Setting up your page on the wallpapernet...

Welcome all wallpaper manufacturers, converters, importers, distributors, and retailers.

By now most of you know the basics of what the Internet is. This is the "Information Superhighway", and the multi media lane known as the World Wide Web has the potential of being the best thing since the invention of the sample book for marketing a product such as wallpaper!

We're all in this together!

We're in the business of designing, producing, importing, exporting, warehousing, distributing, and retailing a fashion product which is very much a visual product. It's not only visual, but color-specific. It's a product with many different faces, from simple to bold, traditional to contemporary, serious to novelty, etc. It's a product that is, for many flaky shoppers, very hard to shop for...and this is a very real problem. It's a product that is sold, for the most part, is shops that are only open the same hours that an increasing number of our typical shopper are busy working. Finally, it's a product which people don't buy daily or every other Thursday... they only buy it when they're ready to buy it, and it doesn't pay to advertise to them when they're not ready. It is a product which should be promoted for its high fashion, prestige, and perceived value, like cosmetics and luxury cars, not for percent off retail, like--wallpaper! (I'm trying to come up with a simile, but what other product can you think of that relies so nearly exclusively on percent off advertising?)

What medium can show our visual product (not radio) in color (not newspaper) in all its diversity (not a yellow pages listing) whenever the consumer is finally ready to look at it (not fleeting 30 second TV spots)and makes it easy for even the indecisive shopper to browse through and convenient for even the busy, working customer, at a cost even this industry, with its limited resources can afford to do in a meaningful, cooperative, coordinated, productive way (not the "Express Yourself" fiasco) showing the great potential of creative decorating without hype and discount?

Well,one answer is... the sample book! If only we could put the right sample book into the hands of the right consumer at the right time at the right price, we'd make the sale every time. Well, go ahead! Send sample books to all the consumers in the world! The sample makers and UPS will love you! But make sure they arrive at the right moment!

There is a better answer. The World Wide Web is here today! Over 40 million people worldwide have access to this medium already. As the electronics industry rushes to market with set-top converters for televisions, complete with touch-pads on the remote controllers, the number of users will really mushroom in the next 3 to 5 years.

This is a phenomenon which the wallpaper industry must not ignore. Technology is happening and happening fast. The World Wide Web is the, visual, color, solution, that's available to look at 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in an interactive way, showing interested consumers only what they want to see, whenever they want to see it, and as much of it as we want to show.

But the danger is that, unless it's done right, like the 800 # pirates of the 80's and the mega home centers of the 90's, the World Wide Web can, through weak, uncoordinated, competing efforts, and through ever more discount hype, further desimate the traditional distribution system as we used to know it, and as we know the survivors today.

Make no mistake...Each failure of an independant retailer or independent distributor hurts the whole industry. An 800 # Pirate may seem like a great customer. But what are you distributors going to do when there's no longer a network of retail showrooms to let the consumer see, feel, touch, scratch at, and try to tear the product? Similarly, the Ultra-Mega-Home-Center-Deco-Outlet may seem like a great customer. But how high will your firm be able to jump when they tell you to jump higher? Beware the Sears Syndrome.

The only answer, and I have pondered the question and awaited this medium for over 15 years, is a coordinated network of professionally prepared, full color, interactive presentations, linking the cunsumer to a local retail showroom to see, feel, touch, and smell the real sample, receive human guidance with quantities, and purchase the paper, accessories, and sundries.

Hence, I have created wallpapernet.com, which does all these things!

It wasn't easy, (or cheap), but I have (I hope) included everyone in the industryl, including all wallpaper manufacturers, converters, importers, distributors, and retailers. I have created the infrastructure. The next step is to convey the wisdom of developing your presence here, according to the complexity of your firm's message.

Small retailers may only need a basic listing. More aggressive retailers may want to embellish their listing with bells and whistles, which are available at nominal cost, or even have a linked web site of their own.

Small importers or handprinters, etc. may do just fine with a single page demonstrating the spirit of what they do, and linking the browser to the "Where to Buy It!" listing of retailers.

National distributors with scores of lines will want a web site of their own, featuring an introduction to each brand, a book list, lots of roomset photography, decorating ideas, special offers, contests, and, of course, links on each page to the "Where to Buy It!" listing of retailers. And while they're at it, they'll want to take a look at some of the other features of the Information Superhighway as well. A fortune can be saved in communications costs in the next decade by gearing up now for Email stock checks, price checks, order entry, status checks, invoicing, statements, payments, virtual sales meetings, and more!

Middle sized firms will also want a site that meet's the "Goldilocks Criterion"(it should fit juuuusssst right!)

We have cost effective solutions for every need:

We can put a single page on our server, including your logo, a roomset photograph, up to 300 words of text (We suggest a general description of your line and a listing of your collections), and a "Where to Buy It!" link for the introductory rate of only $100 one-time set up and $35.00/mo. That's Economy!

Additional pages will only cost $50 one-time set up each, and $5.00/mo. In other words, a site with a home page and links to six additional pages each with a "Where to Buy It!" link, will only cost $400.00 to set up and $80.00/mo. to maintain!

Simple changes will only cost a few dollars, so they can be made frequently, keeping your site up to date and fresh.

The retailers' listings will remain free of charge through the first of the year, and then the rates for the basic listing will remain nominal. It's important that the local showrooms be available on the network. Larger or more aggressive retailers will be able to embellish their listing, as they do in the yellow pages, with bold type, logos, pictures, location maps, flashing text, monthly or weekly specials, etc. and/or set up a link to a full blown web site of their own. See