DLM Stuff

Motorcycle Run to Gilroy

2011-08-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Discount Leather Mart hosted the start of Cross Ministries Poker Run from Modesto to Gilroy, CA. The run ended in Gilroy where a Stunt Bike Show, Armature Boxing matches, Comedian, and Bike & Car show were being held by the parent chapter of Cross Ministries.

It was an early day for me and members of Cross who volunteered to help set up. Here are a few pics.

Early morning. DLM provided Coffee and Doughnuts

From inside the shop: getting ready to leave

The tail-gunners on this trip are ready for the rest to go

If you have a local event and would like to start, or have Discount Leather Mart as a stop, please contact us so we can discuss ways of making your event participants have a good time when they are here.

Discount Leather Mart is an HONEST, straightforward motorcycle leather shop in Modesto, California. Other shops have been greedy and have not treated event participants well. We are different.

Another Friend and Customer Passes

2011-08-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

It seems like my very good customers who turned friends just want to leave me. It has been a few months since Hoan (John) Nguyen passed away. Today, I felt the need to get it into my blog.

John rode a Honda VTX 1300 when I first met him. He came into Discount Leather Mart looking for something, I'm not sure what, but he always returned to shop with me. He always had a project he was looking to do. A lot of his passion when into finding the right thing for his lovely wife Bertha, and thinking about how they were going to spend time together. He was a regular visitor to my shop, stopping in at least once per week. One rainy November, he and Bertha showed up in a pickup truck, pulling a trailer that contained a nice shiny Arlen Ness Custom Chopper, with rain drops all over the new bike. Earlier this year, he picked up a used Harley Road King so he could carry more stuff. He always wanted something different, and he would get it.

I didn't realize it when I met him, but John was a Nurse Practitioner, very similar to a Doctor. Stress and other factors caused my blood pressure to soar in 2010 (210/125). I went to a clinic and received some medication that worked in lowering my BP. Later they changed the medication to a simple water pill. My BP again soared and I developed pseudo-gout, a painful knee disorder that rendered me unable to walk. I asked John for some help and promptly got it. He refused to accept payment for treating me.

John decided to retire at the end of March 2011, and talked of building a clinic in Mexico. After retirement, he spent two weeks in Hawaii with his lovely wife and road the island on a rented Harley Davidson. He went to Laughlin Bike Week within two weeks after returning from Hawaii and then he go sick. Food Poisoning was what he told me later that week. He came by the shop on a Friday where we got the mirrors fixed on his Honda. He was to ride with the American Legion Riders the next day but was too ill to go. He had been diagnosed with pneumonia late that Friday. He died later in the weekend from Heart Failure.

What a shock to everyone. I talked to his doctor, a good friend of mine since college, and he was in as much shock as everyone. No one seemed to know that John had heart problems. The autopsy revealed that the heart disease had been with John for at least 10 years. Perhaps John knew. Who is to say? We miss him though. Myself, the people who rode with him and were close and I'm sure his wife and children. We wish he was back.

Bikes line up during John Nguyen's Celebration of Life Ceremony

John lived a remarkable life. A boat person from Viet Nam after the US withdrawal in 1972, he arrived here as a young teenager. He lived at the homeless shelter here in Modesto, CA (Modesto Gospel Mission), when he was going to school to become a Nurse. He worked feeding the homeless and cleaning for his room & board. Later he told me, he moved to a slum area north of Modesto where is apartment was regularly broken into. He only had a motorcycle to his name so he didn't care. He did well in life, and I am sure he is doing well right now.

Rest in Peace my friend.

Pillsbury Dough Boy Dies

2011-07-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

SAD NEWS - Please join me in remembering YET ANOTHER great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Dough Boy died yesterday of a yeast infection and traumatic complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Dough Boy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children, John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dill Dough, plus they had one in the Oven. Services were held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes...

Okay so I stole it from someone else. It's still funny and quite original

New Shop--We Like it

2011-05-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

MOVING AGAIN

2011-03-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

The Shop is moving again. I know what you are saying: "Again? I just figured out where you were!" Hopefully this is the last time for a while. When I got the present location, the economy was reeling, sales were down and rent was in the stratosphere. A rent increase was in the works because my lease said so. I bailed rather than go under and got my present place. Much lower rent here but it came with a trade-off: No visibility. The visibility factor is real. Many of my customers, even when they knew where I was, still passed me by because they couldn't see my place. Put on top of that the fact that my landlord allows no signs on the street and well, declining sales. My competition moved to a great location on the same road I was on. The competition though, still treat their customers like dirt. I hear it all the time. I just need to get more noticeable.

Here is the scoop on the new location. It is right across the street in another industrial warehouse area, similar to where I'm at now. The big difference is, I can have a sign right on the street. My shop will be visible FROM THE STREET. There is a custom motorcycle shop in the complex. There are two motorcycle club clubhouses in the complex. So where is it?

1124 Kansas Avenue
Suite B3
Modesto, CA 95351
209-527-1196

WE WILL BE ALL MOVED IN BY APRIL 1, 2011

Discount Leather Mart

View Larger Map

TAGS: Moving Locations, Discount Leather Mart, Google Places, Relocate

Pet Peeve, SEO Marketers

2011-03-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

I started my website back in 2002. I spent hours learning the ropes of online marketing, advertising, Search Engine Optimization, link building and other strategies in order to make Discount Leather Mart appear on the first page of a Google search for motorcycle leather. Almost as soon as my site went online, I began to get offers of services to make my site rank higher in the search rankings of Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com and other search engines. For just $2000 or so, I could rank number one or at least on the first page for the key search terms and my business will flourish. I worked hard to figure out this stuff for myself and yes, I got taken a couple times by some people that had what sounded to be a good idea, but turned out to be really poor. By taken, I mean between $500 to a $1000 for a service. I got taken with online advertising though too, from especially Yahoo, but also Google, Shopping.com and Pricegrabber. Lots of money out, poor return on investment. I learned how to do stuff and eventually made it to number 1 on Google for Discount Leather. I think I'm still there, but I can't be sure, things have changed so much in search from location to location.

So why am I writing this? Because the hucksters just won't give up. I get three to four emails a week telling me how poor my site ranks in the ratings and how they can really help me move to the top of my search game. Here is an actual email I received last week:

E-mail address: clark15@sify.com

Message: Hi, We carried out a preliminary analysis on your website and discovered the following areas of concern. 1. Your website attracts limited traffic, which affects potential sales. 2. Your keywords don’t feature in Google first page, which affects visibility. 3. Your website has got coding errors, which affects ranking. 4. Your back links are not good enough, which affects link popularity. 5. Your website is not properly promoted, which affects the overall score. We are a Search Engine Optimization service provider and can assist you in overcoming the above mentioned problems. We can perform a more detailed analysis on your website and provide you the plan of action of how we can promote the same. Please let us know if you require the SEO REPORT on your website. Best Regards, Clark Systems Technology International Inc. Michigan: 39555 Orchard Hill Place, Suite 461, Novi, Michigan-48375 New York: 9921 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11209 Call : (248) 522-7990

This was the email that set me off. Look up the domain of his email address and it is an Indian Portal. Here is what I wrote him back:

Please, I've been doing website stuff since before you were on the internet. If there was an SEO company that was cost effective and gave ROI that actually resulted in a profit, I would have been on it years ago. My website DOES attract first page google ranking for specific keywords. Do your research before you spam. Oh, and I googled Clark Systems Technology International and guess what, even with your whole name, you guys do not show on the first page of the search engine, not even if I put SEO behind your name. Not even on page 2! Get credibility.

Remove me from your system.

DLM

I enjoyed getting that off my chest. Now I hope a bot picks up his email address above and starts spamming him with offers of erection enhancements and painkillers from a foreign land.

Helmets on Discount-Leather.NET plus other stuff

2011-03-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

We closed the mydiscount-helmet website down. Too much work to maintain the website so it did not get updated as it needed to be updated. You can find helmets on our regular Discount Leather Mart website. We've got some Joe Rocket helmets there currently and some G-Max but in the near future, we'll be updating with more helmets, including half-helmets and open-faced motorcycle helmets. Hopefully I'll be getting some more Zox helmets on the website too, depending on how their inventory is looking. I like Zox helmets and it's hard to beat the value, but sometimes, inventory is a tough thing to handle.

Interested in getting a Crystal Job on your Helmet? contact us for more info. The picture is a custom painted helmet with Swarovski Crystals outlining the art and the rim.

Until next time.
TAGS: Motorcycle Helmets, Swarovski Crystal motorcycle helmet, half helmets, full face helmets, Joe Rocket Helmets, G-Max Helmets, Open Face Helmets, Zox Helmets

Warm, Warm Winter Gloves

2011-01-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

New. We just got a shipment of these gloves in and are they nice. The Aurora Glove from Fly Racing. As I type, it is about 45 degrees with thick fog out. Cold, Wet and Miserable. These gloves are especially for this type of weather.

The biggest problem with warm gloves is they are usually too thick to be able to feel your controls and keep your hands warm & dry also. I've sold the over thick gloves, and some like it, and other don't, but all complained about the bulk. I always recommended the a Thinsulate lined deer skin gauntlet with a simple glove liner for most. The deer skin with lining was supple enough to feel your controls and the glove liner was enough to keep your hands pretty warm for about 50-75 miles. Longer distances though, needed a different glove. These new Aurora gloves will keep your hands warm and dry for a longer period.

These gloves feature:

Fully insulated
Hipora waterproof, windproof, breathable membrane
High Grade genuine leather palm and wrapped finger tips
Extended neoprene cuff eliminates open exposed area between gloves and jacket
Reflective piping
Extra padded knuckles

In stock at the store. Store price $59.99

Store location is 1133 Kansas Avenue across from Maaco Paint in Modesto. Closed Wednesdays

For the Ladies, Lace Back Shirt It's HERE

2011-01-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

Remember: 1133 Kansas Ave in the Kansas Business Park You can put your own color lace in it. Great for Valentines Day (or maybe a pair of chaps? we got those too).

I heard that these were sought after and the Bomb at Easy Rider in Sacramento last weekend. but lots of the gals didn't purchase because they were $30...a bit steep in recession plagued Central Valley. When I get, probably next Friday...just $20.

