Not long before press time, I got a chance to see Jeff Radke's column, "Inside the Sweetwater Difference." Well, it seems as though Jeff had the same idea, and since he did such a nice job of it, I'll simply tell you that you can read Jeff's column on Page 10.

So what to talk about? Simple: It's the one thing that has been occupying a lot of the staff's time lately, and that's our Online Store. From the e-mail, calls and letters we've gotten, it looks like everyone loves this new service. It means a lot to us to know we've done something to make things easier for you and maybe even a bit more fun. We have an entire crew that comes in fresh each morning to process all the orders we receive overnight, get them packaged up and sent out to you as fast as possible.

As of this writing, there are about 3,000 items available from our Online Store and that number is growing each and every day as we add new products from our inventory to the Secure Server, making 24-hour shopping a reality. It's important to note here that although we want to make purchasing quick and simple, we still believe you need to discuss your purchases ahead of time with our friendly, knowledgeable Sales Engineer to make sure that the gear you want is actually the gear you need! Believe me, these folks can save you a lot of time and needless frustration and it's why they're here.

Since I'm on the subject, I should mention here is that when you log on to the Sweetwater Store, you'll see a couple of small logos in the gray box over on the left. Here's what they mean and why they are important.

VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of Internet trust services including authentication, validation and payment needed by Web sites and other e-commerce service providers to conduct secure electronic commerce and communications over IP networks. As of this writing, VeriSign has issued over 180,000 Web site digital certificates and over 3.9 million digital certificates for individuals. The company's Web site digital certificate services are used by all of the Fortune 500 companies with a Web presence.

While many of the wild rumors you hear about people being able to intercept all of your credit card information when you perform transactions over the Internet are sort of like the bizzarre Y2K rumors you heard a while back (like the total breakdown of our monetary system), the truth is that there does exist the possibility that someone may actually relish such a challenge. Of course, it's even easier for that sales person at the department store where you just bought a blender to write down your number and use it, but most of us don't worry about that, do we? Still, just because it's a slim chance doesn't mean we can ignore it. Which is why we signed on with the planet's largest provider of secure Internet transactions. This way, we both have the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing that any purchases you make from Sweetwater online are completely protected, and nobody's business except yours and ours.

To the right of our VeriSign logo is the BBBOnLine Reliability Program Seal (the "BBB" stands for Better Business Bureau). BBBOnLine's mission is to help web users find reliable, trustworthy businesses online, and to help reliable businesses identify themselves as such, all via voluntary self-regulatory programs that help avoid government regulation of the Internet.

The seal allows Web shoppers to check BBB information on a company and be assured the company is reliable. To date, the BBBOnLine Reliability Seal has been awarded to over 4,500 Web Sites, helping to safeguard consumers like you from Web sites that might be, shall we say, more naughty than nice.

All businesses with Web sites displaying the BBBOnLine Reliability seal have qualified for membership in the Better Business Bureau, agreed to comply with the BBB's arbitration process and had their Web site reviewed to ensure accuracy of advertising claims. In addition, before granting a seal, a BBBOnLine representative visits the workplace of each company to verify the business's location and its ability to deliver what it promises. These people are serious about protecting consumers, which is why we are happy to participate in this very important program.

As the Internet grows and it will, beyond anything we could have imagined even a few years ago it's good to know that you can trust a company that protects your transactions with services such as VeriSign, and complies with the business practices as outlined by the Better Business Bureau. If you are considering making a purchase from a company that hasn't taken the time to get signed up or made the effort to show its compliance with the high standards set by BBBOnline, well, maybe you might want to think twice about it.

Some companies may think all this is too complicated, and certainly too expensive, so why bother? Our philosophy is that every single thing that we can do to make our customers feel good and secure about their purchases is well worth the effort and expense.

That's all the space I have. See you next issue.