This week I’m giving a sneak peak* of my new Opensky store. The Open Sky Project is a community of bloggers who share their favorite products with readers. Opensky sources, ships, and accepts payments for all the good that are sold through the community, and then shares the profits with the bloggers. In the sport of triathlon there is an endless supply of products that claim to make you faster, so on my Opensky store, I’m promoting the ones that I have tried and had success with.
What else sets Opensky apart from other online retailers?
Buying from experts (bloggers, “shopkeepersâ€, real people) means you can ask questions. I’m always willing to respond to questions about a product (whether or not you buy it from my shop), and share some tips about how to use it. Want to know the best frozen fruit combinations to put in the Vita-Mix? Want to know what my favorite jump rope drills are, or how I use my balance trainer? Or maybe you have a problem getting your Garmin Edge 705 to upload to Garmin Connect. I can help! Just use the contact form on this site, or contact me through the Opensky shop.
Opensky offers periodic promotional deals (which I will tweet or mention in a blogs in the least annoying way possible), but one that really caught my eye was a few weeks ago when Opensky was donating 100% of their profits to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. With altruism like that, The Open Sky Project is definitely a community I’m willing to support. I’m planning to put a link to the shop on this site, but will otherwise keep links and other distractions to a minimum so I can focus on the fun stuff – like writing about how much my legs hurt from trying to race mopeds on the highway. I don’t want to be a salesman, or try to convince people to buy from me. This shop is no-bullshit. Just products I use, and stories (often humorous, sometimes insightful) about how and why I like them. Like I said, the main purpose of this shop is to help you find the products that actually make a difference.
*Remember it’s just a sneak peak. Right now I have a few products that were already available in the Opensky directory (that’s why they seem a little random). I’ve requested a bunch of new products to be added, and when they are the shop will be a far more valuable tool for athletes looking for quality products.