Toy Run Today

2010-12-18T14:59:00.001-08:00

The Toy Run went off without nary a hitch today. Sure, the big storm came in last night, but no rain was to be seen from 7 to 3. We had about 25 people make it out. The Cookies were excellent and the coffee was strong. I got an eye twitch from too much coffee.

Bad news was that donations were down by 90% this year. This is not a surprise, donations all over are down by about that much. When official unemployment hits 20%...things are BAD. A lot of people who donated in years past, are accepting donations this year to get by.

We did what we could and I wish everyone a safe Christmas Holiday.

Shop visit, events and happenings

2010-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

First: Check out the NEW website. I made it in Prestashop and I'm hoping to get a lot more products on this platform. If you visit the site frequently, clear your browser cache and take a look. Discount Leather Mart

Second: You may or may not have seen the news that one of my good Modesto Customers went down back in September ( http://www.cyclefish.com/forum/topic/21/index/65744/1 ). Chris was seriously injured and Paralyzed from the waist down. He popped by the shop yesterday and I had a chance to say Hi for the first time since the accident. Good news: The accident didn't kill him, and that's always good news. Also, feeling has come back to his legs down to the knees. Bad News: he recently had a clot that was heading for his heart. 0% chance of recover unless massive amounts of blood thinner was pumped into his system. Because of the damage to his head due to the accident, only a 20% chance of survival was expected because the thinner could cause bleeding in the brain. Good News: All came out fine. Thank whoever you personally thank in these situations. All worked well. Some of this may have been prevented with a full face helmet so perhaps have a think about that next time you shop for a helmet.

Third: It is that time of year again. The Toy and Canned Food Drive is scheduled for this weekend. My collection barrel was picked up yesterday but donations are still encouraged and anyone can feel free to drop off canned food or toys at the store. I'll get them to the Youth Center. This is being sponsored by Brothers of the Third Wheel Motorcycle Association. See http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discount-Leather-Mart/107303609319772.

Fourth: Coat Drive. This year sponsored again by Most Envied Motorcycle Club and also the Street Bike Freaks. I have a collection Bin here at the store plus R & S Custom Cycles has a Bin. So 1133 Kansas Avenue or 307 Maze Blvd in Modesto. It's cold, the economy sucks and there is lots of need this year, so please clean out your closets and give.

Fifth: New Years Day Ride. Now is the time to plan for this ride. John Jackson will once again lead the ride on New Years Day over to Monterey for a nice bowl of chowder or whatever you want. No Host, No Fees. It is a nice way to start off the New Year. Meet at Discount Leather Mart, 1133 Kansas Ave, between 8 and 9 AM on New Years Day. Kickstands up at 9:00AM. Coffee & Doughnuts will be available. The last three years, the temperatures were in the mid 70's over the hill and towards the coast. No guarantee for this year but the track record looks good.

Lots of stuff going on. Take care and have a great Christmas and Holiday Season. Ride Safe.

Rest in Peace John

2010-11-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

++You Crippled Old Biker Bastard! My good friend. You left too early. Your daughter, your son, your wife, your brothers and all your good friends miss you. You did have a nice Celebration of life ceremony though. We made jokes (at your expense) and had a bite to eat and some Mountain Dew. I tried and tried, but I couldn't get any of the women to bare their breast...they had too much respect for.....not you...... but your family.

So we toasted with a Mountain Dew, Tiger wore her Rebel Flag Shirt, Brandon was there in a thong, no...that's right, he wasn't there at all. Irv was their for free food, but bitched about the drive to Keyes. Wayne was throwing insults at you like you were sitting right beside him. Jamie, your lovely wife was tolerant of us all. No one had the heart to talk shit to make brother Robert puke, but that would have been fun. We all looked for your ID, but it wasn't there. We knew what it looked like though and I posted a picture here on the blog, see:

There was a nice table, with a picture of you, cigarettes, a Mountain Dew, your vest hanging in the background. Jamie was nice enough to post some of your baby pictures. That looks like you, you even got the COBB patch on your baby shirt. How the hell did you get a Crippled old Biker Bastard Patch at what......4 or 5 years old? Only you.

Everything was going smooth until someone mentioned your bike. I had to go to blows with some SOB dissing your Honda. "Not a Harley, Not a Harley!" I taught that little bitch to keep her mouth shut. I draped the Rebel Flag over her head, picked her up and tossed her in the dumpster. I know, it was suppose to be a celebration, but how the hell did that kid pick up this Harley crap in just 8 years?

Your bike is a classic, 1100 Honda Shadow, all the skulls any EMO kid could possibly want, plus, The Stars and Bars, extra chrome, air ride shocks and more. John and Wayne were throwing rice at your Celebration like it was a wedding. No respect for the Honda or the deceased. But on the upside, whoever gets your bike will have fuel for a while.

I really want to see Amie get your bike. She and you are a pair. Pair of what, I won't say, but you are a pair.

So John, I could write more, and in the future, I probably will. About you, yes. It may not be as true as this post, but in spirit, you will be there.*

++My good friend succumbed to a heart attack a week before Thanksgiving, 2010. I give thanks that he was my friend and I know many who do the same. The story above, may or may not be entirely true, but it is in the spirit of a great sense of humor, humility, disgust and sometimes downright depravity that I tell it. He will understand. Roll over Beethoven, make room for Johnnie Lee Alton.

*not like the bats flying through my window and getting in my hair right now, but still in spirit.

WE MOVED

2010-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

We moved from our location on Carpenter Road to a new location at 1133 Kansas Avenue in the Kansas Business Park. We also changed our phone number to 209-527-1196.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

I could go off on how bad the economy is, but hey, lets just look forward to something happening good in 2010.

First Good Thing: I quit smoking. Yep that's right, been 9 days since I had a cigarette. That will help my personal economy to the tune of about 2 C Notes a month.

We got a lot of RAIN since the first of the year, not great for business, but at least we don't have to listen to Drought stories for the rest of 2010.

The store is still up and running and I've managed to make rent every month in 2009. My competition still lacks customer service skill and I continue to get new customers.

Anyway, that's 2010 greeting for now.

Ben 10 Alien Swarm Official Fall 2009 Trailer New Trailer - VidoEmo - Emotional Video Unity

2009-11-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

About a year since I last blogged. You may not know this, but check out the video below. Guess where Turner Studios purchased the racing suits used in this movie? You got it, from Discount Leather Mart.

Ben 10 Alien Swarm Official Fall 2009 Trailer New Trailer - VidoEmo - Emotional Video Unity

Then and Now: Discount Leather Mart

2008-11-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

It's been two years since the brick and mortar Discount Leather Mart got a makeover. We got some empty store shots and some shots now. Here is an early empty shot.

Here is a shot of the carpet being installed.

Early Store with Clothing, especially the Distressed Brown Motorcycle jackets.Notice that there are not many helmets in the background.

Here is what the store looks like today. Notice the Helmets in the back left. We try to keep 100+ helmets in stock at all times. Also, since we opened, we keep boots in stock, hard saddlebags, plus...

on the back wall we've brought in LED lights for your bike, Helmet carrying backpacks, cargo nets, license plate frames, Red Light Changers, Iceberg vests and of course our Deerskin Gloves. Deerskin are about the only style of glove that we now carry in the store. We didn't get pictures of our patches, helmet stickers, extensive sunglass selection, saddlebag brackets and lots more. If you live in the area and haven't been in yet, you are missing the best selection with the best prices in the whole Central Valley. Our regular customers come as far away as San Jose to shop at the store exclusively. If you can't make it to the store...there is always the web http://www.discount-leather.net.

See you soon.

Poker Run Pictures

2008-10-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

We had our First Annual Poker Run for Family Connections Foster Care on October 11 and it went pretty well. We had 30 bikes, 47 poker players, lots of food and fun. Most folks who went on the run stated that the run and places to stop couldn't have been any better. Just the right distance, just the right locations to stop. Here are some pics and we hope to see you next October for our second annual run. Just keep checking www.discount-leather.net to be updated.

Poker Run, First annual

2008-10-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

This is it, the first annual Poker Run for Family Connections Foster Care. I don't have time to write too much right now, but remember, a 50:50 raffle, plus raffles for other prizes including a 2-4 hour sailboat cruise on Monterey Bay.

Three Months since last post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been three months since I've posted. The store has been busy, busy, busy! Just goes to show what happens when you have the best value on motorcycle apparel in the area and of course the best service!

Some new stuff: On the net and in the store I've got a lot of Ladies Western Style Vest and Chaps that I NEED to get moved out. The price on the vest 2 years ago was over $150 and the chaps were over $135. Get both now for just $129 in the store or $129 plus shipping on the web. Don't miss out, I have limited quantities. Once these are gone, they will be gone for good...No More!

Okay, so what's new in the store only? We just brought in some hard saddlebags and already sold three sets!

The ones pictured are only $325 INSTALLED!! Compare that to about $800-$1200 at any of the cycle shops in the area.

I've got two styles that sell for $325 installed and a larger model that sells for $425 installed.

Here is how it works: drop your bike off in the morning and the following morning pick the bike back up with bags INSTALLED. If we have any problems or after mockup on the bike, it just doesn't look right, we'll call you and let you decide if you want the bags or not.

Drop by the shop. We are opened 7 days a week, so beat the high prices of dealers and get to Discount Leather Mart, 1300 N Carpenter Road, suite B, next to Chevron in Modesto, CA.

New Helmet: Zox Genessis SVS

2008-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

It just arrived on shore last week. The Zox Genesis Helmet. A Full Face Modular Helmet with a little extra: an internal sunscreen that flips down over your eyes anytime with the flip of an exterior lever.

The Nevado R, and HiQuest Modular Helmets from Zox are Hot commodities here at the store, and this new feature just takes the helmets to the next level. For over $100 less than a Scorpion helmet with the same features, the Genesis SVS will set the standard. I brought one helmet into the store to check it out and it sold the same day. More helmets are on the way.

