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company directory

• President: Russell Wood, 940-686-9196
• Vice President: JoAnna Wood, JoAnnaJWood@starband.net, x202
• Office Manager: Jennifer Ware, jennifer@allstarpromotions.com, x201
• Customer Service Manager: Robin Lilly, robin@allstarpromotions.com, x210
• Customer Relations Specialist: Sandra Wright, sandra@allstarpromotions.com, x211

sales groups

• LDDC aka Wood Sales, Inc.aka Wood Sales Organization
• MSI
• PMA Sales
• Kenmore Sales
• Threedom Sales
• Otis Sales
• Vadar Sales
• Schaefer Sales
• Devore Sales
• Wilson Sales
• Truchan Sales

BBB reports

review and analysis

The All Star Promotions web site provides some insight into how this operation works and what their attitudes are with regard to how they treat the customer. From the home page of All Star Promotions (ASP):

• ASP says: Incorporated as a Cash House for Door-to-Door Magazine Sales since 1995.
• ASP would like you to think: They are a reliable and reputable operation.
• the truth: At best, their continued operation means that they've been able to earn a profit without being subject to any serious civil or criminal legal actions taken against them.

• ASP says: ASP, Inc. contracts with Independent Distributors who travel the Continental US with Independently Contracted Agents selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door.
• ASP would like you to think: It's not ASP's fault if the person you bought the subscription from used disreputable sales tactics such as misrepresenting the subscription price or savings.
• the truth: ASP arranges with the managers of the sales crews and knows what goes on, despite their game of "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil."

• ASP says: These Contractors are not employed by All Star Promotions, Inc., and are not affiliated with local high schools or colleges. The Independent Distributors hold contracts with All Star Promotions, Inc. to process magazine subscription orders.
• ASP would like you to think: "See, we're telling you the truth. We can't help it if they lied to you."
• the truth: Managers are encouraged to generate volume, just as the crew members are. Naturally, crew members are encouraged to use techniques that work, even if it might mean making up some stories.

• ASP says: The following Companies are affiliated with, but not employed by, All Star Promotions, Inc. :
  • Wood Sales, Inc. - 020
  • Otis Sales - 023
  • PMA Sales - 037
  • Threedom Sales - 333
  • Schaefer Sales - 247
• ASP would like you to think: Whatever happened, it's not our fault!
• the truth: They've chosen to enter the business of selling magazines using youth field sales crews; their claims notwithstanding, repeated legal actions have held that such companies share responsibility for how those crews are managed.

• ASP says: All Star Promotions, Inc. complies with the Federal Trade Commission's policies on door-to-door sales.
• ASP would like you to think: Whatever we do is legal; if you don't like our rules, tough!
• the truth: Maybe, maybe not. They make this claim while at the same time disclaiming responsibility for the actions of the sales crews; the truth is that there is no way they have enough controls in place to ensure that crew members always comply with those rules.

• ASP says: If the seller did not give cancellation forms, you can write your own cancellation letter. It must be post-marked within three business days of the sale.
• ASP would like you to think: If you don't get it mailed on time, you're out of luck.
• the truth (from the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/magzn.htm )
  • For door-to-door sales over $25, the seller must tell you that you have a right to cancel, and give you a summary of your cancellation rights and two copies of the cancellation form.
  • Ask to see the required cancellation notice before you agree to buy. If the salesperson doesn't have it, don't place an order. The company is breaking the law.

• ASP says: A processing fee is added to the subscription price for each order to cover the cost of shipping the order and the handling involved with processing subscriptions.
• ASP would like you to think: the processing fee covers the cost of mailing the magazines.
• the truth: The authorized subscription price almost always covers delivery charges. Th processing fee is just a pad to improve their bottom line.

• ASP says: Subscriptions may be cancelled up to midnight of the third business day following the date of purchase. After this, no cancellations may be made.
• ASP would like you to think: That's life.
• the truth: Typically, mass market publications, including agencies like Publisher's Clearing House, will let you cancel and will provide a full refund on all unmailed copies.

• ASP says: The publisher sets the subscription fee. Our company has no say in the cost of any subscription.
• ASP would like you to think: You'll pay the same price regardless of who you buy from.
• the truth: Publishers will often have various authorized prices, and to some extent, these varying prices may provide different levels of profitability to the seller. In any case, ASP's processing fee guarantees that their fee will be higher than the authorized price that the consumer is supposed to be paying.

All-Star Promotions Recruiting Ad

media references

• http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/jul99/van01073199.asp?format=print
  • Laura Minteer, 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y. worked for All-Star Promotions on the same crew involved in the crash that killed Amber Stankovich. She recounted how scabies, venereal disease and lice spread through the crews because of the unsanitary conditions. It was not uncommon to sleep four or five to a room. Minteer said that her bosses never filed forms with the Internal Revenue Service and that she is now having her wages garnisheed for $4,000 in back taxes and penalties.
• http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/6200253.htm?1c
  • Lower Makefield, PA police arrested six people, charging them with soliciting without a permit, police said. Some of the salespeople identified All-Star as one of their employers
• http://www.thenyrm.com/000658.html
  • All-Star Promotions, Inc., of Pilot Point, Texas, has a history of “non-delivery of magazine subscriptions, non-receipt of refunds and misleading selling practices.”
• http://www.newsnet5.com/money/2311413/detail.html
  • Teens should steer away from an ad by All-Star Promotions. The company apparently drops teens off in neighborhoods to sell perfume, magazines, or candy, and then crams them in a hotel room and keeps a portion of the money made. The BBB said there is not much to gain but plenty of opportunity for danger. All-Star Promotions is based out of Texas and has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB.
• http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/forprint/0517story7_news.shtml
  • In 1996, two young magazine salesmen were bludgeoned to death in a Genesee County gravel pit by two other salesmen from All-Star Promotions of Texas because they wouldn’t go along with a plan to rob a convenience store. The assailants were being pressured for money because they didn’t sell their quota of magazines, they said. The murderers are serving life sentences.
• http://www.reddingemployment.com/newsarchive/20000209_06.shtml
  • The victims of a fatal Saturday night (2/5/2000) car accident were part of a magazine sales crew from All-Star Promotions. The driver lost control of the 2000 Ford Explorer he was driving while going around a curve. He drove over an 80-foot cliff and landed in the Trinity River, the California Highway Patrol said. The accident left a 19-year-old woman dead and a 28-year-old man missing.
• http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/feb00/van10020900a.asp?format=print
  • A crash involving a vehicle containing members of a magazine sales crew, Senner Sales, resulted in the death of Crystal Mahathy, of Fort Wayne. Scott Tarwater, 28, of Bellevue, Idaho, was thrown into the Trinity River, a wild river known for its raging rapids. An air search for him continues. Senner Sales is one of several crews affiliated with All Star Promotions. The 23-year-old driver, George F. Senner, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and later released on bail. He and two passengers were treated for injuries and released.
• http://akron.e-asp.net/AlertDetl_new.asp?IDDoc=49
  • Be wary of working on a youth field sales crew for All Star Promotions and other such operations. Participants are typically left for 12 hours to sell door-to-door until vans come to pick them up. They may get picked up by the police for selling without a permit and be exposed to other undesirable or unsafe situations.

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