The future of Interact!

Hello Boomers!

I thought I would come on and provide a personal update as to our situation. Thanks to Ana for keeping you all updated via proxy recently.

As some of you may or may not know, the past few years our brick and mortar retail business has been almost exclusively DVD driven. We buy, sell and rent Used DVDs and Blu-Rays. The in-store PC gaming business, which is what we opened with in 1994, has become nearly non-existent. I have continued to carry PC adventure games primarily for our online customers, most of whom come to us through Gameboomers.

Recently, as more and more of our in-store customers migrate to services such as Netflix and Redbox, our in-store DVD sales have begun to diminish as well. About 6 weeks ago I made a deal with our landlord. Cut our rent in half and you can put the space up for lease. Once you lease it, we'll leave in 30 days. Which is where we still are today. We have heard that there may be a lease ready to be signed, which would mean that our 30 days could start very soon. Once it does, we will close and go away forever within that 30 days.

To add a complication to all of this, our website died last week. Our website has been hosted, from what I understand, on the same server for about 10 years. We were the only site hosted on that server and it finally died. We haven't paid for hosting in at least 5 years. At this time it is unclear if it is even possible to access our site to move it or if there is a valid backup anywhere. And with 30+ days left, the motivation to find those things out is minimal.

What does this mean for Boomers interested in Sherlock Holmes? I am bringing in 20 copies of the game. They will be $39.95 each plus shipping. We should have them well before any 30 day period could elapse. If you want one held for you, you can e-mail me at interactstore@gmail.com (please don't use the old dave@interactcd.com or any other interactcd.com address) and I will hold one for you. Once I have the game, I can send you a PayPal invoice or you can call me (800-479-1323) to give me a credit card. Once those 20 copies are gone, I doubt I will order more, unless the current lease deal falls through and we're assured of staying here for more than a month or so.

(I should also mention that if you pre-paid for a copy of Bracken Tor, that's not looking so good right now! I will be sending out refunds at some point, but if you'd like to apply that toward Sherlock, that would work as well).

I'll come back and update this when I have a firm end date (or any other news), but I wanted to keep you appraised as I feel that I owe you all that much. You've been a wonderful group of customers and supporters for years and I appreciate it very much.

Sincerely,

Dave Sparks
Interact!

Dave,

Thank you for the update. That is nice of you to let us know what is happening.
We are saddened by the turn of events.
If there is anything I or GameBoomers can do to help, please mail me.

MaG

Thanks for coming on and giving the update. I am saddened also. I wish you and your family the very best.

Ana

Dave,

I hate to see you go. You've been really good to us, there aren't many people out there who offer the kind of service you have, and I wish you all the best in whatever lies ahead for you.


Gil.

Thanks for the update, Dave. Interact was the one company I turned to when ordering games from the US, and your customer service has always been wonderful. I wish you the very best of luck for the future.

You can now access the information by clicking on the Interact banner at top of the page or at homepage.

You rock MaG!

Ana

You can find parts of it at the web archive.
The most recent date that I found archived is ***here***.


Thanks for letting us know what's going on, Dave, though the news is very disappointing.

Sorry to hear but completely understand. Dave has been a great friend to the adventure game community and especially to the members here at Game Boomers. Will certainly miss the Interact Banner we are so use to seeing at the top of this and many other sites.

Be well and prosper my friend.

Very sorry to read this news...

I will miss you ,and the Interact website "Dearly" I always trusted your company thoughout the years...

May God Bless you, and family always...

Love
Dar

Hi Dave.

SO very sorry to know you will be closing up shop.
You have been "one of the best" in supplying top notch goods along with unsurpassed customer service all these years.

And I wish you all the best for whatever you do next.

Kindest regards.

Mad

Sorry to hear the sad news Dave, a lot of folks are going to miss you.

This news really saddens me. It's hard to find retailers in any business that are as customer oriented as you have been Dave.

I really wish you all the best and hope that you land on your feet and have continued success in whatever endeavor you pursue.

If you find another method to continue selling games you will definitely have a loyal customer right here.