Zox Helmets have had great reviews from www.webbikeworld.com and feature all the great features of super high priced helmets for a fraction of the cost.
The Genesis SVS Helmet features the following:

CoolMax Liner for plush comfort
Quick Release standard
External Antifog/Antiscratch Clear Shield
Internal Antifog/Antiscratch Smoke Shield
Flush Fit shield for water/wind protection and noise reduction
Top and chin vents.
Quality Paint Finish in Gloss Black, Mat Black, Metallic Silver, Pearl White and Metallic Titanium

Come in and see for yourself what all the excitement is about at our Store located at 1300 N Carpenter Road Ste B, Modesto, CA 95351 or check out the website at MyDiscount-Helmet.com

New Years Day Ride

2008-01-06T13:21:00.001-08:00

On New Years Day, I opened the store, Discount Leather Mart, for a few hours and hosted a way to start off the New Year on the Bike. Unfortunately, only two bikes showed, which was a shame. The ride was from Modesto to Monterey for Clam Chowder at the Wharf. New Years day started cold and Foggy. On my way to the doughnut shop to pick up goodies for all the bikers, I could barely see 40 feet in front of the car. At the shop, everything was ready, but a quick check of the weather revealed that although cold and foggy in Modesto, Monterey was predicted to be clear, sunny with highs in the upper 60's to low 70's. I haven't talked to the riders when they came back, but I did get some pictures: See fog above and Sunny Casa de' Fruita below.

Nice and Sunny and probably warm. Everyone was wearing the new deerskin gloves with liners for the ride and staying toasty. I still don't have the deerskin gloves up on the site (http://www.discount-leather.net) as of yet, but soon!

Here is a neat YouTube video I found in MySpace. Bikes can be fast!

http://www.youtube.com/v/oqJbWiCxUc0&rel=1

End of the Year

2007-12-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

It was a pretty steady Christmas season. I've been opened for a year and I must say that my business this year was at least double my first month in business last year, which still isn't saying much. The Internet business is about 1/10 of last years because I didn't advertise this year and you know what, I'm not going into January broke like I did last year, so forget Google Ads, Shopping.com and Pricegrabber.com...I may not have sold as much, but I'm coming out of the busy season in a lot better shape.

My last post about deerskin gloves doesn't tell it all. I still do not have them on the website (http://www.discount-leather.net) yet, but, I'm on my second reorder of gloves in the store and have sold out all the 2XL size again. They may cost a bit more, but they really do please the people who buy them.

Things I'm thankful for this year:

1. I made the brick and mortar business last for the entire year.
2. My good customers who both return to the website (www.discount-leather.net) and come into the store to just hang around and shoot the breeze.
3. My competition locally (Renegade Biker Classics Modesto, Cycle Gear Modesto, Riding in the Wind plus others) helped me more than they know. Keep up the poor service and high prices and I'll do even better in 2008.
4. Two special loyal customers who checked out the new motorcycle leather shop in town told the owner point blank that they "only shop at Discount Leather," and they were just checking the place out & a third who told him he must be out of his mind for selling at the prices he was selling at.
5. The Hooligans Motorcycle Club, Dysturbed Riders MC, Star Touring Merced Chapter,
Bikers for Christ in Modesto, local HA members who frequent the store, Bay Area Riders Forum plus others that have supported my business with a lot of word spreading.
6. Debbee who manned the register for free a number of times so I could get out and do events.
7. Barbara Tatum, the excellent leather alteration person, motorcycle enthusiast, doo rag maker and all around nice lady for looking after me and my customers for the entire year.
8. Some off the wall visitors like Kim, Nikia, Jeremy, Gordon from the local neighborhood to bring a little excitement into my life.
9. My business neighbors Raj & Pam, Tony and Julie, Dave and Albert plus Gonzalo.
10. Last but not least, my parents and Garry N, Ron P and Gary F & even Dave F. for coming around and making my day a little more normal.

Happy New Year!

Deerskin Gloves

2007-12-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!! I got some deerskin gloves into the shop. What a hit. Super Soft Leather, supple and tough. Look to the site at http://www.discount-leather.net/Gents/gloves/ for Deerskin Gloves. I'm hoping to have these uploaded within the week. You can not believe the response I'm getting to these gloves.

motorcycle films

2007-11-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Cool Weather, the price of Gas & Motorcycles

2007-11-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

It's cool today, not real cool, but cooler. Rained last night and regular John J sent me a note that yesterdays motorcycle ride was 497 miles, the last 100 in rain. But the rest of the autumn has been unusually warm, most days jutting into the 80's by midday and bright sunshine. Most would think that is great, but a guy like me that sells motorcycle leather, is looking to really nippy days and nights. Why would you want a motorcycle jacket or pair of chaps if you are just going to sweat? Antoher week until Thanksgiving and I hope by then we can get a frost, if for nothing else but to knock the torrent of flies out of the air that congregate outside my store in the chilly evening hours and rush inside every time the door opens.

Price of gas at Chevron hit $3.43 a gallon last week and it appears that UP is the only direction gas is going to move. So, now is the time to trade that SUV that get's 14 MPG in on a nice Motorcycle that get's 35 to 40 or more MPG. Of course, then you need gear and you'll drop by the store or website, www.discount-leather.net to get the great quality and prices everybody knows I've got. I've got a Honda Shadow 750 sitting in front of the store, fully dressed with all the features, including custom pinstripe for just $6200. It's not mine, but a customers. Only has 1300 miles on it. Want to see, check it out at http://modesto.craigslist.org/mcy/474809921.html for the next 44 days.

I got in some real nice Deerskin Gloves Friday. Man are they soft! A little more expensive than my normal gloves, but in my mind, worth every penny. Look for them on the website soon or come in and try them on. The ones I brought in are wrist cut gloves, unlined. I also brought in glove liners made from Thermax (Dupont) so you can use your gloves both winter and summer. I'm probably going to be replacing most of my cowhide gloves with the deerskin variety, just because the dexterity and softness is well worth the extra $5 in the price.

Does it seem like your paycheck doesn't go as far as it used to? Everyone who lives in the middle class knows that inflation really isn't 2% a year like they've been telling us for the last 15 years. The following are a couple of articles about this: I guess the government really does believe that we are stupid...and since we as a population haven't done anything to dispute it, I guess the government is right. Anyway, enjoy: http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_04/paulos090904.html & http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/2005/0624.html

The second article is a little better than the first, but both bring home the point.

Anyway, slow day in the shop, but I got stuff to do.

Cooler Weather...Time to Ride

2007-10-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

The weather got cooler and the rush to get a decent jacket, pair of chaps, pair of pants or anything to keep you warm is on. Luckily we have the best prices in town and the largest selection (pretty much anywhere in the greater San Francisco Bay area and San Joaquin Valley.

Also coming..motorcycle whips. I've had requests for motorcycle whips (I had no idea what they were) but I've got some being made. Should be in stock in a short period of time. Also, I'm now having custom holsters being made, as well as decent quality belts. Funny thing, I've been asked by a number of people if we carried "Real" leather belts. Not the laminated crap that everybody from WalMart to Macy's carry. I've suggested Western stores to people (after all, we are located in the west...just 20 minutes from the self proclaimed 'cowboy capital of the world' in Oakdale) but guess what? The western stores do not even carry a decent leather belt anymore.

If there is a need, Discount Leather Mart will fill it. Check the website for custom made holsters and leather belts.

Enjoy.

Custom Racing Suits are Back

2007-09-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Back in July I wrote about the Death of the Custom made Racing Suit. My supplier at the time doubled the price on me without even letting me know, resulting in a big monetary loss for suits I already had in production plus the loss of approximately $10K in promotional expenses for the suits.

I don't need that supplier for my racing suits (maybe not for anything else either?). I found a new manufacturer, in Pakistan, that can produce custom made suits at approximately the price I had been paying for the last 3 years. So, I'm back in business.

I got a suit 2 weeks ago and had it inspected and checked out thoroughly by a number of local riders and leather craftsman. All said, it appeared to be better than the Himalaya racing suits (of which I've paid to have a couple of custom Himalaya altered because they were not made to spec. Also, one of the sleeve zippers actually pulled out of one suit when putting it on).

The test was when I gave it to a member of the Dysturbed Ryders motorcycle club to test and low and behold, three other members came in within a few days to check out the new suit.

We are back! I'll have more about this custom made motorcycle racing suit in a later post.

Blood Bath for Motorcycle Gear This Christmas?

2007-09-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. The shop picked up business as it finally got a little cooler outside. Been doing real good the last month. So, what is in store for consumers looking for motorcycle gear during the upcoming holiday season? I've been talking and gathering information from suppliers for the last couple of months and here's what it looks like:

Business is DOWN, way down from just a couple years ago and the suppliers of motorcycle gear, both leather and textile gear, are sitting on HUGE inventories. At least two prominent online leather & motorcycle merchants have gone out of business this summer and from what I hear, more are about to go out of business. The bad thing about websites going out of business is they leave a seed of doubt in Internet Shoppers minds. One website selling leather left a lot of people holding the bag and is featured at my three cents, http://www.my3cents.com/productReview.cgi?company=MotoBahn+USA . I expect more carnage either during the holiday season, or at the crucial January return season.

It's not just the online wholesalers that are sitting on large amounts of inventory either, but local distributors that supply local motorcycle shops also are in this bind. Motocross Bike gear is especially long on inventory and prices have already dropped to compete with other suppliers. Sport Bikes and Cruiser pricing at the wholesale level still remains strong despite the inventory crunch.

So what can consumers expect? There is good and bad in this news. Consumers should see a great degree of competition on the web this year and pricing may never be better. In store sales should also be quite competitive with wholesalers discounting items get rid of 2007 inventory.

Bad News? Unfortunately the shoe can drop the other direction also. If you purchase items during the holiday season and want to return them for either refund or exchange...the website you were dealing with may no longer be there, leaving you stuck! During the past 3 years, competition on the web has been ruthless and most folks starting web stores on the web are going out of business in droves, if they had any business to begin with. The world wide web brings common products down to a unprofitable price in a matter of months or even days. I found a website called "dropshippingsucks.com" and here is a little excerpt from his sales spiel but in effect, it is correct:

So, a product that started with a market value of $25 on ebay is now quickly down to $15 bringing your profit down from $13.20 each to $3.80 each. But it doesn't stop there... The cycle continues until the product is no longer profitable to sell and it seems that everyone is selling the product for less than cost and trying to make a little profit back with outrageous shipping & handling charges.

Sound like a familiar theme for ebay? What happens to people who are selling items but not making any money off of the products, even money to cover their costs? They go out of business and often times, their customers get the shaft with undelivered product or no place to return and item.

My advice to you: Purchase from a local store, where you can try on the items and see the quality and you can be pretty sure the store will still be in business after the holidays. Oh, like my store at the corner of Woodland Ave and Carpenter Roads in Modesto, CA. If you don't have a local store that sells at realistic prices, you can try the web but use a website that has been around a long time and has real testimonials to back it up! Oh, like my website, http://www.discount-leather.net/ since 2003. We may not be the lowest price on the web, but we stand behind what we sell and customer satisfaction is what it's all about.

