Gone Postal Part II

[hrdcor32]

Thanks John!

[whitey]

Im going to dinner and other then that im in the office from 10 am till 12 pm just about 7 days aweek.

I wish I could only work 2 hours a day.

Keep up the good work John. The companies that don't jump on the internet bandwagon are going to get left in the dust of the ones who take advantage of it.

[Innovator]

Hey John,

Hang in there man!!!!! You build it and they will come. I am a believer, all the way. Your video got me thinking, what this site really does? Being on both sides of the coin as a member and sponser. How do I really view SFC? Am I on here for all the great info- Movies, Reports, Gear, Etc? or To help promote our products and educate the members and guests on our products?

The answer- SFC is by far, and absolutely the finest, most informative, friendly, interactive, and complete site around. BAR NONE!!! As I fisherman who has fished up and down the east coast I love reading the reports, and scuttlebutt. It is part of my daily routine. This site never gets stale or old, or runover by overbearing keyboard "Googans", who like to do nothing more than stir the pot. It has something for everyone. From the other side of the coin, SFC has been an invaluble resource for Chris and Myself to reach out to our customer base, to answer questions, help educate our consumers, and create relationships that may have taken much longer to develop.

My hat goes off to you John, for creating such a place for all of us to enjoy. More importantly, through working with you at a variety of the shows, seminars, and tournaments. I have seen how hard you work at SFC, making SFC what it is, and it would not exist with out your vision, determination, and style. Keep up the Good work, It will happen, I believe in it, and others will To!!!!!!!

[Reel Fanatic]

Capt. John-

I can't thank you enough for this web site. As a consumer and small business owner (and site sponsor), I love this site. I do almost all of my product research on-line and purchase a fair amount of product online. What I don't buy online, I was able to go online to find a store to make my purchase.

I have become so disenchanted with print ads that I have pulled almost all of my print advertising this year due to the poor ratio of revenues spent versus sales generated from the magazine ads. These magazines, although fun to read at times, lack the day in day out usage by it's subscribers. Members and visitors to this and other fishing forums enjoy constant interaction with each other as well as an ever-current selection of material. Who cares about reading coverage about a tournament that happened 6 weeks ago when I read about it minutes after the weigh-in was completed here? Many of the articles that are found in "this months magazine" were shot and written the previous year.

Once a magazine has been thumbed through and the articles of interest have been read, it goes into the recycling bin or trash. Sometimes folks will hold onto to them if there is something of particular interest but more often than not, that magazine is on it's way to the landfill. Folks like myself come to this site daily (multiple times on most days) because it's constantly changing. What was hot and active at 8:00AM will have been replaced by a new fishing report or HOT NEW technique by 12:00 PM. Can't get that from a magazine. Furthermore, I have never opened up my Sportfishing or Florida Sportsman mags and watched a WAHOONBOX survival suit video or Bill Pino Squidnation Top Secret R & D session.

What you are seeing in my opinion is fear by many of the manufacturers. The magazines will always give them good press if they advertise. If they don't advertise, they get nothing. Have you ever read a bad boat review in any of the fishing magazines? You would think that a Bayliner is every bit as good for serious offshore fishing as a Hatteras they way they fawn over anyone's new releases. I have submitted new products to the major mags before and was literally coerced into buying an ad in order to get my new product covered. Supposedly these mags are supposed to be an unbiased and journalistic publication but au contrare mon frare (sorry... don't speak or spell French). If you want access to the market, you have to grease the skids of the gate keeper coming and going.

Furthermore, many of the manufacturers know that in an open forum environment such as this, the truth will get out (good, bad, or indifferent) no matter how much they pay for advertising. They can't handle critical comments about their product and don't have the testicles to face the consumer and address their concerns or criticisms. The winds of change are beginning to blow though. I hear it from many companies that I have a close relationship with and I can also expect a call from at least one obscure or not so obscure magazine begging for advertising dollars every week. Some of them are hurting-especially the johnny come lately's. Some of them actually produce a quality product that continually caters to it's subscribers over and above the call of duty (NC Sportsman, Gulf Coast Connections, and a few others) but most do not. It's all about filling up pages with whatever...so they can go to press with their required 180 pages of mostly outdated crap and overrated and over priced advertising that doesn't bring much back in the form of sales.

Capt. John, thanks for bringing Cape Lookout into the modern world. It feels good to be here.

[Stripersniper]

John hang in there. You have something really great here. I have to say that 95% of the crap that I buy is purchased online. I for one hate to go to a store shopping unless it's a local bait and tackle. Keep up the good work.

[Crazy Eyes]

Capt. John, I have tried like hell to get the major manufacturers that I sell to let me sell on the internet just so I can advertise on this site. They will NOT let me with the latest call coming back just last week from Costa Del Mar. Thier internet dealers are capped???? Whatever? I have helped to answer any questions about products that I am knowledgeable on and have received PM's from people asking if they can purchase from me because I helped them. I have not actively sought these situations out but I have hopefully helped out fellow members of this site, which is part of what this community is about. I would write the check and advertise tomorrow if the companies that have appropriate product would let me sell their product online and follow their rules( I can take the reps from these companies to a website a minute that don't follow their rules ). I have bought from multiple sponsors on this site and will continue to do so. I will start turning away anyone that PM's me if that is what is needed to keep the integrity of this site intact and I will keep trying to persuade the companies to let me sell(you would think they would want that!!) their product online so I can advertise on SFC!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jer]

I have not bought a news paper in 2 years.

I have to buy newspapers every now and then for Bob (my dog)
I would have to buy more often if he actually used the newspaper all times

[gradywhite273]

I have to buy newspapers every now and then for Bob (my dog)
I would have to buy more often if he actually used the newspaper all times

jer you kill me, , its time for another jer video isn't it ???

[Sweet Caroline]

Hang in there John, the advitisers will come. I do a lot of research on the internet but I do like to put my hands on the product. I search the different forums like SFC to try and get some first hand info before making the purchase. Something that I know I would use is if there was a section for product reviews. 10 or 20 reviews from people that use the product on a daily basis goes a lot further than a dressed up paragraph from a catalog to sell a product. How about a SFC Consumer Report section. There are endless possibilities for a consumer report section. It can be taken to the next level compared to what we see on the internet today. Here the distributors would be involved and if the product is inferior or the end users have suggestions for improvements the distributors on this site can ban together and use the power of the people to get to the manufactures and build a better product. I know I would be more comfortable with internet purchases if it were easy to pull the reports about the product. If you need advertisers and need to prove the value of advertising on this site have your current advertisers track SFC purchases to see how their business has grown. Squidnation is an excellent example of the power of advertising on this site.

[jdkliesing]

All my research is done on line, hell I pay all my bills on line, I can't remember the last time I went to the mail box at the house. My first new truck was bought on the net. If I have any question's about something I come here and ask the thousands of pro's here on this site, a magazine doesn't have any pro's and store's only have salesman who say everything in here is what I needI ask SFC first than I buy.