I agree Oldman. So today I was able to get my order in for one of those new Sherlock games Dave will be getting. It might be my last change to buy an interact game. We can hope for good news, it is not over yet. I hope.

Sad news indeed. Thank you for the update although i would certainly welcome better news. Good luck Dave.

Spyros

Thanks for letting us know Dave. You've been such a friendly & reliable source of games from the US for quite a few years I am very sorry to see you go. Good luck for the future!

Dave,
It's always sad when one of the good guys gets hit. Thanks for being a company that has always proven to be honest and trustworthy. I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Dave. It is very sad news indeed. I wish the Best for you in whatever new endeavor comes your way. You will be missed.

Oh my! I was very upset with Dave because I have been emailing him at Interact since June about buying a very large collection of my adventure games dating back to early 90's. All emails were acknowledged as received with a promise of a future reply, but none have been forthcoming. Now I learn my ire was not justified. Sorry Dave if you were feeling bad vibes from Texas. I guess I will have to find another avenue. So sorry to hear an honest vendor is another casualty to our bad economy. Best of luck to you in the future.

Carole

If you are looking to sell your collection have you thought of listing them here at The Trading Post?

Dave,

You are such a great guy, you have always been so helpful to me.

I will miss you.

Good luck

June

Good luck in everything you do, you will be missed Dave.

Dave, thanks for the help and good luck.

Chief

Hi Carole,

I really DID mean to get back to you with pricing, and I feel bad that I never did. I do appreciate your understanding though, and no worries on those Texas bad vibes.

Dave

Joining the chorus of empathy for your changed situation and dismay that Interact has left the room.

You have always been and remain a class act, Dave.

It was always a pleasure to do business with you, whether I was in country or out. Your shop will be missed. Take care and hope to see your business resurrect some day.

We will miss you, Dave! You exemplified good customer service.

Maybe you could start teaching a seminar about what it takes to keep customers happy?

Yes, what Becky said! Good luck to you, Dave. You will be sorely missed.

Not the type of news one likes to read. Dave, you've been a class act and I've enjoyed doing business with you. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Dave,

I agree with all of the above posts. Doing business with you these past years has been a pleasure. You always replied promptly to any emails I sent with inquiries and shipped promptly too. You will be sorely missed!!

Good luck in whatever comes your way next.

Jackie

feeling really bad for you. You were the only site I really trusted. Good luck in the future.

Dave, sorry to hear this news. You've been wonderful to all of us here. Good luck to you.

Dave, I'm so sorry! I will miss you, you were the only one shipping from USA to Europe
Thanks for all you did for us gamers, and good luck for the future.

Wow, so sorry to hear the news. Dave, you really knew the meaning of "customer service". You will be sorely missed. All the best...

Dave,

Dave@interact was trusted. Where can we find that kind sevice and trust, it was always Dave.
Take care friend.
The very best of everything for you.
Thanks again.
Charllotte

I concur with what all the previous posters have said. It's awful when bad things happen to good people. I won't(but I would love to) order a boxed copy of Sherlock holmes, as I am sure they have all been snapped up. I would like to wish you and your family all the best for the future.
Doreen

Oh such sad news to hear. I will surely miss you Dave and your wonderful service you provided.I wish you and your family all the best and I hope all works out well for you.


God bless you and your family!
Patricia

Dave-

This is very sad news! You've been the greatest- easily the best customer service of any company I've dealt with in recent years. Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors.

It makes me sad to here I won't be able to do business with Dave's store anymore. I got a copy of Sherlock as my last purchase from Interact.

God Bless Dave - I and all us gamers will miss you!

Dear Dave,

Sorry to hear the bad news. I hope you have some other way of making a good living available to you. I wish you the very best in the near future and if there is some way that I can be of help, let me know. As so many others have said, you were there for us with great support and the very best way to get hard copies of games that were very difficult to get any other way here in the USA.

Take care my friend,

Bill (Mr. Bill)

Hi Dave, I am also sorry to hear you will be closing. I too have bought from you and liked the fact that you often had hard to get games.

I wish you all the best and let us know if you set up a shop again whether bricks and morter or online only.