Have fun this holiday season

Would you be suspicious

2007-08-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

I got a call about three weeks ago on my home answering machine. The phone call was from a Life Insurance Salesman that said he was following up on my online request for Life Insurance. I did not fill out an online form for Life Insurance. I figured it was a new way for Life Insurance salesman to get someone to talk to them. If you have ever been hounded by a Life Insurance salesman, you know what I mean: they will call and talk to you every day just to wear your resistance down so you will purchase Insurance. I ignored the message as a fluke.

This week, I arrived home to hear the same message. I took the phone number and name down and gave him a call the next day. When I told him that I did not fill out any online form for Life Insurance. He told me Gail Johnson filled out the form. I explained to him that Gail was my EX-wife and we split in 2005. I did not want or need Life Insurance, I'm single and have no kids and relatively no assets. The salesman apologized and promised to take my phone number off of the list so I wouldn't be bothered again.

My ex trying to get Life Insurance on me. Would you be suspicious?

I HATE LAWYERS--I HATE LAWYERS

2007-08-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's a wonder We the People haven't risen up and burnt the court system to the ground by now. Thugs, thieves and general malcontents do what they want and walk out of the system and back onto the street to do it all again because they have nothing to lose. The average guy...traffic ticket here (cha-ching), watering your lawn on a non-watering day, fine (cha-ching), your car windows are tinted not to standard (cha-ching), Divorce, (cha-ching). It's all about the money and the Court System and the legions of blood-sucking members of the Bar all feast upon the average person. I won't even go into Jury Duty...perfect waste of time. I went to Jury Duty many times, but I remember one occasion in particular when there was actually a Lawyer in the Jury pool. The judge dismissed him from Jury Duty with these words that I will never forget: "...he's entirely too busy to be on a Jury." I guess the Lawyers time is a lot more important than the average persons, huh judge?

Why are there so many lawyer jokes? Because most of them are true. I'm not real fond of judges either...they used to be lawyers. I can see why in recent years, certain individuals have taken it upon themselves to "take out a judge." I can't condone it, but I can certainly understand it.

The system just does not work for the people. It only seems to work for the lawyers and people in the legal profession. Example: OJ Simpson gets off because he can afford to hire the best lawyers. If he tried to defend himself, or get an average (worthless) lawyer that the rest of us are forced to hire, he would have been strung up in court within two days of testimony and the judge would have probably held the noose!

So what's my beef. The average person (I consider myself average, even on my extraordinary days) goes to court a few times in their life: traffic tickets, jury duty, divorce. I've done all three, but this post is about the divorce.

So the wife and I came to an agreement before she became my ex. We both had lawyers. Pretty much split everything down the middle and I give her a little extra to compensate for my business and I pay her $600/month for the next 8 years. ( I might add, I didn't split from her, she just wasn't happy any more. boo hoo).

So we split assets down the middle, but her lawyer placed a lien on our house. According to the agreement, we were both to pay for our own legal bills, however, guess who would up paying for half her legal fees? (more about this in just a bit) Then, our sale agreement said that we were to pay to the buyer, outside of Escrow, about $18,000 within 2 days of funding. I paid my share, but my wife (on advice of her dumb fuck sister) decided paying the seller anything outside of Escrow was illegal. Even though her signature is on the agreement. So to keep from being sued by the new buyer, his real estate agent and our own real estate agents, I paid her share. So between her lawyers bill and paying her share of the mortgage agreement, I'm out $20,000.

So I decide, fine, I just will take the $20,000 out $600/month at time until the $20,000 is paid off. A couple of months go by and guess what, I get served papers that I haven't been paying my spousal support. So, my response is, I've prepaid my spousal support. Her lawyer gets pretty nervous when I show him the evidence because he knew nothing about this. Why is her lawyer nervous? Here is where I really find out about lawyers.

After spending over $10K on my own lawyers, plus picking up the tab for most of her legal bills both on credit cards I had to pay off and her lawyers lien, I didn't have any money left over. I couldn't afford a lawyer. So I look at the law myself to figure out how this pays off and what do I find:

1: My so called legal team did NOTHING---NADA, NYET. The extent of their work was filling out paperwork for the court. Standing with me in court when the judge told me I needed to pay her support NOW, and essentially brokering this deal the ex and I came up with. I refused to sign the deal for about 5 months because the lawyer that wrote it (hers) wrote it so poorly that it was virtually unreadable. I'm not talking legaleze, I'm talking just plain confusing, mis-written, just shit. Of course, I had to point all this out to my legal team ($300/hour for what?) because they never read it.

2. My legal team never filed paper work that was within my right to recover joint debt and even credit card charges that were made with a split and divorce in mind (her lawyers retainer!) even though I read clearly in the family law that this was perfectly acceptable. Lawyers can certainly collect a retainer, but they can't do any work!

So why is her Lawyer nervous? (from paragraph 5 above) Her lawyer is nervous because when I researched the law, the lien he placed on the house was an ethical violation of the law and State Bar. He convinced her to drop her claims to spousal support. You would think this is good huh? NOT SO.

So, I'm reading the law and it has a lot of information about Statute of Limitations regarding when money and items can be claimed or not and I figured I had about 3 weeks to file something or I would not be able to bring this up in court again. Since the original case was dropped, a judge never ruled on the validity of the claim. As you will see it didn't make any difference any way. So I filed a petition to get a judges ruling.

So we go to court. What's the judge say? "You need to hire a lawyer. You can't bring this up in this court, it needs to go to another court system. Plus you used the wrong forms and didn't give me a complete current statement of Income and Expense." Then in the same speech he tells me, "You are still required to pay Spousal Support of $600 per month, that's in my order."

The order also says that we are to split assets 50:50. But I guess $20K extra to the other side doesn't violate the order. The judge is a Prick. His name is listed below along with all the attorneys so that you know in Modesto, California, what lawyers to shy away from. Actually, you are better off staying away from all these leeches and bloodsuckers. Of course, the judge feeds from the trough of the taxpayer and is above taking any time to actually look into anything, just another government worker who could really care less and you know what, I get the feeling he doesn't really know the law either. Prick!

So now I need to go get a Lawyer. But every lawyer wants at least $1500 as a retainer. What to do. I think both my ex and her lawyer will be sued in the near future and since I know that her lawyer has lots of dough...I think I'm going to sue for all my aggravation, grief and time. I'd say, $80K-100K would be in order? What do you think?

Worthless Modesto, California Lawyers: My side.

Rebecca Roberson, attorney at law: Fired for not fighting for my rights. Worthless.

The law firm of Strauss, Neibauer & Anderson. In particular Tom Anderson. DO NOTHING firm that charges $300 per hour. Did I say they 'did nothing' and charged me $300 bucks an hour for it? Maybe I mentioned it once or twice.

Her Side:

Bernie Kempen: Ethically challenged and should be removed from the State Bar.

Judge Jack Jacobson: Prefers that lawyers do everything and has a real leaning towards the female side no matter what. A government drone bee, sucking off the nectar of the taxpayer and providing no benefit to society.

So How Bad is the Economy?

2007-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I know the economy is bad. Sales dropped to nothing after three strong weeks at the end of June and into July. But just how bad is it? If true inflation were ever counted, we might as all just stop paying our bills and just dig a hole and climb in. More about that in another post.

Discount Leather Mart is located in Stanislaus County California. We are bordered to the North by San Joaquin County, Merced County to the South, the greater San Francisco Bay Area to the West, and Sierra Nevada Mountain communities to the East. Here are some stats from the Newspaper today: Modesto Bee http://www.modbee.com/business/story/43133.html

Stanislaus County: 1 in 30 homes with a mortgage is in forclosure (33%)
San Joaquin County: 1 in 27 homes with a mortgage is in forclosure (37%)
Merced County: 1 in 31 homes with a mortgage is in forclosure (32%)

So is the subprime lending market meltdown hitting our economy hard? You bet. It was bad enough with $3.50 gallon gas, but now, just getting to work and back is costing everyone plenty. And if you haven't got any cash left over after your commute, do you really need a new motorcycle helmet to sit in your living room and watch TV? That is...assuming you have a living room and a TV and aren't just living under the bridge down by the river.

Internet Business and Drop Shipping. A Word of Caution

2007-08-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

The Internet is a strange beast and the hype got ahead of most people, even me. I decided to write this Ebook about my experiences owning an Internet Business. Most people would think this is a cushy place, but in the real world, it's much different. This book tells about my experiences, starting, selling tons of merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but actually realizing a wage of less than minimum. If you ever thought of opening up an Internet Business, Ebay, Amazon or Yahoo Store, I would encourage you to read this book first. A DROP-SHIPPERS CAUTIONARY TALE, 15 chapters, 22 pages. $9.99.

Don't believe the ads in the newspapers or the hype on the web, Drop shipping and other forms of selling on the web is tough! For most web entrepreneurs, it is not at all profitable and may even be a credit killer!

Here is an excerpt from the book:

The whole inner back page of my local newspaper has an Advertisement on how to be a millionaire using proven techniques for Ebay Sales. This ad has been running daily now for two weeks. When someone tells you, 'you can be a millionaire if you just follow these steps,' you know you are about to be fleeced. It also tells you that money is so hard to make on the web, that it's easier to sell people programs to make money than it is to actually make the money. So who is making money on the Internet?

The big boys are, that's who: Ebay, Amazon.com, Yahoo Stores, Google, Yahoo Search Services, Shopping.com, MySimon.com, Pricegrabber.com, United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx, and of course the Wholesalers. These are the top tier companies making money off the web. Ebay, Amazon & Yahoo collect fees for letting you have a store on their space, plus final value fees, merchant fees, etc. As with my example of Ebay above, if for every sale, they collect about $8 and they are doing hundreds of thousands of sales per day, you can see how they are making money for providing software and basic support. Google, Yahoo Search Services, Shopping.com, Pricegrabber and MySimon are all in the business of providing comparative shopping experiences and advertising. You can sort items by price which forces retailers to sink to a rock bottom price if they want to sell anything. What was a great value at a 50-60% gross margin is now a terrible bargain if you can get the same product from another store charging only a 25% margin. The Internet has become a race to the bottom of the price spiral. Like Walmart did to Brick and Mortar stores, Ebay, Amazon and Yahoo Stores does to virtually everything sold on the Internet. Price is the only real measure. Service, integrity and to a certain extent, quality got flushed or are marginalized. I won't say it is Ebay or Amazon or the other Big Boys fault that a free fall in price has happened, but the general consumer expects it.

