Apple Computer, has made it so difficult to both get product in a timely fashion and treat our customers with the respect that they currently treat their Apple Direct customers.
"We have tried everything to resolve these problems over the past four plus years, yet our requests for help have simply gone unanswered," he wrote.
"This decision did not come easy," he wrote. "In fact, it came as possibly the most difficult thing I have ever done. MACadam was not simply a company, it was a family of different people from all different walks of life...We have dedicated our lives to the Mac and our futures to the platform that is simply unsurpassed by Windows. The Mac has brought us more than 20 years of the most incredible enjoyment that one could ever hope for. I have been lucky, blessed and so fortunate to have been able to touch so many peoples lives and made a difference. Think Different wasnit just an advertising campaign for Apple, but it was a way of life for all of the independent dealers out there."
Mr. Santos criticized Apple for putting smaller, independent dealers out of business and pleaded with consumers to realize independent dealers are good for Apple and the public.
"When your only choice is but one, you will no longer have the option," he wrote. "We are not the first to close, and unfortunately we will not be the last. I love the product and software, but I have an incredible distrust of the company. For those of you who canit believe this, you have never walked in our shoes. Ask dealers everywhere, they will tell you what I say is the truth. We dealers have made the ultimate sacrifice."
Mr. Santos is one of the five resellers that filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2003. TellOnApple.org was launched by Elite Computers & Software of Cupertino, Calif., MACadam Computers of San Francisco, Calif. and MacTech Systems of Bend, Ore., all former Apple Authorized Resellers who are suing Apple over what they are calling bad faith dealings with dealers.