Powerline???

[Rferguson]

Maybe Bob Allen and Rocajack can post ther picks prior to the races for a week

And we can see how they do maybe we can all just hire them and retire.

Evidently you don’t even have the Program and yet

You have a very strong opinion about it. I did ask for a refund because if wasn’t

Doing anything for me and I went over the 30 day limit because I wanted to test

The program with as large a database as possible. My findings were that as the database grew there were about 10% of the race that the program deemed playable.

Now Steve says outside of his test on this board the he would not bet a hores at less that 5 to 2, well that eliminates about 90% of that 10%. Very good for TSN and Bris because they just sell data.

All that I’m saying is that the program does not show a profit and I wouldn’t advise

Anyone who thinks that is does is in for a shock and that they will have to do a lot more that just use this program. The daylami has it pegged with his P,T, Barnum post.

[Maxspa]

R Ferguson,
I respect the opinion that you have expressed! I have purchased many software programs in the past and have found several did not make a profit. Therefore I'm very cautious about purchasing additional ones. I have not purchased this one yet but I am seriously considering acquiring it. The fact that Steve Wolson could run a lengthy test like he did and achieve winning results is simply unheard of. Secondly, I respect the opinions of both Bob Allen and Rocajack. They are seasoned handicappers and have posted often on P.A. and other discussion boards as well. Reading their posts whenever possible, led me to believe that they were knowledgeable handicappers and would give honest reviews on handicapping issues. Could they make Powerline work for them and could I fail using the same software? Absolutely possible! For example Rocajack in his review mentioned that he tried to be a contrarian and use some of his own ideas on how to use the database. If I purchased the program would I use it the same way Bob Allen uses it, probably not. The procedures we use are often based on our prior handicapping experience.That being said, I'm still evaluating whether Powerline is right for me and your review will be part of
that evaluative process. Thank you for your input!
Maxspa

[Bob Allen]

Originally posted by Rferguson
All that I’m saying is that the program does not show a profit and I wouldn’t advise

Since you didn't complete the thought let me add just a touch. If any horseplayer expects a software program to make a profit by itself without any interaction from the horseplayer, s/he is in for a big disappointment.

It is only at the point where a horseplayer's knowledge and handicapping know-how meet the software that a profit is made. The greater one's handicapping skills and, in my opinion, the greater that horseplayer can think and handicap outside-of-the-box - the greater will be the profit returned.

Good handicapping software, like Power-Online V5 and EquiSim facilitate the ability for a horseplayer to get to the end of the year with more money in his/her pocket than they had at the beginning of the year. No 32 bit chipset is going to make the profit for the horseplayer in the foreseeable future. Help? Yes! By itself? No way! And I'll even add this caveat: If anyone can prove me wrong, please do. Frankly, I would love to be wrong about this but I don't think I am at this point in the evolution of handicapping software.

Bob

[trying2win]

Originally posted by Bob Allen
If any horseplayer expects a software program to make a profit by itself without any interaction from the horseplayer, s/he is in for a big disappointment.

It is only at the point where a horseplayer's knowledge and handicapping know-how meet the software that a profit is made. The greater one's handicapping skills and, in my opinion, the greater that horseplayer can think and handicap outside-of-the-box - the greater will be the profit returned.

Bob

Bob,

Very wise words!


T2W

[Lou G]

Hmmm...Let's see if I have this right. If I try POL for 30 days and don't like it for whatever reason, I pay them $100 anyway. My my, that should pay for a whole bunch of "restocking".

[wolsons]

Let's see if I understand this (this preceeding remark is sardonic):

a newbie (maybe) 'High Roller' starts the 'HTR vs HSH' thread with "If I understand correctly..." with the obvious intent of giving HSH a hard time

another newbie (maybe) 'Lou G' jumps into the 'Powerline??' thread with "Hmm...let's see if I have this right..." and starts to ridicule our restocking charges


Hmmm...

Steve

[cj]

Steve,

I'm just trying to be helpful, so take this for what its worth.

Make your website a part of your tag line that shows up in the bottom of your posts. People will visit your site, and they will contact you in private if they are truly interested. There is really nothing to gain by trying to interact on the forum about your program.

What you did with your selections was VERY impressive. None of the other commercial providers has even attempted something like this, let alone pulled it off. If that wasn't enough for people, there isn't much more you can do in my opinion.

Well, except maybe trying to start selling your stuff on e-bay and posting those links here too !

[sq764]

wolsons, just curious.. If you offer a money back guarantee, why wouldn't you refund everything but the shipping costs? (Which shouldn't exceed $10 total)?

Just curious what the other $90 entails? I don't recall bubblewrap and envelopes costing in the $45 range..

[wolsons]

Well, let me ask you...what do you think the 'restocking' charge is there for? Have you ever sold horseracing systems or software products to the public?

Steve

[sq764]

No I have not sold horseracing systems or software products to the public... Which is precisely why I am asking you what the $100 entails.

Simple question, thought it would be a simple answer.. Guess not.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally posted by wolsons
a newbie (maybe) 'High Roller' starts the 'HTR vs HSH' thread with "If I understand correctly..." with the obvious intent of giving HSH a hard time

another newbie (maybe) 'Lou G' jumps into the 'Powerline??' thread with "Hmm...let's see if I have this right..." and starts to ridicule our restocking charges

You're right to be suspicious. Lou G and High Roller have more than a few things in common.

[Secretariat]

I guess they charge the 100.00 because of (a) time (b) materials (c) dealing with piracy issues, people burning the software and reselling it - I imagine litigation costs enters into it (d) people who return the software but actually continue to use it (e) development and help support costs (f) security software costs

Can think of a lot of reasons but Steve can probably answer better than I.

[PaceAdvantage]

Yeah Sec....imagine....people wanting to be paid for their work and time!

There's plenty of free software available out there. Nobody is forcing anyone to pay for anything. Sometimes human behavior is quite perplexing.

[sq764]

PA, no one said charging for your time and effort was in question. (I don't recall seeing anything even related to that comment, but whatever you want to insinuate is fine..)

All I did was ask what the $100 enatailed, then wolsons got quite defensive.. That leads me to believe there really is no reasonable explanation for a $100 'restocking fee'..

Why not just say, "Because I am not taking the time and effort to prevent piracy on my software, if you return it, I am keeping $100 to defray the costs of you pirating the program"? Would be much easier to explain that way..

[wolsons]

Sec and PA - you both hit it right on the head.

SQ764, the purpose of a 'restocking fee' is PRIMARILY to discourage the multitudes of curiousity seekers out there (and trust me, they ARE out there) who like to order other peoples products, get a free look or use out of them, but have absolutely no intention of keeping them or paying for them. Believe it or not, most SERIOUS software sellers do not want to inundate the market with their product - for, among other reasons, the fact that tech support becomes an expensive and time-consuming nightmare, and overuse of the product can definitely lower mutuels and reduce the products attractiveness and effectivess.

I can't speak for other software sellers, but in my case, I only want to sell the product to serious buyers who are willing to invest both the time and the upfront costs to use the program to its fullest capacity. The restocking fee should not be a burden to that type of buyer, since they know going in what they are ordering and what it is capable of, making it very unlikely that THAT type of buyer is going to return it. I can tell you that since the original V1.0 of the software was released, we have probably sold somewhere in the area of 175 copies, with a total of 5 returns (plus our friend mentioned earlier in this thread, who had a software incompatibility with our program, and received a FULL refund as a result).

Hope that simple answer suffices, SQ

Steve