2007-07-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

DEATH OF THE RACING SUIT! Not so fast.

After spending tons of money promoting custom made racing suits and getting lots of buzz about them not to mention sales, my supplier for some unexplained reason doubled the price of the suits. The bad thing is, they didn't even let me know they were doubling the price of the suits. I found out on my credit card bill....5 suits custom made that instead of making a little, I lost big bucks on. I think there is more behind the doubling of price then I was told, because quite frankly, I don't believe that the factory doubled their price. I comunicated with other manufacturers in Pakistan and their prices are about the same as my original price.

I'm now searching for a new supplier so I don't lose the approximately $10,000 I spent promoting the suits.

For the time being, I'm still offering the Himalaya custom racing suits but the price has increased to $680 per suit with a $110 shipping fee. I really don't think I'll sell any though, because I've already been told that there are local people that can make a pretty good custom made suit for just dollars over the cost of a Pakistani made suit.

Sorry everyone, but I hope to be back in the business of $400 custom made suits soon.

2007-07-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the Sierra Hope ride that Modesto's Harley Davidson puts on once per year for Muscular Dystophy. The ride passes right in front of Discount Leather Mart, http://www.discount-leather.net and I stepped outside to take a few pics. Here they are.

2007-07-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Look who we have on the bike...Abe and his dog Jack, all properly outfitted for safe riding. Abe got our cowhide retro brown racer, http://www.discount-leather.net/mimage/BLS470C.html , and as you can see, the color is lighter than our web page picture. He's also wearing the matching retro brown chaps, http://www.discount-leather.net/mimage/BLS925C.html . Abe also picked up the matching Vest , http://www.discount-leather.net/mimage/BLS103C.html that he has his HOG patch on. I didn't have anything for Jack, but Abe found a light brown leather vest for him and believe it or not, Jack has a small HOG patch on his vest also. Abe wanted anything but black, because everyone has Black Leather. These pictures have been a while coming. Abe purchased these back in January of February at the store. We've got lots of the brown in the store and also on the web, so if you are thinking about a new set of leathers, Retro Brown might just be for you.

2007-07-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Custom Made Racing Suits. We've got great prices and lots of satisfied customers. We got this custom made suit ready to go just in time for Track Day on July 14. This is a custom made one piece suit, white and blue with blue knee pucks from Discount Leather Mart, http://www.discount-leather.net/custom/ . Pinapple is the customer. He's with Dysturbed Ryders Motorcycle club here in Modesto, and he's not the first in the club to get a suit from us. The club tends to ride fast and ride hard every Sunday. Pineapple has other suits, but he is short, so getting boots on is tough with a standard suit. Also, he works out so his upper body is big, and he really needed a custom suit. Remember, safety is the key and these suits will keep you safe. Here are a few pics from the track day: Enjoy, and don't forget that for about $530 out the door you can have a custom suit of your own.

It looks like these pics may be copyrighted, so I'll thank in advance for the use of the pics that Pineapple sent me.

2007-06-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I had my first website about the Hillbilly Dinner Napkin. That site went down years ago, but I keep it on my Discount Leather Mart Site, at http://www.discount-leather.net/hillbilly/ . It was a fun idea for a novelty product and when I started the site, I had my wife (now my ex-wife) sew the Hillbilly Napkins together. The napkin is cool, but it's the story that goes along with the napkin that really makes it.

I sold maybe 15 napkins in the last 5 years and I had 4 left. You really can't find the site using search engines, I don't know how anyone would find it, but guess what? Three got sold today. We got us a real Hillbilly that knows a good deal when he sees it. Congrats to Malcom and have fun with them.

Have a laugh and check out the site. If anyone wants more, I have a place to make them up, so I'm not completely out.

2007-05-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have bugs stuck on my jacket from a country ride. How do I get them off?

In the last few weeks, I've gotten a number of requests from my customers regarding cleaning Bug Splats from their leather jackets. Specifically the distressed leather jackets that are light in color. A dead bug on a light colored jacket makes a big impression.

Here is how to clean just about any leather jacket from unintended spots. Damp sponge (water only) and rub the spots on the jacket (do not try on Suede). Damp means very little water! Most of the spots should be removed by this method, however, water and leather usually are not good for each other and a dark spot will appear where the leather got wet. Hang the jacket to dry out naturally. This may take a couple hours or a couple of days depending on how much water was in the sponge and how deep the bug penetrated.

In order to help your leather and make it easier to clean, we strongly recommend that you use an OIL product specifically designed for leathers. We sell Mermac Mink Oil with Beeswax in our store, http://www.discount-leather.net/wimage/Mink.html but any good quality leather oil will do. Note I capitalized OIL: DO NOT use water based silicone products on your leather. Many leather stores sell these silicone based products, including most of the major leather sellers in the local mall in your area. Why? Silicone is a good sealer against water penetration, as a matter of fact, that is the primary ingredient in Thompson's Water Seal that you apply to your decks, driveways and whatever to prevent weathering. Your leather jacket, vest or chaps are not driveways or decks though. Leather needs to be fed in order to last for the longest possible time and replacing oils lost through time or breakdown is the way to make sure your leather apparel last for the longest time. Naked Leather & Distressed Leather tend to dry the fastest and really need an annual oiling.

I've read on other sites that I shouldn't use oils on my leathers because it darkens them. Why are you advocating oil?

The other sites are correct, using oil on your leather will darken them. In this era of instant gratification, everybody wants instant results. Leather Oils, like Mermac Mink Oil with Beeswax, take time to work. If you use Mink Oil on a distressed brown jacket you may get REAL SCARED because your light tan jacket will turn almost black. But just wait, in a day it will lighten considerably and in about two weeks it will almost be back to it's normal color but with a deeper, richer hue and a better, softer feel. As an added benefit, cleaning with a damp sponge will not allow the water to move into the leather, since we all know, oil and water don't mix.

Leather is a natural product and contains oil naturally when new. This natural oil allows it to remain soft, flexible and waterproof. Over time the oil breaks down and the leather will dry out, so you need to replace the oil with an oil that is close in composition to the natural oil that was originally in the leather. Taking care of your leather and oiling it regularly should keep it in good shape for decades. Remember, if you can't find leather oil close by, we have it at Discount Leather Mart at http://www.discount-leather.net/wimage/Mink.html

2007-05-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Been a while, but I've been busy. I've got a lot of stuff to show. We did the Grand Opening Event on April 14 and I'm just now getting the pics up. The pictures are from Joe Salas of http://www.4theriders.com , a professional photographer with a great eye. He's my first picture.

You might not see it in the picture, but it rained buckets on the Grand Opening Day. Although it put a little damper on the party, it wasn't that bad and I'm happy to say we had a good turnout. My competition up the street, Renegade had their annual Customer Appreciation Day on the same day. I almost scored a coup when the Renegade Girls, pulled into my parking lot and asked if I was the Renegade store they were suppose to be appearing at? I didn't think quick enough to say yes...and leave the competition with no models and the bill for them to pay also. I sent the girls on their way, since I already had models. For those of you who have never seen me, the next pic is with me and one of the models:

The day started the night before...with a lot of last minute prep. Getting hot dog buns into serving pouches, making sure the soda was ready to go, cleaning the store, repricing, getting change, making sure I had all the parts to my booths, calling folks and reminding them to be there. On the big day, I was there at 7:00AM putting up plastic flag streamers around the parking lot, getting the booths up. The event was suppose to start at 11:00 AM and at 10:30AM, none of the people who said they were going to show up, showed up! At about 10:35AM, everyone showed up, Randy Glaze with his racing bikes and bulldog in tow, Dave with the barbecue, and Mike from Mikes Trikes. At about 10:50, the models showed up and Robert, the Zox Helmet Rep...oh and the rain started.

The Register was manned by Debbie, ex wife's sister, Mike came to help with security, but would up doing all the inside sales, my Mom was there to help inside the store, while I was being pulled in all kinds of different directions ..."I need this, I need that...Can we do this...What are we suppose to do, it's raining" and the big one "The roofs leaking, where is the bucket and towels? Is it going to get on the leather?" So, the customers walked in from the rain to be rerouted around a leak in the ceiling that was splashing a steady drip of what into the store. (as an aside, it was dry and sunny yesterday, with good wind gusts when all of a sudden, water started pouring from the ceiling into the store???)

Here are some pics of the day, Enjoy. Also check out http://4theriders.smugmug.com/gallery/2712239#143743167 and

http://4theriders.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/315007 for a lot more pictures. Enjoy. Here is Randy's racing bike with the prominent DLM Logo on the Bike, oh and girls too! Note the Discount Leather Mart Girls are wearing Leather from Discount Leather Mart, including some from our favorite lingerie supplier, Confession Leather. See the ruffled thong pics further down the page.

Here is Randy with one of his Bulldogs, hence the name 'Bulldog Racing'.

Here is another spot of the race bikes and Discount Leather Mart Girls, brought to you by Discount Leather Mart and Wesbiz Entertainment, http://wesbizentertainment.net . Oh, and me also...

Here is Mike Machado from Mike's Trikes, www.mikes-trikes.com , in his booth with the trikes next to him. Also, you can just barely see the hot dog booth at the corner next to the trikes:

Hot Dogs were free for all, and that included the Discount Leather Mart Girls too:

Here are some customers enjoying the day: This first one looks amazed at how Low the Prices really are plus the Grand Opening 10% off. (note my competition 3 blocks away had only 5% off their leathers and they are higher priced than Discount Leather Mart to begin with. Some Customer appreciation.

Here's Ronnie. She and her husband Larry are regulars here at the store and their bikes are adorned with saddlebags and stuff from Discount Leather Mart. Always welcome, they showed up in the rain, but not on their bikes and stayed for quite a while.

Here is the store with people in it mingling around and generally trying to stay dry.

Here is a biker visitor on his chopper talking to Mike. There were very few bikes in the lot due to rain...so I was happy to see this custom bike show up. The two gals standing at the table are regular customers also. They drive a nice metallic gray trike that Mike did for them.

