ShipStore.com Beacon: 10th Anniversary & Closed for Inventory
Issue 93, August 31, 2006
http://www.ShipStore.com
Floating your boat since 1982 TM


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IN THIS ISSUE:
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~ WELCOME ABOARD: 10th Anniversary & Closed for Inventory
~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree" Drawing

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~ WELCOME ABOARD: 10th Anniversary & Closed for Inventory
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This morning is one of those days you dream about... for October! Bluebird skies speckled with downy white clouds; Lake Champlain rolling under a stiff chop, cresting dark blue waves with foamy crowns; sunshine soaked fields of hay and goldenrod waving in the steady breeze; the first maple leaves blushing orange, even red. Warm but a hint of last night's chill (it apparently fell below 30 degrees in some areas!) still hanging in the air.

If it really were October, I'd be tempted to throw on a sweater and hike one of the Adirondack High Peaks close by, but it's not and I won't. Not yet, there's far too much going on around here. Here's a snapshot of what we're up to.

It's our 10 year anniversary! The ShipStore.com domain name was purchased by Captain Jim in September 1996 at which time he began adapting the Westport Marina mail order catalog to web format. That's right we had our start in the pre-dawn of e-commerce, launching an online marine supplies store at the leading edge of what would soon be dubbed the "dot com boom". Remember those heady days? Everything was possible. Or so it seemed. Captain Jim was busy all summer running his family's marina on Lake Champlain, but the winter months were pretty slow once the boats and docks had been pulled and the North Country was blanketed in snow. Jim learned to program in HTML and began crafting web pages, one at a time, painstakingly adapting the print catalog into colorful pixels so that boat owners all over the world would have access to his virtual storefront.

And his vision paid off. The web was still young, and marine supplies were largely unavailable online, so ShipStore grew quickly, soon adding a professional programmer to relieve Captain Jim's tired fingers. Before long, winter's were becoming as busy as summers for Westport Marina's ShipStore.com, and even the "dot com bust" in the spring of 2000 didn't put a damper on things. Unlike so many young e-businesses that grew quickly but took on enormous debt in the process, Captain Jim bootstrapped ShipStore along, investing plenty of sweat equity rather than borrowed capital, growing only when sales warranted. The result? A decade after launching, ShipStore is thriving, currently retailing approximately 75,000 marine supply items to thousands of loyal boaters all around the world. We're thrilled that you've given us the opportunity for a small town, family-owned marina to serve you.

As part of our 10 year anniversary ShipStore.com crew will undertake our most comprehensive "house cleaning" to date. I mean that literally and figuratively. On the one hand, we'll re-inventory our entire warehouse; purge all remainders and closeouts; and update our databases and website for accuracy. On the other hand, we'll tackle the fulfillment and customer support challenges, the inevitable "growing pains" of scaling up to meet increasing customer demand, in order to better meet and exceed your expectations.

In order to accomplish this, we're deactivating our shopping cart and suspending all new sales between noon Thursday, August 31 and Friday, September 15, 2006. Fulfillment and delivery of existing orders will continue during this period, however you will be unable to place new orders until the shopping cart re-opens on Friday, September 15. Our customer service representatives are standing by to assist you with product support inquiries and orders placed prior to August 31, so please feel free to contact us or check the status of your order online:

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/INFO/INFOcontactshipstore.html

In addition, the end-of-season inventory shut down will permit us to upgrade our computers and software to make ordering even more efficient. And it will mean that our September "Clear the Deck" Sale will be our largest yet! Keep your eyes peeled for amazing savings.

But that's not all that's keeping us busy. We're gearing up for the 40th Labor Day Lobsterfest at the Westport Marina, the best end-of-summer bash in the North Country!

This longstanding tradition begins with Josh Cramoy and his band performing live in the Galley Restaurant tomorrow night, Friday, September 1. Saturday afternoon, while boat owners begin decorating their vessels for the big day, children and adults alike can participate in the annual Cardboard Boat Race. Contestants begin construction of their makeshift dinghies at 1:00 PM and race three hours later. The Saturday night barbecue dinner is prepared by Westport Marina owners, Larry and Bob Carroll, and after dinner, the Jonathan Newell Band will rock and roll the night away. Sunday's activities include:

Kayak Races
Catalina Inflatable Boat
Balloon Twisting Artist (hats, animals and more)
Face Painting
Costume and Boat Decorating Contest (Theme: Flower Power!)

And then it's time to feast on clams, lobster, barbeque chicken, corn and possibly a beer or two. Damaged Goods will launch into a rousing evening of classic rock and roll. Once everyone's had a chance for a toe tapping, hip swishing, hair tossing tour around the dance floor, the band will wrap up its first set and the costume parade and contest will begin (9:00 PM). Then it's back to more great music and dancing until you fall asleep on your feet. Come join us for the North Country's best end-of-summer bash for a great time you won't soon forget. Visit the website for more information and reservations:

http://www.westportmarina.com/galley/lobsreso.html

So, that Adirondack hike will have to wait a little longer. Have a great Labor Day!

George Davis, Beacon Editor
editor@shipstore.com

PS: One last note if you're already feeling ambitious and planning for that sad day when you pull your boat(s) out of the water for winter storage. Shortly after we re-open in September we'll be announcing our fall winterization sale with a downloadable brochure full of massive savings to soften the trauma of another end-to-the-boating-season ritual.

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~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree!" Drawing
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Win a $100.00 credit at ShipStore.com. To be eligible for future "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawings all you have to do is subscribe to the Beacon. All current subscribers are eligible for the random drawing. If you're not already subscribed, then visit http://www.shipstore.com and scroll down the light blue column along the left hand side of the page until you see the link "Win a Shopping Spree!". Click on the link. A new window will open with an email addressed to beacon-on@list.shipstore.com and "Subscribe" written in the Subject Field. All you have to do is hit send.

You'll be sent a confirmation email which you must respond to in order to activate your subscription and be added to our mailing list. This double opt-in procedure enables us to prevent accidental subscriptions and spam. As soon as your confirmation is confirmed, you will be entered into the "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawing for a $100.00 free merchandise from ShipStore.com. Good luck.

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NEWSLETTER SENT BY PERMISSION ONLY
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This email has been sent to you because you (or someone using your email address) subscribed to the ShipStore.com Beacon newsletter. We respect your privacy and do not sell your personal information or release your email address ever, for any reason. For details, please review our Privacy Policy.

If you prefer not to receive to the ShipStore.com Beacon newsletter, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-on@list.shipstore.com with "Subscribe" (remove the quotation marks) in the Subject Field. If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-off@list.shipstore.com. If you have any questions or suggestions contact the editor by e-mail editor@shipstore.com. Please include a helpful subject like "Question for the Captain", "Suggestion for Article" or "Remove Duplicate Mailing" to help us sort through the e-mails more easily.

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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COPYRIGHT 2006 ShipStore.com (tm) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is granted to electronically copy, print or forward this newsletter for use as a shopping, boating or travel resource as long as it is not altered in any way and sent in its entirety. Any other use of materials on this Web site--including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or republication--without the prior written permission of Westport Marina, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
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ShipStore.com
6039 Route 9N
Westport, NY 12993
Telephone: 518-962-2700
Toll Free: 877-SHIPSTORE (US and Canada)
Fax: 518-962-4582

E-Mail sales@shipstore.com with any questions.