Summers (almost) Over

Summer is now winding down although it’s still awfully hot in a lot of places. It’s been so hot that we are now really looking forward to Fall (my favorite season) and the cooler weather.

With cooler weather approaching I would like to re-introduce you to the Lava Heat-Italia which we first started carrying last year when they were brand new to the public. They have been referred to as “verticle fire pits”.  If you are not familiar we these very unique outdoor heaters, we have included a picture.  As you can see there is a large visible flame that not only creates heat but also creates a fantastic mood or ambience to the setting be it a restaurant, or your own back patio or porch.  We use ours on our unheated, enclosed back porch where we like to watch TV and such. Prior to having a Lava Heater, we really could not use the back porch once it got cold. Last winter was a lot different. As an example, I like to get up around 5:30 in the morning. The temperature on the back porch that early in the morning would be around 30 degrees too cold to use if the porch could not be heated up.  I’d pick up the remote control to the Lava Heater and to the TV and from inside my house I’d fire it up Lava Heater and also turn on the TV, then I would go and brew some coffee in the kitchen. By the time the coffee was ready, the back porch would be heated up enough, to go out in while still wearing my pajamas, watch TV for an hour or so and enjoy several cups of coffee. If it got too hot in the enclosed porch I can use the remote control to adjust the flame height from high to medium to low as needed. It’s a great item and is a conversation piece to all who own them.

Since Lava Heat-Italia introduced the Lava Heater, and since it was a new item, it was only a matter of time until some cheaper versions started showing up as “knock offs.”  Some of the knock offs have the same look and feel as the original Lava Heater but are not up to the quality of the original. As an example the Lava Heat Italia uses heavy gage steel whereas the cheaper knock offs use much lighter steel.  The flame in the Lava Heater is contained in a specially designed glass tube made from Borosilicate Glass that can produce an astounding 61,000 BTU (Hot Stuff!). This unique type of glass is incredibly strong and is shatter resistant even when water is squired onto the hot glass. Not so got the knockoffs. Lava Heat-Italia heaters have a 10 year warranty whereas the knockoffs have just a 1 year warranty.

We loss some sales last year from customers who were price shopping and purchased the “Knock Off” brands from our competitors. So in the true competitive market that we are in, this season we are also offering the cheaper versions of the Lava Heater in order to accommodate the full range of price points for our customers. We know that 10% of shoppers only want the best in quality and service and are willing to pay for it and another 10% of customers only want the cheapest cost and do not care about the quality or service behind the product. That leaves 80% of customers that are shoppers that can go either way in their choice. Generally, in the traditional sales environment such as a store, the customer is met by a sales person who guides the customer to the correct product and models for them especially if they are unfamiliar with the features and benefits of all the different models. In the Internet sales environment, the customer is basically on their own, learning only what they can find by doing Internet search. We understand this, so here at PatioandYards.com we make an extra effort to help with the buying decision. We are as close as your phone and are ready to help you stay warm this season. Give us a call at 877-246-3871 and if you buy one of our heaters online this month, use coupon code LAVA9 to receive a 10% discount for this month only.

Sinbad our 37 foot all wood 1968 Egg Harbor boat is still waiting for additional funds from sales made at Patioandyards.com. In August, profits from this new website were just $201.33. Now remember that is profits not gross sales. It looks like we may have to promote this site a lot more. Stay tuned!