Here's My Mom

Zox should give me a better deal than I get. This is the way to promote helmets:

Here are a couple of angel shots...are those halos? I've met the girls and the halos are only a part time thing.

Okay, one last picture then we'll call it good for the day. It was a great day and we gave away a pair of super premium cargo pocket chaps in Naked Leather! The winners picture in another post.

Enjoy your day and remember, comments are welcome and if you have a chance, come to the store!

2007-03-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

Today was the day. I pulled all on-line advertising off. Google Ad-Words was the last place I was advertising on-line and the sales just can not justify the expense. A little background: In 2003 I started advertising on Google at first $5/day then $10/day and I got good sales, not great, but good. This continued through most of 2004 and then I came up with the idea of doubling my advertising expense, I could probably double my sales. It worked. September of 2004, I increased Ad spend with Google to $500/month to about $1500. Sales didn't double, they tripled! In 2005, the cost of advertising kept rising but the sales were not there. It got worse in 2006. Here is a number that will surprise some, Since I began advertising on Google in 2003, I've given Google $119,186 for my ads. Here are some breakdowns although not accurate since I didn't include Shopping.com, Yahoo or Pricegrabber.com ad costs which not as much as Google, are still substantial:

2003: Ad costs 7% of sales
2004: Ad costs 11% of sales
2005: Ad costs 17% of sales
2006: Ad costs 11% of sales

I didn't advertise with Yahoo or anyone else in 2003, but I did in 2004. Yahoo can suck money with no return of sales faster than a Las Vegas Casino can drain your pocket. Definitely not worth the price to advertise. Shopping.com and Pricegrabber have pretty low Returns on Investment. Shopping.com doesn't even give you a representative to talk to even though I was spending about $600/month on them in 2004 and 2005. Figure my Ad Costs as a percent of sales is probably about 4% higher for 2004-2006.

What causes this? I'm sure Click fraud has something to do with it, i.e. my competitors (of which there are a LOT) click on my ads forcing my cost to rise. For instance, every time an ad shows for Motorcycle Jackets in Google, depending on the time of year, the cost is about $0.80. This is charged to me if a sale occurs or not. So the new leather site that is competing with me clicks just 5 or 6 times a day on this ad, that's $2.40 a day or an extra $72 per month I have to spend. No let's say, they are not only clicking on Motorcycle Jacket Ads, but Chap Ads, Vest Ads, Pant Ads, etc. Figure 3 X $72 or an extra $216 per month. Now that's just one competitor!

In 2005, I signed on with a company that can monitor and check for Click fraud, for a substantial fee. How? I put a piece of code on each one of my advertisements in Google or Yahoo or whoever. When someone clicks on that ad, the service throws a cookie on their computer. When the person returns to click the ad again, the service knows recognizes the cookie and records their IP again. So what did I learn from my service? About 30% of my clicks came from the same IP with the cookies again and again. They were all AOL members or clicking from AOL where the IP addresses change constantly. I could see trends in the data that say the same computer with the same IP address was clicking at a certain time per day, perhaps 15 to 20 times in a day.

I gave the data to Google, also owner of this blog service, and asked for a refund of the fraudulent clicks. After a two week review, they determined that it was an anomaly of AOL and that no fraud occurred. The service that I paid money to wouldn't back up their service and mechanisms. So I'm stuck, unless I wanted to take on Google in court. A lot of forums said, "just figure in fraud as a part of doing business and either continue to advertise or not based on your sales and returns." Is it click fraud or not? I was approached by a person in Pakistan that for $50/month, would click on my competitors ads two hours per day, 30 days a month as a service. That is so unethical. Of course I declined.

I think fraud is now even worse than it was and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. Google claims that they screen for fraud, but I know of at least one person getting hit with a $700 tab in one evening after posting an ad that would not normally generate over $300 in clicks a month. That person was told by G that there was no fraud.

Anyway, the Ads just do not pay for themselves anymore. Google and Yahoo both claim great fraud screening ability, but I don't see it and I don't see a good results on sales anymore either. So, that's the way it is. Now that I have a brick and mortar store, I think the money spent on Google would be much better spent on local advertising.

2007-03-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've hit my first 100 days in the store. Presidents write about their first hundred days in office, the new Congress did it...so let's talk about the stores first hundred days. For those who don't know, our retail Brick and Mortar store, Discount Leather Mart is located at the corner of Woodland and Carpenter Roads in Modesto. These are random things.

So, what's happened in the first hundred days. I met my goal of making rent every month. Profit? Still waiting. I've learned that helmets in stores are big sellers. Also face masks, especially the skull neoprene kind. I've now got lots of helmets, and ordering more German Helmets all the time. Big sellers. Business telephone charges are A LOT MORE than what they quote you when you sign up and it's not just taxes. Figure 30% more every month.

My door window got shot out by a vandal two months into the venture. The insurance paid off and was not nearly as difficult as dealing with other types of insurance suppliers, like auto or health. When it rains hard, water comes in by the roof air conditioning vent. Owner's looked at it. They don't see where it could leak. It doesn't rain hard in Modesto very much, so it's not that big of a deal. My corner shop facing south with west facing windows also, gets really hot even when it's only in the 70's out. Figure 10 degrees hotter inside. I've already run the air conditioning 5 days and it's only Mid March. Can't wait to see what happens when we get the consistent 95 F days like we normally get in mid summer.

Unlike people on the Internet, my store cruising people think my leathers are REALLY Cheap and great quality. It makes a difference when you can try something on, touch and feel and you have an extremely knowledgeable person (me) to talk you through the ins and outs of various items. I like dealing with people and this actually fits me better than the Net. Met some great people and already have regular customers.

I work the store and Internet business between 70-90 hours, 7 days a week. I've been doing this since December 9, 2006, with the exception of Christmas day, I've had no days off. It's not killing me though, yet. My friends are more worried about me taking days off than I am.

The store is still not complete, it's a matter of time to get it finished. The storage area is a mess, my office is still empty, and the second office is filled with junk. Plain saddlebags sell better than fringed. Not too many people care about the quality of sunglasses, but the look and price. People like to look at small things like wallets, hair ties, phone thongs. Lace up leather thongs and micro leather bras really draw attention.

Two of my competitors hired help purchased items from me because their boss refuses to carry them (leather halters, shorts for ladies, etc). I'm the only store that carries leather pants for the motorcycle crowd in this area. I may be the only store that carries brown motorcycle leathers in the area. Most of Wilson's leather in the mall looks good, but is inferior grade pigskin leather, not meant for motorcycle safety.

Lot's of people want boots and belts. I got a few boots, but no belts.

Word of mouth advertising is much cheaper than advertising in a paper, fliers, and much cheaper than Google.

All in All, it's been an adventure.

2007-03-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

First, the picture I've got here is of Randy Glaze of Bulldog Racing. He's wearing his custom made suit I had made for him. Randy's been posting lots of stuff on various motorcycle forums about the suit and thankfully it's all been positive. If you want to check out what he's been saying, see http://www.kneeriders.com/forums/showthread.php?p=43726&posted=1#post43726 and http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=43475 and http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=42000 .

I've also seen a couple posts from other folks on different forums wanting to know if a custom made suit at this price is too good to be true. See http://forum.svrider.com/index.php?topic=84410.0 . Here is what I found out: I've done a terrible job of describing the suit on the web site. First: YES it does have hard armor in the suit. The Armor is CE hard plastic armor with dual density foam on the inners. Yes, my measurements need to be improved to give bicep size, calf size, crotch to knee and underarm to elbow measurements.

I have a customer, Tony who wanted to see the suit before he bought so he dropped by the store to see samples. His comments. "Your pictures on the site are terrible. I wouldn't buy a suit based on those pictures but after seeing the suit and talking to you, it was no problem. You just can't tell the quality or thickness of the leather or all the other little things about the suit without seeing one for yourself."

Okay, so I have work to do on the measurements, pictures, descriptions, etc. for the suit on the site. I'll get cracking on that soon.

I also forgot, a lot of people are giving me crap about the warranty I put on the site for the suits. Hey, it's standard warranty/liability stuff. Nobody that makes motorcycle suits, helmets or whatever is going to ensure a no injury policy if you fall or get in an accident. I spent about an hour on line yesterday trying to find warranties and disclaimers on Joe Rocket, Alpinestars and Icon Racing suits or even jackets. Guess what? None of these guys lists a warranty on either their site and their dealers do not either. My guess is, the warranty and lack of responsibility could scare off customers so they just don't list it. Also, most of their dealers won't even deal with a customer who has a problem....they say the warranty is the manufacturers, take it up with them. So I list a warranty and limits of liability statement and get reamed for being honest. It just goes to show you, perhaps being honest isn't the best policy, however I sleep better knowing I put it out for John Q Public to decide.

Enjoy

2007-03-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

Probably wondering about the comment 2 posts in one day on my last post? For some reason, I can't get YouTube to post videos with the new login procedures here at Blogger. I don't know why, but that's the way it is.

Today: My MG has finally got the steering fixed. This pic isn't of my MG but it is the same year, color etc, so you get an idea. Just need the brakes fixed and I'll be cruising in the little loud machine once again.

Wanted to mention my new Site, http://www.mydiscount-helmet.com . Got some neat helmets and the distributor is near my location so shipping is not that bad. Got a dozen helmets in last week and by the end of last weekend, half were sold...nice quality, good prices. The Mat Skull Beanie Helmet is an awesome motorcycle helmet and the feel is something that is a cross between cool and downright eerie. I don't know what they put on the mat helmets, but if feels Cool.

Coming up fast, when I get the pictures developed is my new loyal customer Abe in his Dark brown Vented Racing jacket, and Chaps, plus his dog Jack, goggles and all on the Harley. You won't want to miss these pics.

Plus, just got the Custom Made Motorcycle Racing Suit in for Randy Glaze. Awesome job and a great design. Now Exclusively at Discount Leather Mart, http://www.discount-leather.net/custom/ . My customer Tony, who just purchased an off the rack racing suit from us is going to take some pics and put them on the web...he flat out told me MY pictures are terrible on the web site and do not even come close to showing the quality of the racing suits. Guess what...the racing suits are all going up in price in the near future, primarily due to materials and shipping costs passed onto us from the manufacturer, but you may have a month to get it at the lower cost if interested.

