February 4, 1999

X-ACTO
Speedball Road
Statesville,NC 28677

Dear Sir or Madame,

I have always found your products to be of the highest quality, and was interested in sampling some of your more specialized blades. To this end, I purchased your "Basic Knife Set", which appeared to have quite an assortment of useful blades. However, upon opening my new kit, I found three knives but NO extra blades, which were clearly advertised on the box.

Adding insult to injury, there was a quality assurance note where the blades should have been, informing me that 5640 takes pride in his work. Being familiar with the work ethic of the American worker, I was not surprised by this, yet I was disappointed. I can only hope, for my own safety, that 5640 is still with your company, and hasn't gone on to inspect parachutes or automobile airbags.

There is no verifiable production date enclosed, but your product is copyrighted 1989. This means that it is conceivable that this box was packed ten years ago. Given the explosive growth of the stock market in the past decade, you may well be a wealthier person today if you were wise enough to invest the $1.29 worth of blades that you bilked me out of with your chicanery. Let me take this opportunity to say, "You're welcome" and I applaud your cunning.

In conclusion, let me say that I plan to do business with your competitor Stanley in the future. For all I know, they may be worse charlatans than even yourselves, but at least their products come in clear plastic so that I won't be fleeced again so easily in the future.

Older, but sadly, wiser,