Taking the Commercial Plunge

As I am coming close to 1,000 posts on this blog -- that is one thousand posts since December 17, 2004 -- it may seem odd that I am just now taking the plunge into Internet commerce in anything but the most peripheral fashion.

From the beginning, I have participated in the affiliate programs of Amazon.com and, eventually, also TLA Video. Emulating models in the blogosphere, however, I have now added to the various hats I wear: one marked, "CafePress Shop Owner."

Yes, I have opened up a shop on CafePress, hoping to tap into the bottomless wealth of the Internet. The shop is designed to meet the gift-buying preferences of readers of Rick Sincere News & Thoughts. That is, at least, what I hope.

The main page of the shop can be found here. The designs are mostly based on photographs I have taken over the years -- here in Charlottesville, in Milwaukee, in Britain and Europe, and around the United States. (Sharp eyes might catch one or two photos that would have been impossible for me to have shot.)

There is also a section devoted to Christmas products (called "Christmas Cheer"). Another section, called "Politics & Travel," will eventually be populated with products for the libertarian-minded shopper; for now, it has magnets and notecards decorated with various views of the Washington Monument and other notable buildings.

A third section, "Saints & Sinners," fulfills a more impish function. Check it out and see what I mean. It, too, will soon have more, and more distinctive, products.

More items and sections are sure to be added, and reminders will be posted here and around the web.