Richard Periut wrote:

> Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
> sending samples of their product???
>
> If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
> Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...

Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.

> Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
> have not wanted to delve into any other seller.

Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
years.

When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.

Richard Periut wrote:

> Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
> sending samples of their product???
>
> If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
> Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...

Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.

> Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
> have not wanted to delve into any other seller.

Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
years.

When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.

Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
>>sending samples of their product???
>>
>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...
>
>
> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>
>
>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>
>
> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> years.
>
> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>
>
Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.

MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
stay small all your life.

I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
>>sending samples of their product???
>>
>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...
>
>
> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>
>
>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>
>
> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> years.
>
> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>
>
Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.

MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
stay small all your life.

I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
>>sending samples of their product???
>>
>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...
>
>
> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>
>
>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>
>
> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> years.
>
> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>
>
Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.

MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
stay small all your life.

I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
>>sending samples of their product???
>>
>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...
>
>
> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>
>
>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>
>
> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> years.
>
> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>
>
Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.

MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
stay small all your life.

I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by not
>>sending samples of their product???
>>
>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine products.
>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain reasons...
>
>
> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving them free
> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market where a
> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies give out
> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A sad fact
> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will switch to
> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to get
> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those coupons
> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>
>
>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal customer and
>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>
>
> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> years.
>
> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>
>
Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.

MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
stay small all your life.

I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> Richard Periut wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
not
>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>
>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
products.
>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
reasons...
>>
>>
>> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
them free
>> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
where a
>> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
give out
>> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
sad fact
>> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
switch to
>> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
get
>> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
coupons
>> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>
>>
>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
customer and
>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>
>>
>> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
product
>> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
complaint to a
>> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
stuff was as
>> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
earned me
>> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
of their
>> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
stuff in
>> years.
>>
>> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
sample
>> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
wines
>> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
worked for
>> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
The problem
>> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
people to
>> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
was a great
>> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
started wine
>> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
charge
>> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
lucrative
>> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
small sample,
>> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>
>>
>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
to
>stay small all your life.
>
>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>
>Rich

Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
more wine sampling, but it makes sense.

Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
agri-business and I think that matters.

I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.

We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.

Go Red Sox.

with aloha,
thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> Richard Periut wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
not
>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>
>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
products.
>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
reasons...
>>
>>
>> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
them free
>> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
where a
>> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
give out
>> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
sad fact
>> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
switch to
>> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
get
>> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
coupons
>> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>
>>
>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
customer and
>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>
>>
>> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
product
>> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
complaint to a
>> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
stuff was as
>> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
earned me
>> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
of their
>> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
stuff in
>> years.
>>
>> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
sample
>> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
wines
>> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
worked for
>> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
The problem
>> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
people to
>> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
was a great
>> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
started wine
>> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
charge
>> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
lucrative
>> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
small sample,
>> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>
>>
>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
to
>stay small all your life.
>
>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>
>Rich

Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
more wine sampling, but it makes sense.

Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
agri-business and I think that matters.

I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.

We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.

Go Red Sox.

with aloha,
thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> Richard Periut wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
not
>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>
>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
products.
>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
reasons...
>>
>>
>> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
them free
>> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
where a
>> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
give out
>> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
sad fact
>> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
switch to
>> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
get
>> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
coupons
>> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>
>>
>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
customer and
>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>
>>
>> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
product
>> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
complaint to a
>> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
stuff was as
>> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
earned me
>> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
of their
>> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
stuff in
>> years.
>>
>> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
sample
>> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
wines
>> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
worked for
>> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
The problem
>> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
people to
>> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
was a great
>> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
started wine
>> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
charge
>> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
lucrative
>> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
small sample,
>> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>
>>
>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
to
>stay small all your life.
>
>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>
>Rich

Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
more wine sampling, but it makes sense.

Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
agri-business and I think that matters.

I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.

We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.

Go Red Sox.

with aloha,
thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> Richard Periut wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
not
>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>
>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
products.
>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
reasons...
>>
>>
>> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
them free
>> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
where a
>> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
give out
>> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
sad fact
>> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
switch to
>> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
get
>> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
coupons
>> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>
>>
>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
customer and
>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>
>>
>> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
product
>> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
complaint to a
>> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
stuff was as
>> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
earned me
>> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
of their
>> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
stuff in
>> years.
>>
>> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
sample
>> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
wines
>> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
worked for
>> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
The problem
>> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
people to
>> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
was a great
>> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
started wine
>> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
charge
>> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
lucrative
>> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
small sample,
>> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>
>>
>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
to
>stay small all your life.
>
>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>
>Rich

Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
more wine sampling, but it makes sense.

Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
agri-business and I think that matters.

I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.

We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.

Go Red Sox.

with aloha,
thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> Richard Periut wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
not
>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>
>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
products.
>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
reasons...
>>
>>
>> Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
them free
>> stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
where a
>> significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
give out
>> some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
sad fact
>> of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
switch to
>> anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
get
>> people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
coupons
>> are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>
>>
>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
customer and
>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>
>>
>> Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
product
>> was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
complaint to a
>> company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
stuff was as
>> bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
earned me
>> some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
of their
>> products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
stuff in
>> years.
>>
>> When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
sample
>> rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
wines
>> because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
worked for
>> them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
The problem
>> was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
people to
>> come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
was a great
>> way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
started wine
>> tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
charge
>> for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
lucrative
>> business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
small sample,
>> it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>
>>
>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
to
>stay small all your life.
>
>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>
>Rich

Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
more wine sampling, but it makes sense.

Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
agri-business and I think that matters.

I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.

We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.

Go Red Sox.

with aloha,
thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

smithfarms pure kona wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
>
> not
>
>>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>>
>>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
>
> products.
>
>>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
>
> reasons...
>
>>>
>>>Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
>
> them free
>
>>>stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
>
> where a
>
>>>significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
>
> give out
>
>>>some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
>
> sad fact
>
>>>of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
>
> switch to
>
>>>anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
>
> get
>
>>>people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
>
> coupons
>
>>>are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
>
> customer and
>
>>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
>
> product
>
>>>was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
>
> complaint to a
>
>>>company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
>
> stuff was as
>
>>>bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
>
> earned me
>
>>>some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
>
> of their
>
>>>products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
>
> stuff in
>
>>>years.
>>>
>>>When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
>
> sample
>
>>>rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
>
> wines
>
>>>because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
>
> worked for
>
>>>them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
>
> The problem
>
>>>was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
>
> people to
>
>>>come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
>
> was a great
>
>>>way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
>
> started wine
>
>>>tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
>
> charge
>
>>>for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
>
> lucrative
>
>>>business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
>
> small sample,
>
>>>it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>>
>>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
>
> to
>
>>stay small all your life.
>>
>>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>>
>>Rich
>
>
> Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
> more wine sampling, but it makes sense.
>
> Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
> plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
> want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
> agri-business and I think that matters.
>
> I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
> of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
> it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
> all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.
>
> We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
> did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
> pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.
>
> Go Red Sox.
>
> with aloha,
> thunder's owner
> smithfarms.com
> Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
> & other Great Stuff
How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?

Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with the
farming business.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

smithfarms pure kona wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
>
> not
>
>>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>>
>>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
>
> products.
>
>>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
>
> reasons...
>
>>>
>>>Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
>
> them free
>
>>>stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
>
> where a
>
>>>significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
>
> give out
>
>>>some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
>
> sad fact
>
>>>of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
>
> switch to
>
>>>anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
>
> get
>
>>>people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
>
> coupons
>
>>>are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
>
> customer and
>
>>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
>
> product
>
>>>was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
>
> complaint to a
>
>>>company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
>
> stuff was as
>
>>>bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
>
> earned me
>
>>>some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
>
> of their
>
>>>products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
>
> stuff in
>
>>>years.
>>>
>>>When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
>
> sample
>
>>>rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
>
> wines
>
>>>because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
>
> worked for
>
>>>them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
>
> The problem
>
>>>was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
>
> people to
>
>>>come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
>
> was a great
>
>>>way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
>
> started wine
>
>>>tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
>
> charge
>
>>>for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
>
> lucrative
>
>>>business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
>
> small sample,
>
>>>it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>>
>>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
>
> to
>
>>stay small all your life.
>>
>>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>>
>>Rich
>
>
> Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
> more wine sampling, but it makes sense.
>
> Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
> plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
> want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
> agri-business and I think that matters.
>
> I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
> of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
> it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
> all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.
>
> We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
> did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
> pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.
>
> Go Red Sox.
>
> with aloha,
> thunder's owner
> smithfarms.com
> Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
> & other Great Stuff
How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?

Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with the
farming business.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

smithfarms pure kona wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
>
> not
>
>>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>>
>>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
>
> products.
>
>>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
>
> reasons...
>
>>>
>>>Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
>
> them free
>
>>>stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
>
> where a
>
>>>significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
>
> give out
>
>>>some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
>
> sad fact
>
>>>of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
>
> switch to
>
>>>anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
>
> get
>
>>>people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
>
> coupons
>
>>>are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
>
> customer and
>
>>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
>
> product
>
>>>was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
>
> complaint to a
>
>>>company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
>
> stuff was as
>
>>>bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
>
> earned me
>
>>>some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
>
> of their
>
>>>products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
>
> stuff in
>
>>>years.
>>>
>>>When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
>
> sample
>
>>>rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
>
> wines
>
>>>because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
>
> worked for
>
>>>them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
>
> The problem
>
>>>was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
>
> people to
>
>>>come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
>
> was a great
>
>>>way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
>
> started wine
>
>>>tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
>
> charge
>
>>>for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
>
> lucrative
>
>>>business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
>
> small sample,
>
>>>it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>>
>>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
>
> to
>
>>stay small all your life.
>>
>>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>>
>>Rich
>
>
> Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
> more wine sampling, but it makes sense.
>
> Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
> plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
> want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
> agri-business and I think that matters.
>
> I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
> of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
> it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
> all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.
>
> We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
> did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
> pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.
>
> Go Red Sox.
>
> with aloha,
> thunder's owner
> smithfarms.com
> Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
> & other Great Stuff
How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?

Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with the
farming business.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

smithfarms pure kona wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
>
> not
>
>>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>>
>>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
>
> products.
>
>>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
>
> reasons...
>
>>>
>>>Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
>
> them free
>
>>>stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
>
> where a
>
>>>significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
>
> give out
>
>>>some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
>
> sad fact
>
>>>of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
>
> switch to
>
>>>anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
>
> get
>
>>>people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
>
> coupons
>
>>>are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
>
> customer and
>
>>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
>
> product
>
>>>was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
>
> complaint to a
>
>>>company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
>
> stuff was as
>
>>>bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
>
> earned me
>
>>>some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
>
> of their
>
>>>products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
>
> stuff in
>
>>>years.
>>>
>>>When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
>
> sample
>
>>>rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
>
> wines
>
>>>because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
>
> worked for
>
>>>them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
>
> The problem
>
>>>was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
>
> people to
>
>>>come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
>
> was a great
>
>>>way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
>
> started wine
>
>>>tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
>
> charge
>
>>>for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
>
> lucrative
>
>>>business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
>
> small sample,
>
>>>it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>>
>>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
>
> to
>
>>stay small all your life.
>>
>>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>>
>>Rich
>
>
> Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
> more wine sampling, but it makes sense.
>
> Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
> plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
> want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
> agri-business and I think that matters.
>
> I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
> of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
> it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
> all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.
>
> We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
> did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
> pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.
>
> Go Red Sox.
>
> with aloha,
> thunder's owner
> smithfarms.com
> Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
> & other Great Stuff
How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?

Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with the
farming business.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

smithfarms pure kona wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Why on God's earth would a business not want to promote itself by
>
> not
>
>>>>sending samples of their product???
>>>>
>>>>If you want customers for life, give them a piece of your fine
>
> products.
>
>>>>Unless you just want to cater to first buyers for certain
>
> reasons...
>
>>>
>>>Do you really think that you gain life long customers by giving
>
> them free
>
>>>stuff? Brand loyalty can make a big difference in a large market
>
> where a
>
>>>significant market share can reap big profits. The big companies
>
> give out
>
>>>some samples to get their name out, not necessarily the product. A
>
> sad fact
>
>>>of life is that customers who are easily bought with freebies will
>
> switch to
>
>>>anyone else who offers freebies. Lots of companies have coupons to
>
> get
>
>>>people to try their product, but a lot of the people who use those
>
> coupons
>
>>>are the coupons shoppers who only buy what they have coupons for.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Specialteas.com sends samples with every order. I'm a loyal
>
> customer and
>
>>>>have not wanted to delve into any other seller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the
>
> product
>
>>>was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of
>
> complaint to a
>
>>>company about one of their products that I had bought. The free
>
> stuff was as
>
>>>bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter
>
> earned me
>
>>>some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more
>
> of their
>
>>>products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their
>
> stuff in
>
>>>years.
>>>
>>>When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had
>
> sample
>
>>>rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy
>
> wines
>
>>>because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It
>
> worked for
>
>>>them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products.
>
> The problem
>
>>>was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for
>
> people to
>
>>>come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It
>
> was a great
>
>>>way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies
>
> started wine
>
>>>tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they
>
> charge
>
>>>for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty
>
> lucrative
>
>>>business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a
>
> small sample,
>
>>>it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>>
>>MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
>>known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want
>
> to
>
>>stay small all your life.
>>
>>I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.
>>
>>Rich
>
>
> Thank you Dave, a fellow Smith. I did not know that there were no
> more wine sampling, but it makes sense.
>
> Rich, when you are a farmer as we are, we have a finite number of
> plants. We can not plant any more on our farm. We don't necessarily
> want to expand. We are independent farmers not a corporate
> agri-business and I think that matters.
>
> I think our coffee is extra good because we are small. Just the two
> of us and we do everything, unless it is the peak picking time, which
> it just was. Then we hire people and pay a fair wage so we can get
> all of our crop, at that moment, in and processed.
>
> We do not want to lose money. When we started about 16 years ago, we
> did give samples. Silly of us. Now you can buy as little as a half
> pound of roasted coffee - if you are serious.
>
> Go Red Sox.
>
> with aloha,
> thunder's owner
> smithfarms.com
> Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
> & other Great Stuff
How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?

Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with the
farming business.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero (Ancient Rome)





ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

Let there be fish!!!

Richard Periut wrote:

>
> > Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> > was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> > company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> > bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> > some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> > products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> > years.
> >
> > When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> > rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> > because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> > them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> > was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> > come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> > way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> > tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> > for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> > business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> > it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
> >
> >
> Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
> MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
> known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
> stay small all your life.

Expansion is not always a good thing. It has its risk. Some people are quite
content to find their niche in the market and be successful enough to make a
living without having to worry about the big guys attacking them.


> I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

There's a prime example of what I referred o above. Gates has been very
successful. There were a lot of other people putting out good products who got
bought out or pushed out. Perhaps they got big enough to threaten the giant.

Richard Periut wrote:

>
> > Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> > was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> > company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> > bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> > some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> > products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> > years.
> >
> > When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> > rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> > because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> > them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> > was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> > come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> > way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> > tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> > for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> > business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> > it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
> >
> >
> Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
> MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
> known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
> stay small all your life.

Expansion is not always a good thing. It has its risk. Some people are quite
content to find their niche in the market and be successful enough to make a
living without having to worry about the big guys attacking them.


> I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

There's a prime example of what I referred o above. Gates has been very
successful. There were a lot of other people putting out good products who got
bought out or pushed out. Perhaps they got big enough to threaten the giant.

Richard Periut wrote:

>
> > Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> > was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> > company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> > bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> > some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> > products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> > years.
> >
> > When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> > rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> > because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> > them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> > was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> > come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> > way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> > tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> > for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> > business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> > it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
> >
> >
> Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
> MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
> known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
> stay small all your life.

Expansion is not always a good thing. It has its risk. Some people are quite
content to find their niche in the market and be successful enough to make a
living without having to worry about the big guys attacking them.


> I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

There's a prime example of what I referred o above. Gates has been very
successful. There were a lot of other people putting out good products who got
bought out or pushed out. Perhaps they got big enough to threaten the giant.

Richard Periut wrote:

>
> > Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> > was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> > company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> > bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> > some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> > products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> > years.
> >
> > When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> > rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> > because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> > them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> > was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> > come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> > way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> > tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> > for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> > business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> > it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
> >
> >
> Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
> MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
> known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
> stay small all your life.

Expansion is not always a good thing. It has its risk. Some people are quite
content to find their niche in the market and be successful enough to make a
living without having to worry about the big guys attacking them.


> I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

There's a prime example of what I referred o above. Gates has been very
successful. There were a lot of other people putting out good products who got
bought out or pushed out. Perhaps they got big enough to threaten the giant.

Richard Periut wrote:

>
> > Would you still buy their other products to get the freebies if the product
> > was crap? I once got a load of freebies after a letter of complaint to a
> > company about one of their products that I had bought. The free stuff was as
> > bad as the thing I complained about. Another complaint letter earned me
> > some coupons for free products which I tried. I did buy some more of their
> > products, but to tell you the truth, I haven't bought any of their stuff in
> > years.
> >
> > When the wine industry took off here a few decades ago they all had sample
> > rooms where you could try their wines. It was a great way to buy wines
> > because it took a lot of the guess work out of wine shopping. It worked for
> > them for a while. They demonstrated that they had good products. The problem
> > was that wine sampling became too popular and it was common for people to
> > come this way and go from winery to winery for free samples. It was a great
> > way to spend the day and became so popular that bus companies started wine
> > tours. There are no free wine samples any more. Not only do they charge
> > for the samples, but some of the wineries have made a pretty lucrative
> > business of selling samples. With the prices they charge for a small sample,
> > it is cheaper to go to a bar and order a glass of the same thing.
> >
> >
> Obviously if it's crap, I will throw away the free sample.
>
> MY point is, if a business is going to expand, it has to make itself
> known. *ONE* of these ways is to give some samples. Unless you want to
> stay small all your life.