2007-02-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Another post on the same day! Amazing. I forgot to mention a couple items. First, I sponsor Randy Glaze from Bulldog racing. He popped into the store and checked out the racing suits. A Leather Racing suit for $340 (store price)! He was amazed and he's been talking me up on the racing and street forums he is a member of. Thanks Randy.

Also, here is something you might want to see. The Discount Leather Mart Girls. Enjoy:

2007-01-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Been awhile. Here are some pictures of the store...DONE. I had some opening day pics, but I can't seem to find them. The first pic up above is taken from my cell phone and shows the floor installers putting carpet next to the wood. A not so funny story. I managed to get a great deal on Carpet, a roll that was left over or not bought or whatever, so I get this industrial grade carpet real cheap...enough to do all but 100 square feet of the place. No big deal, I have 100 sq ft of area for storage and I don't really need carpet in that. So the guys come to install the carpet, we talk a little and I leave to get some breakfast. Midway through breakfast I get a call.."There's only 900 sq ft of carpet in the roll. You need to make a decision fast..I've got a crew of 3 standing here doing nothing." So I show up and in 5 minutes time come up with the idea of the laminate in the middle of the floor. The installer had a two hour job to do somewhere else, so I get the laminate and they come back in about 2 hours and start installing, then go with the carpet. It actually looks great with the wood and the wood wasn't that expensive, but the overall change of plans cost me an extra $1500, but what's done is done.

So here goes the rest. Just some pics of the store. We opened on December 9 to get some Christmas business. Just check out the pics and see the store. It's really a great looking place on the inside. Here we are at the end of January and I'm still not moved into the office, nor is my storage area in good shape, but that's life.

First the Sign: Nice sign huh? Professional. The next is me standing outside the door.

Here are some pics of the finished store, stocked inside.
I took two photos and kind of put them together.

Here is one more looking from a different angle out the side window towards Chevron.

So anyway, business is just OKAY. Not too many people realize I'm here yet, but the word is spreading. If you are in the area drop in. I've changed hours again, Open on Monday-Fri 10 til 7, Sat 10-5, Sun 10-2

Have a good one.

2007-01-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

As promised...pics of the store plus a little more. We are one week into the new year and I've decided to not work 7 days a week like I have been. Store will be opened Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and on Sundays from 10:00AM until 2:00PM. Closed Monday's.

Anyway, I'm about to take off and watch football playoffs, but first a few pics of the store.

I'll call this the begining: The store needed stuff...like paint, offices, dressing room, signs, flooring, hanging racks, and on and on. The next two pictures are building stuff...you can see the dressing room being built in this one, note the cement floor.

In this one, we see the new offices in the background

We'll check out the signage next

Old then New

Next blog post...maybe tomorrow. We'll do the inside finished!

Have fun!

2006-12-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve already...last post was about a month ago. A lot of water under the bridge. I'm settling into just 11 hour days instead of the 14 hour days for the past month. The store was scheduled to open on December 5...then the 8th...and we finally opened the doors on Saturday the 9th. So we've been opened 2 weeks and one day. Only one day without a sale so I feel pretty fortunate, especially since it's rained about 5 days out of 14 and 3 of those were on a weekend. I've had some great help in getting this started, Debbye, the one inlaw from the ex that is decent, helped me out a lot...pricing product, bringing in boxes from Storage, manning the store while worked the Internet business from home during the transition. Her roommate Char also helped price and bring stuff down and both of them talked up the store and showed product at a local biker bar. My Mom and Step dad came down and spent three days with me and helped clean, stock put mirrors up, price and paint all manner of things while also making me dinner when I got home. I owe a lot to my volunteer help. Dave...my unreliable handy man, who is somewhat on a payroll also helped a lot when he was here. Dave has a little substance abuse problem and his hours and methods of operation were quite bizarre, but he was a big help for little money (I say little money, but it seemed like a $100 cash was leaving my pocket daily for ?).

Anyway, I'm up and running. Got a shipment of Helmets, Gloves, Distressed Leather Jackets, Chaps, and light camo stuff. I've custom ordered a few jackets for some customers and the word about a reasonably priced shop is spreading. Put an ad in the Penny Saver...front page too...that went to 25000 homes in an affluent area of Modesto. The ad didn't pay for itself yet, but it did bring in quite a few people. I've still got about 40 boxes of leather in storage that I can't fit in here. Almost bought out most of the wooden hangers from every dollar store around.

"the man in the coonskin hat in a pigpen wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten..." Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues is playing on the stereo, it's foggy, I've been here since 9:30, had two donuts, vitamins and two cups of tea, perfect time to blog. Christmas is tomorrow, going up to Mom's. Stopped by the store this AM and picked up some shrimp for hors'doerves (I never could spell that, just did a spell check and a web search..seems everyone spells it different) also Dungeness Crab, fresh and for only $3.49/lb. The premeal should be great.

Robbie just came in to wish me a Merry Christmas and left. Robbie installed my mirrors outside the dressing room for free, and got me a computer for my in-store internet ordering platform for the grand total of two leather dusters. Barter is best.

No customers yet. I'm running down to pick up my pictures of the store, pre, post and running. Unfortunately, I don't have my scanner here or I'd post. Look soon for pics.

1:00 PM--Had a few customers in, chatted for a bit.

Ever tell you why I hate WalMart? 1: The damn isles are too small. Besides the small isles, WalMart, at least the one in Modesto, tends to be populated by grossly obese people with bad teeth. Some people are so obese they need to ride those electronic carts because they can't support their own weight on their feet. So, small isles, grossly obese people= no way to get through from one isle to the next, then Grossly overweight folks on motorized carts running you out of the isles and into stacked product...pandamonium as they careen into walking folks as they search isles for the best price on Dr. Pepper.

I got off the subject, it's not really the people shopping, but just a general WalMart attitude. I dropped by real quick to purchase a memory card for a laptop and a phone splitter. I got about $70 worth of stuff in two items and I'm trying to find a line with less than 200 people in it at the heart of the Christmas rush. I spot it, a lane with two people in it and a sign that reads "8 items or less, 8AM to 10PM only". So I jump in line just as the first person finishes up. The guy in front of me starts his transaction and it's a damn refund. I figure, "just my luck, I get stuck in a line where a guy gets a refund, they'll have to fingerprint and DNA test the sucker before they give him his money back and all the while I'll be waiting for the nurse to determine if he's allergic to the iodine in the betadine." To my surprise, they refunded him pretty quick and then it was my turn. I place my items on the counter and look at the cashier. "Where is your receipt?" the girl asks matter of factly.
"I'm not returning," I say, "I'm buying."
"This is a return line." the cashier says.
I look back at the sign and point out that it says "8 items or less 8AM to 10PM".
"The lights not on, " she says curtly to me. "When the lights on, then it is 8 items or less. Right now it's a return lane," she continues, looking at me like I should have known this obvious little fact.
"Can you ring me up?" I ask.
"No! This is a return lane," she says, a bitch like look spreading across her face.
"Fine," I say, " Just keep the stuff," I say as I push my two items worth $70 across the counter to her. "I don't have time for this crap." I leave her with my stuff, walk out into the cold and foggy parking lot, past overweight WalMart mutants shuffeling across the blacktop with kids that look like hyperactive midgets on crank with faces that haven't been washed of McDonalds ketchup and grease in about 3 days, and jump into my car.

How is that last sentence for a run on sentence?

2:23 PM A few more customers cam in and I guess I should finish up.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.

2006-11-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

Sunday Morning and my paper hasn't arrived yet. I'm sucking down my first cup of coffee and about to sift through orders from yesterday. Got lots of orders, I can tell it's Christmas time. Spent most of yesterday cleaning and painting the walls of the new store. I need to get my orders taken care of this morning and head back over to put on a second coat of paint and finish the trim. Also, I need to take a 'before' picture of the store before I do too much more.

I realize I've posted about the store, but I haven't given a good location description. Let's put it this way, it's a PERFECT location, for the northern San Joaquin Valley anyway. It sits on a very busy intersection of Woodland and Carpenter roads in Modesto. The Address is 1300 N Carpenter Rd, Suite B. Carpenter Road is locally known as "Motorcycle Alley" for those in the business locally. The building is primarily a Chevron Station in the front with a small 24 hour food mart. I am located next to the food mart in the front corner on Carpenter Road. I've got 1640 square feet. Now the good stuff: 8 blocks south on Carpenter is the local Harley Dealer, Mitchell's Harley Davidson, 500 N Carpenter Rd---2 blocks south on Carpenter sits the local Honda-Kawasaki Dealer, Honda of Modesto, 1120 North Carpenter Road---1 Block North is the local Ducati Dealer, Modesto Ducati, 1408 Carpenter Road. Now the competition, Cycle Gear is located at 1521 N Carpenter. Not really competition because they sell pretty cheesy stuff for a high price, plus their parking lot is hard to get in and out of. Renegade Classics is located about 3 blocks away on Woodland in a VERY subdued location that is difficult to see, get into, or get out of. Renegade sells pretty good quality stuff, but for a pretty high price and with a limited selection. About every item listed on my site will be represented in the store, plus some I don't even sell anymore. I may not have all the sizes, but I can get them.

While working on the shop yesterday, at least 45 motorcycles entered into the parking lot to either gas up at Chevron or get money from the Wells Fargo ATM which is located in front of my store. Anyway, my opening date is scheduled for Dec 5, HOPEFULLY!

Tomorrows list:

Recheck on the business card order with the new address
Insurance
County business change of location paperwork
Security system meeting at 10:00 AM
Process orders
Pay bills.
Computer register? Make a move to either get new or use what I've got.
Inventory.

Later

2006-11-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Death of the Phone Thong. I mentioned this in my last post, but here it goes again. The phone thong, that unique little cell phone holder for women, may be a thing of the past. http://www.discount-leather.net/Ladies/Phone/ I called my supplier to order another 100 or so phone thongs and they had none. I was told, in order to get more, at least 500 had to be ordered and then they needed to be manufactured (in China), then shipped to the USA. Now, I'm a little business and I hate to say this, but I've already got WAY TOO MUCH inventory. I was hesitant about ordering another 100 phone thongs, but now I'm thinking "...after so many years competing against all these people selling this neat little item, perhaps now I can corner the market?" Just a thought. I've sold literally thousands of these thongs over the past 4 years, and there is still a pretty good demand for them, but I've got a lot going on right now and do not really want to slip the cash out the door for 500 items that may take me a year to sell. Maybe after the first of the year.

