Common Misconceptions Surrounding Empire Board Games – Including the SPHIATT Rumor.

Hey Guys,

There seems to be some rumors floating around on the interweb and even some concerns about the credibility of our business. This posts main purpose is to shake off the cobwebs and debunk false claims and rumors surrounding Empire as well as give a brief report on the successful launch.

First of all, I’d personally like to thank you for making the second launch of Empire Board Games a success. Because of you, we achieved record-breaking sales within the first 24 hours and we have seen a strong user presence on the site in the days following the launch.  Our goal in the second launch was to see if there was still a market for another “Game of the Day” site. With the overwhelming response, our suspicions were confirmed – there is still room, and we’re stoked!

After listing some of the popular Myth’s that have popped up about our site, I’d like to give an overview of how Empire was started and some critical facts about it’s history.

The Myth’s

• Empire Board Games is Seth Hiatt’s “dirty little secret”. (myth)

Explanation: Empire Board  Games was conceived by Jeremy Blake and Nathan Smith. Jeremy and Nathan went to Mr. Hiatt in early 2008 with a great concept, and a lack of funding. Mr. Hiatt agreed to help with the start up – offering the two access to his inventory, a vital stepping stone in the creation of the new start-up and since the two were green in the field of “registering” a business with the state, he also agreed to help with that.

• Nathan and Jeremy “shilled” on several board game sites to drive traffic to Empire upon launch. (myth)

Explanation: If there was a shill, it was not Jeremy or Nathan.

• Empire Board Games will take your money and run, or wait for months to ship your order. (myth)

Explanation: The only games we have listed on the site are games we have in stock. Like any business however, we make mistakes, so if we do sell you a board game that is out of stock, it is our goal to contact you within 3 days. We will ask one of two things: Do you want a complete refund? Do you want to wait for us to get the item back in stock? We will give an estimated arrival time so we’re not wasting Your time.

The Facts:

• Empire Board Games was, is and always has been a Joint Venture of Jeremy Blake and Nathan Smith, the owners. (Fact)
• Jeremy and Nathan worked for Mr. Hiatt in their early teens. They no longer work for Mr. Hiatt or Hiatt Enterprises. (Fact)
• Empire Board Games was conceived by Jeremy and Nathan. Jeremy and Nathan went to Mr. Hiatt in early 2008 with a great concept, and a lack of funding. Mr. Hiatt agreed to help with the start up – offering the two access to his inventory, a vital stepping stone in the creation of the new start-up and since the two were green in the field of “registering” a business with the state, he also agreed to help with that. (Link To Utah State Business Registration) (Fact)
• Empire Board Games is registered in the State of Utah under Hiatt & Hiatt Enterprises Inc. (Fact)
• Without the knowledge of Empire (Jeremy and Nathan), Mr. Hiatt posted on a BoardGameGeek.com Forum hoping to draw attention away from Hiatt & Hiatt Enterprises. It was his flawed, and failed attempt at making His reputation not hurt Ours. (Fact)
• The Empire Board Games P.O. Box address is less than a mile away from Hiatt & Hiatt Enterprises Inc. (Fact)
• Customers have received these shipping notifications: “This message was sent to you at the request of SP HIATT to notify you that the package information below has been transmitted to UPS. The package(s) may not have actually been placed with UPS for shipment. To verify when and if the shipment is tendered to UPS and its actual transit status, click on the tracking link below or contact SP HIATT directly.“. Most packages from Empire will be shipped from this address as we use Mr. Hiatt’s facilities for most of our operations. The shipping and handling processes are strictly overseen by Nathan and Jeremy and Empire customers will notice a drastic quality difference in the packaging and invoicing of shipments. (Fact)
• Paypal suspended Empire’s Paypal account the day after launch due to the community’s overwhelming response. In other words: We received so many orders paypal found us “suspicious”. (Fact)
• Customer Service is strictly handled by Nathan and Jeremy. We try to respond within 24 hours via email, or if urgent, by phone. The customer service number is 206-888-2557. Please leave a message – your name, email and a brief summary of the problem. We will call or email you back within 24 hours. The 24-hour rule is our goal as a company. Please realize we operate normal business hours. We will do customer service on weekends as our schedules permit. (Fact)
• The Empire Board Games site was implemented and designed by Jeremy using an existing, powerful shopping cart system. (Fact)
• The Empire Board Games website is protected by a 256-bit High-Encryption SSL Certificate ensuring a safe buying experience. (Fact)
• All payments are handled by Google Checkout and Paypal – both trusted payment processors. (Fact)
• We do not collect credit card information. We don’t want it or need it. We let the payment processors handle that. (Fact)

The FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions, for the uninitiated)

• Why is this the second launch of Empire Board Games? What happened the first time?

Explanation: The first launch, back in March of ‘08 was a massive success. So massive, in fact, that we shut down operations! The website couldn’t handle what we needed it to do, and to ensure customer satisfaction, we “closed the doors”. We have been re-building the site and infrastructure since then. What you see now, is the result of months of preparation.

Final Comments

Just to show our sincerity, here is our traffic Analytics report upon launch of the site up until Mr. Hiatt was mentioned. Needless to say, we’re not any happier than you are.

(Our Earnings Report Looks Frighteningly Similar To The Above Graph)

Please don’t let the mention of Mr. Hiatt deter you from our great prices and excellent customer service. We’re not going to beg, but we ask you to reconsider if your opinion of us is based on the biased opinions of those who have dealt with, and been wronged by Hiatt Enterprises.

Again, thank you very much for your continued support. I’ll be posting this over on the forum as well. Feel free to post questions, comments and concerns here on the Blog. I’ll be happy to answer any concerns you may have.
- Jeremy (CO-Founder, CEO)

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