When I first investigated offering products for sale online there were no buyers. I own bragging rights to the very first online music store in the world. We were a very close group of forethinking folks that were interested in discovering new music, but even then I had to figure out ways to entice my fellow friends to part with their hard-earned dollars and buy something. The first online “deal” was born.
Not too long after that I remember a confidential discussion with an associate that was considering building some kind of online place that offered coupons for products that people could use in their local stores. I thought that was quite an ambitious undertaking. I don’t know if he ever accomplished such a daunting task, he may be a billionaire by now.
Since those early days, coupons, just about every kind of sale and product or service one can imagine, and deals of the day are commonplace on the internet. In fact, now there are so many stores and so many offers it’s impossible to know about them all. I’ve noticed that buyers are not always getting the best deals.
Back in 2006, I began this little venture called Shoppers’ Access. The idea was to help put sellers and buyers together for a more effective shopping experience.
Since then, I’ve learned that most sellers, at least those that invest in building an honest selling environment, are serious about their business and strive to treat their customers with the best care they can; and those that don’t aren’t around for very long.
I also learned that there are a whole bunch of very cool niche stores offering unique products that are not available in most local communities. Often people are not even aware that these products and services exist.
Finally, I’ve realized the whole mess has become extremely competitive and vendors are becoming more and more creative in figuring out ways to entice customers to buy their products or services.
With all this in mind, it’s a good time for us build on what we’ve accomplished and find new ways to help buyers get the best deals and encourage sellers to offer the best opportunities. We therefore launch this new blog to encourage communication between buyers and sellers; and also give us a means to promote products, services and offers we find exciting. We also begin publishing the Shoppers’ Access Buyers Guide, a free e-newsletter about products, services and offers we find interesting. Subscribe to the Buyers Guide by completing the application on the right column. We also have a number of other things up our sleeves to enhance your online shopping experience. Stick around, you will be glad you do.
Happy Shopping,
Ron Wallace
The Grand Poobah