Yesterday I started in earnest working on the shop. I was assured that the shop was mine even though I haven't signed the lease. Today and most of the next two weeks will be spent getting it ready to open. I can probably get it open before Christmas, just not on the day after Thanksgiving (darn). Sales started picking up yesterday just slightly...a sign that Christmas is here. I knew Christmas was here just based on the price that advertising costs. Each time you click on one of those Google ads, ching, ching, there goes another dollar for a chance of a sale. Yes, that's right, right around $0.80 to $1.20 per click. The prices on the site or the lowest they have been since I started this business back in 2002, so don't miss out, go see us at http://www.discount-leather.net .

So long

2006-11-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Let me blog about some fun stuff instead of work. It's raining outside, kind of glum and I am feeling a little burnt. I updated the site at 6:00 AM with a great deal for anyone...see http://www.discount-leather.net/specials.html. I updated last night too..I'll write about it maybe tomorrow...perhaps "Death of the Phone Thong!"

Anyway, some of you may know I used to own a yacht. A lot of people motorcycle for fun but I really loved my yacht. The yacht was a casualty of the divorce and opening a small business (I needed the cash and yachting is quite expensive). The picture of the yacht is above left. She is a 36 foot Hunter Marine Hunter 36 made in 1981..one of the Cherubinni designs. A great old boat with good speed and stability. Anyway I listed the yacht with a broker to sell and after a year of no offers but a monthly tongue lashing from the broker asking me to pour money into the boat to make it more saleable...I fired the broker. The day after he was fired and his listing expired, he brought me an offer. Too late, I had found a friend (Ron) that wanted the boat. I might note, that I owned the boat 5 years and sold it for $13,000 less than I paid for it, and I had spend at least $10,000 on it just fixing it up. Anyway, he got a great deal and I get to pretty much go out on it any time I want. My friend has put about $15,000 into the boat and it doesn't look like the boat above, but is now dark blue with green stripes, it has new sail covers, sail (Kevlar racing), furling, cleats, traveler and on and on.

So anyway, I get a call a while back and I hear that the wildlife is going nuts in Monterey Bay, California, where the boat is located. My buddy Gary tells me that they had run into a massive amount of seals feeding in the middle of the bay and in the middle of the seals, a Whale...the biggest he's ever seen surfaces. He swore it must have been a Blue Whale because the spout (exhale) lasted for about a minute and a half and it took at least 3-5 minutes for the dorsal fin to appear, and another 3-5 minutes to see the tail. Now they were about 60 feet from this. Then he tells me the week before, they had cruised over to Santa Cruz and saw a humpback breach about 300 feet away...not once, not twice, but at least eight times! Breach for those who don't know means jumping out of the water straight up.

Now I figured, I'm not going to miss another one of these wildlife journeys, so I invited myself to the boat the next Saturday. What a day, for October, it was stunning. Actually it was hot! We were all (four of us) in shorts and t-shirts and in the morning we were sweating. So we left Moss Landing Harbor at about 10:30 AM. It's hot and there is a little bit of wind blowing and the water is really smooth, about a 1 foot north swell and at that time no wind waves at all. Up goes the Spinnaker and off we go. The wind picked up around 11 and down came the spinnaker and out goes the jib. The wind picked up to about 15-20 knots and we were flying at 6.9 knots steady towards Santa Cruz. In short, a great day and we did see wildlife. Some dolphins followed us as we neared Santa Cruz and jumped out of the water behind the boat. As we neared the point out side of Santa Cruz, we saw the first spouts. A couple of whales came up, about 50 yards away, spouted then dove. They were heading towards the boat, but they didn't surface again until they were about 100-125 yards behind the boat. At about 3:00 we turned about to head back into the harbor and then we saw them, a pod of humpback whales. I had the helm at the time and I steered towards them. They were swimming and we kind of merged to within 45 feet of each other. There were at least 7 surfaced that we got on film...perhaps I can get the film and post later. We moved off and later saw a few more whales off in the distance, but all in all, a great day.

I got a call a week later from Capt Ron. The most amazing thing...they were out the week before and ran within about 30 feet from a pod of Orca, at least 8 and the most amazing thing...one gave birth right in front of them. There were 12 people on the boat that day and again, it's on film. I miss my boat.

Here is a pic of my dear departed first mate when I owned the boat:

She's looking down into the living quarters from the cockpit. Here she is being navigator for Capt Kent (that's me).

2006-11-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

'60 Minutes' Crew Remembers Ed Bradley

A Great Look at Ed Bradley.. A great journalist I have watched for years. He will be missed.

2006-11-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

The Dems took over Congress. Now if they only hold the promise to get rid of corruption, we will all be better. Put a lot of new items on the web site last week that I thought would have picked up a lot of business, but guess what? I think it's going to be a tough Christmas.

I went into Orchard Supply Hardware on October 30 and low and behold, the place was decked out in Christmas decorations all over. BEFORE HALLOWEEN! I've been a few places last week and almost all retailers have their spots ready for Christmas. But this last week has been a slow one on the web. Very few orders and not just for me, but my sources tell me that orders have slowed to a trickle everywhere, even E-bay.

I've almost got a brick and mortar going. I say almost because I got the keys last week, but still no lease to sign. Part my fault...okay, I was way behind in my financials, lackluster sales since last March had me trying to market the website and not keep up with the accounting stuff. Anyway, if things go as planned, I should be open before Christmas. The problem with not having a lease is I can't do any work in the shop. It needs paint, counters, carpet, cash register, inventory, offices built, signs constructed and hung plus a lot more. Without a lease, I'm hesitant to spend a dime on it. In the meantime, my storage area of leather goods is overflowing as well as my new apartment is getting filled with leather also.

I can't seem to get my Phone Thong Supplier to send me any thongs either. What's up? I sell about 700 phone thongs a year, and I'm having a tough time getting my stock replenished.

What's new on the leather front? A lot of us that sell good quality leather, i.e. heavy cow or buffalo skin are pretty ticked that people are selling pigskin and calling it cowhide or even Naked Cowhide Leather. We've purchased a pair of "naked leather chaps" from a competitor of mine that lives in Arkansas but uses the term Branson on his store and guess what? The Naked Leather Chaps are in reality, Pigskin that is sealed. How do you counter this kind of stuff? It makes web retailers look like a bunch of shysters and unfortunately, it tarnishes the industry for everyone. I've heard, but haven't seen yet, that one of my suppliers is going to take out a Google Ad exposing the problem and at the end of the ad, he will list reputable dealers that sell his products.

2006-10-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I updated...lots going on. Normally in September sales really begin to boost and stay pretty steady. It took longer than normal this year, but all of a sudden, lots of action, then slow to a crawl. Then a little more action...then slow to a crawl. I check with my sources and I'm not the only etailer this is happening to. Online sales are in the dumps across the board here in mid-October. What's going on?

The elections have a lot to do with it, I think. The price of gas dropped and I think that stirred some purchase interest, but like everyone else, I'm pretty sure the drop in price had more to do with politics and less to do with supply and demand. All the presures are still on the market, but all of a sudden gas drops in price? If you are like me (and a good many others) you'll be looking for gas prices to surge above $3/gallon not too long after November 8. What's wrong with this picture...is everyone so cynical about our government and its intentions?

In other news, we are in transition. The divorce is just about final, the house sold so I've moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment (it's a tough move from the nice, big 3 bed 2 bath home). I've got a location spotted for a shop and it looks like we will open a brick and motar place before Christmas. Unfortunately, it means another address change for our customers, but that's the way things go.

We just received a whole big shipment of new items a couple days ago...Ladies jackets in pink and black, distressed brown, dark brown, men's racers with stripes and stars, new vest and chap styles...all in the softest top grain cowhide you could ever want. These are all semi-naked leather. In other words, only a slight touch of sealant was used over the top. I'm working on getting some models lined up to wear these for the web store.

It's state sales tax reporting time again, so I better leave off to get it done. Don't forget to vote in the upcoming election and I'll give you my opinion...vote every incumbent out of office that you can! These people have screwed the country and our values up bad enough!

2006-08-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. Sales are dreadfully slow. Been Very slow since the begining of July. I think our country is just about to hit a recession. Does the housing market have something to do with it? I think so. Just like before the stock market crash in 2001, everyone had money on paper and they were eager to spend. Last couple of years, everyone had tons of equity in their houses and they were eager to spend. Now...with Gas a $3+ per gallon and houses in the dump, and energy and food costs soaring, everyone seems to be tight with their cash.

I talked to a supplier today, he said no one is buying, things are just real slow. Leather especially isn't selling. I think there are still a lot of motorcycle people out there, just no one is putting out the case for protective gear. It doesn't help that a lot of my competition is selling junk leather and calling it premium. Wrecks the integrity of web e-tailers overall. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see Warning Message. I also talked to a gentleman that wants to sell me leather, according to him he's been selling to shops for 10 years only the finest quality. He told me "I can't believe anyone would buy leather online. You can't feel it, touch it try it for quality." Not a great thing to say to an e-tailer, but he's probably right.

I'll give you some stats. Last year 10% of all items purchased were returned for refund. Approximately 25% of items purchased were returned then exchanged for size. That's 35% return rate. Who benefited from this. FedEX, UPS and the Post Office got their shipping revenue. I put about $3000/month into my already bloated inventory (My business model is dropshipping with no return). The supplier got his take up front. So, perhaps my man who wondered why anyone would buy without trying on, touching and feeling, has it right.

Got to run

2006-08-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

I had a blogger blog before...about one year ago, but I forgot to write down the name, address, username and on and on and on. Doesn't it just kind of piss you off? The web is huge, but each site requires a new user name, password, etc and some sites force you to change them every 3 months or so. I guess that's life.

So anyway, this is the first post. Why? I was looking at someones blog and wanted to post a comment and they said I had to be a member first. So here I am. Who am I? I own Discount Leather Mart, http://www.discount-leather.net . It's what I do for a living, sell leather and textile stuff for motorcycle people over the web, out of my house at motorcycle shows, etc. I got nice plans that don't include motorcycle stuff, but it's too soon to talk about that now.

I think I'll keep this updated and we'll see what happens.

Anyway, here is the blog that I was going to post to. The bikes are nice, but check out the FOOD!!! Okay, I'm hungry but that stuff looks great with just the right amount of shimmering grease or butter on top to put you over the edge.

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