Expansion is not always a good thing. It has its risk. Some people are quite
content to find their niche in the market and be successful enough to make a
living without having to worry about the big guys attacking them.


> I wonder where Billy Gates would be right now with that philosophy.

There's a prime example of what I referred o above. Gates has been very
successful. There were a lot of other people putting out good products who got
bought out or pushed out. Perhaps they got big enough to threaten the giant.

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:32:57 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>smithfarms pure kona wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>>

>How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?
>
>Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with
the
>farming business.
>
>Rich


Thanks Rich.

We don't want to get bigger. We have all we can handle without hiring
more people. Farming is a lifestyle and we chose it. You know dogs
and cats and working at home and with the computer, it was all made
more possible.

With aloha,
Thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:32:57 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>smithfarms pure kona wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>>

>How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?
>
>Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with
the
>farming business.
>
>Rich


Thanks Rich.

We don't want to get bigger. We have all we can handle without hiring
more people. Farming is a lifestyle and we chose it. You know dogs
and cats and working at home and with the computer, it was all made
more possible.

With aloha,
Thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:32:57 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>smithfarms pure kona wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>>

>How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?
>
>Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with
the
>farming business.
>
>Rich


Thanks Rich.

We don't want to get bigger. We have all we can handle without hiring
more people. Farming is a lifestyle and we chose it. You know dogs
and cats and working at home and with the computer, it was all made
more possible.

With aloha,
Thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:32:57 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>smithfarms pure kona wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>>

>How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?
>
>Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with
the
>farming business.
>
>Rich


Thanks Rich.

We don't want to get bigger. We have all we can handle without hiring
more people. Farming is a lifestyle and we chose it. You know dogs
and cats and working at home and with the computer, it was all made
more possible.

With aloha,
Thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:32:57 GMT, Richard Periut >
wrote:

>smithfarms pure kona wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:03:54 GMT, Richard Periut
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Richard Periut wrote:
>>>>

>How about buying more farm land and getting a bit bigger?
>
>Anyway, I understand your point. I've never had any experience with
the
>farming business.
>
>Rich


Thanks Rich.

We don't want to get bigger. We have all we can handle without hiring
more people. Farming is a lifestyle and we chose it. You know dogs
and cats and working at home and with the computer, it was all made
more possible.

With aloha,
Thunder's owner
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff

In article >,
(Amberinauburn) wrote:

> My husband who has a definite lack of taste tells me it is OK to put a slice
> of American cheese on tuna fish. I say cheese on tuna fish is only acceptable if
> you then grill the thing making it a tuna melt. Does anyone here put cheese
> on Tuna fish sandwiches?

Not me, but where food is concerned, I take a rather libertarian view.
Anyone who wants to eat a tuna sandwich with cheese on it certainly
does not need my approval regardless of how the sandwich is prepared.

On 18 Oct 2004 14:09:22 GMT, (Amberinauburn)
wrote:

>My husband who has a definite lack of taste tells me it is OK to put a slice of
>American cheese on tuna fish. I say cheese on tuna fish is only acceptable if
>you then grill the thing making it a tuna melt. Does anyone here put cheese on
>Tuna fish sandwiches?
>
>Amber in central Illinois

grate a cup of cheddar cheese, get a jar of relish, chop up a vidalia
onion and stir together with a can of tuna (chunk light not the high
mercury containing albacore) and it's heaven on earth! Make a sandwich
with two pieces of toasted bread. Oh, and don't forget to wash it down
with an ice cold Coke!

Regards,
Bill

Stan Horwitz wrote:

> In article >,
> (Amberinauburn) wrote:
>
> > My husband who has a definite lack of taste tells me it is OK to put a
slice
> > of American cheese on tuna fish. I say cheese on tuna fish is only
acceptable if
> > you then grill the thing making it a tuna melt. Does anyone here put
cheese
> > on Tuna fish sandwiches?
>
> Not me, but where food is concerned, I take a rather libertarian view.
> Anyone who wants to eat a tuna sandwich with cheese on it certainly
> does not need my approval regardless of how the sandwich is prepared.


I've been known to put cheese on sardine sandwiches...

--
Best
Greg