I just spoke with Dave at Interact and believe it or not he has a few copies of the last testament of Sherlock holmes left--of course I immediately ordered one--but what he also told me is that he will be getting some copies of Secret files 3 in October. I asked him to let me know as soon as he gets them in--I am so excited to have actually spoken to him in person. We had quite a nice little chat.

Doreen

LOL, I just realised I posted this in the wrong place. Please feel free to move it

Thanks for that info, Doreen.

As far as Secret Files 3 goes, it looks like that will ship in mid-October and it looks like we should still be around at that time, so I will be bringing some in. Since I don't have a website and I'm taking orders the old fashioned way, I'm going to wait until Sherlock is here and shipped out before I start taking orders for Secret Files. I am expecting Sherlock in stock on Tues or Wed, so should be able to start taking Secret Files orders Thursday or Friday. I will start a new thread here at that time.

Thank you to all of you for your very kind and supportive words. It's been wonderful to read them all and to talk to those of you who have called me on the phone. You're a special group of people and I'm going to miss you all!!

Dave

It is so sad to hear this news from Dave. I always felt comfortable ordering from him .
I just ordered one of the Sherlock Holmes games from him and left him know that he will be in my prayers and how much he will be missed. I am hopeing and praying he will be back, faithfully delivering the games we love. someday real soon.

Dave, Sorry to lose your busines, it was wonderful buying from you.

I sent you a email a couple of days ago and asked for a refund on the Barcen Tor game that I ordered a couple of years ago since it looks like the game isn't going to be available.


Marie

Dave: Feel as if I know you personally, and am saddened by your situation. Don't know of any company that has been as personalized and helpful as yours. Guess this is the end of boxed games; sort of knew it was coming, but not at the loss/financial hurt as this. You have been, and are the best out there. Good luck in whatever you endeavor in the future. (Good guys don't always win!) Love, a loyal friend.

just an add-on from a Fan. If you do start up somewhere else you will let your friends at boomers know, I hope. good luck again

Testament of Sherlock Holmes is in stock today and I will be shipping all the orders out today or tomorrow. I am currently sold out, but I will probably re-order with Secret Files 3, so if anyone still wants a copy (and can wait until Mid-October), please let me know.

Also, I have a few copies of Alpha Polaris in stock if there is any interest. Price is $19.95.

Thanks,
Dave

Fantastic

Thanks Dave for the email letting me know that Sherlock is on his way.

Thanks Dave Sherlock is on the way. Hope to hear from you again. Service sure is great.
Richard

Did you get an e mail? I ordered verbally over the phone, but haven't received any word yet. I'm talking about Sherlock Holmes.

Doreen

So sorry to hear that Interact is going out of business. They are the best company to work with and have excellent customer service. They were also the only company I know of that brought disk copies of European games to the US, making them easily accessible.

Good luck in all your future endeavors, Dave, and I will miss Interact greatly!

Doreen
I got a e-mail that the game is on the way. should get it tomorrow or the next day.
Richard

Fantastic Dave

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes arrived today in your usual super fast service...... ......I am going to miss you

Bummer - so sorry to hear you go. I always bought boxed PC games from Interact if they had them. I try to buy from independent small businesses as much as possible and don't seem to have a source for that anymore.

I wish Dave and his family the best of luck.

hi Dave,
So Sorry to hear about interact. you helped me a few times with ordering games.
good luck to you and your family in whatever you do next.
wish you the best.
kathy

Got my game today. Thank you Dave. Snail mail must have had its running shoes on this time around.

Doreen

Hi Dave,
I wrote you a PM but maybe you have not checked them here. Let me say again how sorry to hear what has happened.
I am interested in Sherlock Holmes and Secret Files 3 when you get them in. Let me know how to get in touch.
Cocoa

Click on the Interact button at the top of the forum page, Cocoa, it has an e-mail addy for Dave as well as a phone number.

Sent payment today, Dave via PayPal.

Thanks, Dave! Deponia arrived today .
I did not realize I was purchasing a limited edition with poster and soundtrack. What a deal!
I'm so sorry that you are going out of business and I will not be able to do future business with you.

Sharon