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Duped Again....
STORY TOOLS 
More from VenturaAugust 7, 2008
National GeographicUnited States of America
I have been an ardent subscriber to the National Geographic for somewhere around 25 years. I have always enjoyed the stories, articles and of course the photographs within the covers of your magazine. I of course realize full well that every periodical must rely upon the revenue derived from advertising. I must confess although I do read many of the advertisements I have never purchased through mail order any of the offerings.
That is until recently. In the August issue "Ancient Iran" there is an advertisement by the Stauer Co showing a "Super Light Titanium Atomic Time piece" supposedly controlled by the U.S. Governments F-1 Atomic Clock in Boulder, Colorado. Since I already have two Atomic Clocks in my home I felt it would be rather nice to have a watch that has the time coinciding with my other clocks so I ordered one from the Stauer web site.
When it finally arrived I attempted, using the instructions that came with the watch to connect it to the F-1 Atomic Clock. I tried unsuccessfully for two days then I called the customer care number that also came with the watch. The lady I was connected to was very nice and pleasant, she went over the directions with me while I tried unsuccessfully to again connect to the F-1 Atomic Clock.
After the call to the customer care with no success I decided to return the watch to Stauer, while I was packing it for re-shipment I happened to notice a very small sticker on the bottom of the box it was in, the sticker read "Made in China". Believing that the majority of the problems with our economy stems from the massive intake of foreign products, especially the products from China, I make every concerted effort to not purchase anything marked "Made in China". The ad in the National Geographic said nothing about the fact that the watch was "Made in China" had I known I certainly would not have made the purchase.
Now of course I find myself in the position of once again not being able to trust the printed ads found not only in the National Geographic but in all other periodicals. I think it would be a favor to your subscribers to institute a policy whereby the advertisers be required to let the readers know exactly where their products are made.
Rellis Smith
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