Futon Blog

First I’d like to say happy new year to all my readers. I’d also like to give everyone a heads up on some new products I hope to add to Goodnight Moon Futon soon. The Zzz Chest (pictured above) is probably the most innovative design I’ve seen in years. I’m calling it the “Chameleon of Futons” because it will look great in any room. Now you can hide your extra guest bed in plain sight.

Also in the works is a line of memory foam futon mattresses we are looking into. Made in Massachusetts and shipped anywhere in the US, we are very excited for their addition.

Last, we just started working with an organic futon mattress manufacturer. The only downside to a 100% organic futon is a prescription is required due to US fire codes.

So check back soon, we’ll be adding new products in ‘08

I’d like to wish all of our customers a happy holiday and thank you all for making this a great year. We’ll be back on Wednesday the 26th, so if you have any questions or need any futon help, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

I figure most merchants must be in a similar situation to the one that I am in when it comes to credit card processing fees. And Google Checkout may be a solution for all the merchants out there that are paying an arm and a leg in credit card processing fees while paying Adwords at the same time.

Till January 31st Google is offering free processing on all credit cards and after that you get 10 times what you’re spending in Adwards in total processing. So if you spend $3000 a month on Adwords you can process $30000 with no processing fee. Sounds great to me, I’m signing up.

I just read an interesting article about the most productive times of day for blogging, something I had never really thought about until now. So, I asked myself when do I usually post in the futon blog and after really thinking about it, I was surprised it was an irregular occurrence. Today’s the day that I will start to be more regular about my posting schedule, so here goes.

1. A lot of bloggers say it’s good to post before work, but I’m not sure if that’ll work for me. If I have orders to take care of I know I’m going to post shoddy material. So I won’t post while I’m distracted by my business, but I will make a point to post every morning once things are squared away.

2. After lunch seems like another opportunity to get in another post, I’ll be well fed and I should be able to focus on my work.

3. I’m going to make a point of posting again in the afternoon, after Noelle and I get to spend some time together. I found, in retrospect, that all of my posts were done in the AM and the blog was left hanging until the next day in most cases. Tonight will be different.

Hopefully I’ll be able to stick with that plan and squeeze in a few more posts during the day if I have time.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, well, one of them anyhow. Every holiday season manufacturers will usually send holiday goodies to their retailers, thanking them for another successful year and such. At my former job, any holiday treats would go to the store, where the owners would get their choice, then the sales staff would descend, clearing out the rest. Two or three days latter, the warehouse guys would see the remnants in the back room and be allowed to take their stale sugar cookie or maybe a sour quince log. No canned truffles or tasty pastries for them. When I first got into the futon business I started at the bottom of the ladder (in the warehouse) and as such I never really had the chance to taste the rewards of running a successful business until today, when one of my manufacturers sent me a box of baklava for the holidays. A Christmas miracle.

BTW, I’m giving most of them to the senior center where my grandmother lives rather than hoarding them for myself.

Hopefully everyone has thought ahead this holiday season and taken care of any bedding needs they may have had. I know a lot of my customers have planned ahead and purchased their holiday bedding well in advance.

If you’re in a bind, and need a mattress or platform bed or futon frame before Christmas, contact me now and we can discuss the options that I have for you.

This morning I woke to another nine inches of snow, the second storm this week. While I can’t speak for everyone I really like the snow and hope for more soon. Sorry, I forgot, keep your futons warm this winter.

Every Internet Retailer is offering free shipping, they have been for a while, but lets be honest, it’s not really free is it? Sorry about the sarcasm, but I have a hard time seeing sites tell you that the shipping is free but when you look at their return policy they tell you that shipping is non-refundable. I think that one’s hilarious.

Oh yeah, on a whim I called my UPS rep to try and get free shipping since all the other futon retailers were offering it, but, he told me I was crazy.

Ok, I don’t know if it was that bad, I grew up in northern Vermont so I don’t tend to think the snow is that bad but we did get a good covering of snow last night. Over a foot to be precise. What does this have to do with futons? Not much except, I was warm and toasty in my futon bed last night.

Eco-friendly and green are just a couple of the buzz words in the fight against global warming. If you’ve ever wondered how green your website is, CO2Stats has a neat tool you can place on your site. I hope they take the fact that I only use 100% recycled paper into account.