Cactus Flower

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mlou

mlou

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Nov 27, 2003
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Now I have to ask. Would this guy's business be considered an OG??? To me he is a dedicated hard working florist who saw that the internet was going to be a great source of income. I applaud him for working hard, making money and succeeding in a business so difficult. He must have done something right.....
 
lori042499 said:
Now I have to ask. Would this guy's business be considered an OG??? To me he is a dedicated hard working florist who saw that the internet was going to be a great source of income. I applaud him for working hard, making money and succeeding in a business so difficult. He must have done something right.....
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Not in my book...we all gather orders if you accept even one out going order from someone not in your zip code...

Cactus is a good shop...they do great work.
 
as long as he doesn't show on the internet as "being in my town" but the minute he decides that there is more business by pretending to be local then he becomes as bad as Meola.
I love that he maintains a "regular flower shop" and an "upscale boutique" in two very different ways.
 
Rhonda at work said:
as long as he doesn't show on the internet as "being in my town" but the minute he decides that there is more business by pretending to be local then he becomes as bad as Meola.
I love that he maintains a "regular flower shop" and an "upscale boutique" in two very different ways.
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He seems to have a grasp on all aspects of the business. I think we should all learn from this. This is how business grows. You go in the direction that it takes you. If we do not go after the internet business, someone else will. I'm glad that he is a regular florist doing it, but chances are if the rest of us don't there will just be more business out there for the scummy ones.
 
lori042499 said:
If we do not go after the internet business, someone else will. I'm glad that he is a regular florist doing it, but chances are if the rest of us don't there will just be more business out there for the scummy ones.
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All true...the more business local Real Florists take back, the less there is for the shady operators out there. Eventually we WILL regain that which we have lost.

And trust me on this one, the wheels are turning faster and faster every day, getting closer and closer to the solution.
 
We have been through this all b4. . . . . .

Lori
Now I have to ask. Would this guy's business be considered an OG???
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mark smith said:
Not in my book...we all gather orders if you accept even one out going order from someone not in your zip code...
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We are usually on the same page Mark, but. . . .
He IS an order gatherer if he does this:

Online we're constantly advertising all over the country to grow our online brand.
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You may be an OG if you accept ONE order from someone not in your zip code. . . BUT I don't think so. . . .

So the perception is slowly changing for some of us (ME). It's okay to advertise all over to get orders as long as you don't pretend to be something you're not.

I think Dazeal came up with the dOG concept (WHERE IS DAZ, BTW).
If you deceive the consumer into thinking you are local you are a DECEPTIVE OG.

Maybe the answer is for those who have the wherewithal and technical knowhow to jump in bigtime and strike back, ethically, as Eric Luoma seems to be doing. He seems to be in the "Brilliant" club.



As one who is in the forefront says:

Opinions vary.
 
BamaE4U said:
So the perception is slowly changing for some of us (ME). It's okay to advertise all over to get orders as long as you don't pretend to be something you're not.
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Does that mean, that if they list their physical address and phone, they are OK? And then it's up to the consumer...

I'm not saying dOGing is OK... never have...never will.

But, if all the orders were in the hands of ONLY Real Florists we'd all be in a better position.

I ran several searches for my city today, never found Cactus...maybe they have just not found me yet...
 
As my buddy Rob S. used to say "All that glitters is not gold."

When we read these fluffy glittery PR articles it's easy to feel envious. How could we ever compete with someone that has it soooo together, then we must step back realizing these articles are designed to impress.

So don't be quick to base a business model off these fluffy glittery PR articles as all that glitters is not gold.

RC
 
Interesting you say that. . . .

RC in Dayton and Cincinnati said:
As my buddy Rob S. used to say "All that glitters is not gold."RC
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Did a search for Eric Luoma and find that he was one of the original Gerald Stevens guys.
Took a look at his websites which produce 25% of his sales.
All WS cookie cutters. Nothing special. No great Keywords. Just multiple sites. Hmmm.
 
BamaE4U said:
I think Dazeal came up with the dOG concept (WHERE IS DAZ, BTW).
If you deceive the consumer into thinking you are local you are a DECEPTIVE OG.
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I hear he's in hiding because his direct ship business from Columbia got out of control...***snif *** ***snif*** ***wink*** if you know what I mean!
 
OMG, I had time to sneak out of my hunt in Columbia where they have been keeping me. Send help as fast as you can. *eye twitch* I must get out of this direct from the farm business! If I only knew they were smuggling cocaine in the roses.. oh sh*t, here they come, i have to go... send help.... the dOGs are worse than we ever thought!


Me -----> :kuddle: <--- Dianne
 
Wow, even when they . . . .

do not participate they are still lurking out their.

Fred D. and Daz both in the same day.
 
BamaE4U said:
Wow, even when they . . . .do not participate they are still lurking out their.

Fred D. and Daz both in the same day.
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Welcome back you'll...please don't just lurk. We need your valuable input...

.
 
What she said!, Brandon. :>

Over the years, I've met Eric Luoma on several occasions. His mom, Sharon, was in the FTD District leadership for many years.

The last time I attended the Arizona State Floral Assn. Convention, Cactus Flower was the only large Arizona florist to send staff members - something like 10 or 15 of them and Eric attended, too.

Eric was interviewed for a Mother's Day segment on a local Phoenix TV station called "Flower Scam Secrets" . He's the guy saying 'Local, local, local!' which is an interesting position when juxtaposed with flowershop.com.

Regarding the OG websites, some used to belong to the infamous skimmer Tracy Wells whose operation (flagship domain lovinblooms.com) was kicked out of FTD. I *think* Tracy was steered to sell them before TF was going to kick him out, too.

Cactus Flower has invested some time & dollars in promoting those sites. A couple articles that may be of interest:
Analyze backlinks for flowershop.com
Response Mine SEM Press Release

Eric's LinkedIN Profile
 
Dazeal said:
Me -----> :kuddle: <--- Dianne
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Umm, excuse me...did you just "kuddle" with Diane!??!?! Oh, I am sooo not bailing you out of Columbia and the soap I send you WON'T be on a rope this time either ;)

(Lol...okay, I'm really just jealous 'cause Di came up with the witty Columbia thing. I was going to say that you were out sunning in your tube top and tighty whities...hers was so much better!!)
 
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