Having problems viewing the site ? click here for help (or scroll down)

Searching the Catalog

 When searching the catalog, you can search using one or a combination of three search options: (1) product, (2) price, and (3) specific word.

Basic search
To search for a product simply select an item from the drop-down list and click "Go Search". The product list includes over 500 entries. Our basic search engine has been optimized for users who wish to browse our site: search results will include many items similar to the item that you selected, not just the exact match. For example, if you select "duffel bag" from the drop-down list, the search result will also include other, similar types of bags. You can further qualify your search using the text or price options in conjunction with the basic product search.

Using three criteria:
For instance, if you wanted to find a key tag shaped like a heart that costs less than $.60, you would select the product "key tag", enter your maximum price limit, and type "heart" in the description field. Hint: to quickly browse the product drop-down list, simply type the first letter of the word for which you are looking and you will move immediately to that part of the alphabetical list.

Using two criteria:
If you are interested in finding any heart shaped item at the same price point, simply skip the product selection step and enter the text "heart" and the price limit. Hint: since items are listed in price order, lowest first, you might want to add minimum price, for example $.50, so that your results are limited to comparable choices.

Using one criteria:
Finally, if you want to find all the key holders, no matter what their price or their appearance, or the "heart" products, no matter what their price, or all the products priced between $.50 and $.60, no matter what their appearance, simply enter the one search criteria.

When the search results are displayed, you can click on a product thumbnail image to see a larger high-resolution image and also view extensive product information, including packaging, pricing, available colors, imprint information, etc. Checking the box to the left of the product will add that product to your Que. To add the selected products to your shopping cart click on the "add to inquiry" button at the bottom of the page. On the "add to inquiry" page, you can specify the exact quantity that you are interested in purchasing for the products you have selected previously. If you choose "continue shopping", you will return to the search page: "return" will take you to the previous page that has the search results, and "checkout" which will proceed with the inquiry on the products you have chosen.

Once you have added some products to your shopping cart and have proceeded to "check out", don't forget to add the quantities desired for each product!

Once you've finished up your cart and "checked out", your inquiry will be sent to your distributor which he will process and contact you back by phone or via e-mail.

Browsing featured products

 Browsing the featured products list is a quick way to find a hot product on our mall. All you need to do is browse the list and choose which products you would like to add to your inquiry, or expand the product images and view extended information about the products. Then "check out" !

Entering our drawing

 To enter our drawing, you must select either 1 or all of the products you would like to win and then fill in the appropriate information for each one. You will be contacted via E-mail if you are the lucky winner! The drawings are held monthly.

Solutions to Common Problems

 Our Site is compatible with the following browsers:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0+
Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.0+
America Online 3.0
America Online 4.0
However, some browser settings can effect the performance of our site. In order to be sure you have full compatibility with Our Site, we ask that you have the following:

1. Please use the latest version of your browser.
If you are using Windows 95/NT4 and would like to download the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer click here

If you are using Windows 95/98/NT and would like to download the latest version of Netscape Navigator (Communicator) click here

If you are using AOL 3.0 and running Microsoft Windows 95/98, it is highly recommended that you download the AOL 4.0 update.
2. If you are using Internet Explorer please verify that you have the following settings:
For IE 3.02 users:
On the toolbar View/Options/Security, at the bottom under "Active Content" you should have all 4 boxes checked. "Safety Level" is recommended to be "Medium".

On the toolbar under View/Options/Advanced, under "Temporary Internet Files" / "Settings", you should have "Check for newer versions of stored pages": "Every visit to the page" selected.

On the toolbar under View/Options/Advanced, at the very bottom, you should have everything selected except "Enable Java Logging".

For IE 4.0+ users:
On the toolbar under View/Internet Options/General, under "Temporary Internet Files" / "Settings", you should have "Check for newer versions of stored pages": "Every visit to the page" selected.

On the toolbar under View/Internet Options/Advanced, under "Cookies", you should have "Always Accept Cookies" checked. On the same screen under "Java VM" you should have "Java JIT Compiler" checked.
3. If you are using Netscape Navigator/Communicator 4.0+ please verify that you have the following settings:
On the toolbar under Edit/Preferences/Advanced, most importantly you should have "Enable Java", "Enable Javascript", "Enable style sheets", and "Accept all cookies" checked.

4. If you are using AOL please verify that you have the following settings:
AOL 3.0 Users:
On the toolbar under Members/Preferences/WWW, make sure you have "Uncompressed Graphics" checked. Some AOL 3.0 users may find this setting under Members/Preferences/WWW/Web Graphics Tab and the "Use compressed graphics" setting should be unchecked.

AOL 4.0 Users:
On the toolbar under My AOL/Preferences/WWW/Web Graphics Tab, make sure you have "Use compressed graphics" unchecked.
5. I'm having trouble getting to the web site. Things seem slow. What's the deal ?
The Internet is a very complicated communications network. Getting from one place to another via the click of a mouse button may seem very simple, but behind the scenes and beneath all of the software you are running, there are some complicated and important things going on. Verifying whether or not you have a good connection or "route" to the web site you are trying to reach can be helpful in determining why things may seem slow at times. Here are some handy windows tips for troubleshooting your internet connection:

  1. The PING command:
    Access your MS-DOS Prompt box via the start menu or desktop and type "PING www.insertwebsitehere.com" and hit enter. The results you get back will tell you the time (Ex: time=324ms) in milliseconds it is taking you to reach that web site. The lower the better. Generally most decent modem connections will have anywhere from 200ms to 350ms replies. Any "Request timed out" results mean there is a problem between you and the web site, and you are not able to reach it. If you run into high ping times and/or "Request timed out", its time to move onto another troubleshooting tool. See the TRACERT command below.

  2. The TRACERT (trace route) command:
    Access your MS-DOS Prompt box via the start menu or desktop and type "TRACERT www.insertwebsitehere.com" and hit enter. The results you will get back will list all the communication routers between you and the web site you are trying to reach. Routers that return high ping times or "Request timed out" are having problems or are very busy with traffic. This can slow your connection down and cause some of the web sites you are trying to reach to seem slow. The web sites themselves could be running fine and their communications network could also be running fine. The problem could lie somewhere in between. Using TRACERT will help determine this to some extent. It is also helpful because it shows the physical path it takes for you to reach the web site.

Using these tools can help determine why you aren't up to your normal speed and who or what is at fault. Routing problems are generally temporary and come and go throughout the day no matter how fast your connection to the Internet is. Routing is also different for everyone depending on what ISP (Internet Service Provider) they happen to be using. A slow route to a web site for you may be just fine for someone on another provider and vice versa.