Holy canoli!   Lot's of ideas cracklin' here!  Wooo-wee!
 
First, thank you Nasser, Denise, Ernestine, Pattiann, Sue, Gina, Tammy, et al for your compliments on the mock-up ... I feel bad accepting your kind words and praise because it really wasn't a lot of work.  It's a fairly standard template that I use for doing client mock-ups and site-updates ...  so plunking info that's already available to me is a breeze.  It's when I have to write, research, provide and format the content that it gets time consuming for me -- and expensive for the client, lol    So again, I thank you, but I think what all of you do is much harder and far more creative!  
 
I agree that convenince for the shopper has to be a top priority.  We have the greatest and most unique content in the world, but if it's confusing or too time-consuming to click the buttons and make the purchase, the sale could be easily lost.  I'm fairly facile with the GCU shopping interface, but I have to admit there have been a few times when I've either bought a card at the drugstore, or if I was heartbent on using one of my own cards printed it myself because I just didn't have time to work through the process.  Nasser's point is very valid ... people will still pick up cards where and when it's convenient for them, but when they want that special card that they CAN'T find at the local cardstore, they will go on-line and search for it there.  Our own successful "Be my Bridesmaid" line is a testament to that.  
 
I, too, love Corrie's tag line "The card you want, when you want it" ... but one concern is that it's a fairly common on many websites ... i.e. The [BLANK] you want/need, when you want/need it.  I think it would be successful, but I'm not sure if it really reflects the uniqueness that sets GCU apart from both it's online competitors and the local, convenient cardstore.  I guess I was thinking more along the lines of ... "Not your everyday greeting cards" or "Specialty greeting cards for the special people/occasions in your life."  Those are just my thoughts -- NOT suggestions.  The other important factor to consider in the tag line is making sure that the most important (popularly searched for) keywords are in there for the search engines.  
 
As for P-cards ... I very much like the idea of using e-cards or p-cards for marketing purposes.  When this topic was raised a few months ago, I was skeptical that people would actually pay for e-cards, given that there are so many free ones out there.  But I did a little research, and apparently, there is a buying market for paid e-cards.  So, I think it would be both interesting and innovative to beta-test offering GCU P-cards, provided that some of the issues that Kathy raised could be managed to everyone's satisfaction.  Kathy's point about the forwarding is a very valid concern.  Even though some of us offer free e-cards, we select which ones ... and last time I checked they did not include the inside verse, only the cover art text ... so again, I too would be concerned about my verses proliferating across cyberspace.
 
Nasser, perhaps you could remark on this when you get a chance ... a few weeks ago I was shopping for a gift at the Barnes & Nobel site and saw they now have a reminder service.  I thought, WOW, wouldn't that be something for BigDates to get in on at places like B&N, Amazon, Buy.com ... then I saw that it was indeed powered by BigDates.  Yipee and woo-hoo!   I knew the first time I check out the BigDates website before signing up with GCU that there was brilliant business mind behind this idea!   I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed to see the stock animation flash cards on the B&N site instead of some of the beautiful e-cards created by GCU artists ... but I also understand that there could be distributor contracts and legalities that might preclude promoting our paper cards through the B&N site.  Still, it got me thinking that as a shopper ... how much would I love it if I could have bought and sent a real paper greeting card at the same time and on the same checkout when I purchased that book (which was a gift) ....
 
I can tell ya, I would have LOVED IT a whole lot!  Gift bought ... gift wrapped ... gift sent ... card bought ... card signed and sent ... all at one time, several tasks off my To-do list!    
 
I don't know if that's a area that GCU can venture into in the near future, but it seems like a beautiful match for both companies as well as for shoppers.  And with that kind of exposure, it would surely drive tons of traffic to both GCU and BigDates.  Anyway, it's just something I thought about since that B&N purchase and wondered if there are any plans to cross link with a major traffic site like that.
 
@ Ernestine ... sorry, I haven't had a chance to email you this week (been going nuts with work), but I can certainly put a link to your graphic mock-up on the page I put up.  Yes, mine is very static and needs the touch of a real artist and web graphic designer to punch it up and make it more grabbing.  So, please send me the link anytime you have it ready and I'll be glad to set it up however you want me to.  
 
@ Denise ... again, things went nuts here the last two weeks but will get in touch with you over the weekend.  :  )
 
Thanks again to all posters for sharing so many terrific ideas and great discussion!
 
A good weekend and good sales to all!
 
Teri

Nasar, Just got home and read about you pcards idea.  Very interesting.  Let me mull it over for the weekend, and thank you once again for being so on the ball with the best interest of GCU and GCU artists always in the forefront.
Sue

Hi Nicole and all,
You are correct that someone can buy my card and scan it and have a pretty good version of it, but that took some work on their part.  Having the card out there in an e-mail at 300 dpi is no work at all.  It's like saying come on in and rob me because I don't care.  Whose house do you think is more likely to be robbed --the one with the door open or one that is locked?  This is a real concern of mine.  I know people who have had art stolen.  It is serious to them.  The same is true for verses.  A verse on a website seems different than a verse on a PC.  People think it is my PC, it came to my PC, therefore I should be able to use that verse however I want to, it is mine now.  
I know we cannot have full control, but we should be able to have some control or what is the point in creating!
Kathy      

Hi Nicole,
Glad you got a laugh out of my house analogy.  We have all done things like that.  Kathy

Sorry for the delay with my contributions.  I read the posts on a regular basis, but typically can't find the time to post until very late at night
 
The image size for the pcard would be similar to our medium size view.   Something close to what you see here: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/ecard/detail.asp?CGID=262&CARDID=17100&a mp;PAGE=0&CSID=0
 
The inside text would be personalized by the sender for the recipient, so forwarding it to someone else wouldn't have any value.   I've never seen anyone forward any ecard-and-message to someone else.   99 cents is a nominal amount.   If they like what they receive, most will come to the site to find one better suited for their need.
 
It may require too much effort to provide pcards on all the BigDates sites.   We're trying more and more to channel all the traffic to GCU.   Something we'll have to look into.
 
As far as verses or images being protected.   That problem already exists for everyone and many other sites.  For the most part, there are tons of folks violating patents and using unauthorized content and processes everyday.   Some knowingly and some not.   There is really not much you can do about it, unless the violators are making lots of money doing so.   At that time its worth hiring an attorney to seek for damages.   There are billions of free images already out there.   If you are absolutely sensitive about your art, you should not have it posted anywhere on the internet, and you should also not make it possible for someone to buy a copy for $2.79.  I'm exaggerating a bit here, but there are very few stories of folks making substantial money by stealing someone else image.   And  if they do, good for the artist, as they can seek for monetary damages.   Again, I'm not an artist, and I'm going to pretend that I understand the connection you must have with your creation.   But from a business perspective, I would make sure my name appears on all the images and be done with it.   Not worth worrying about something you can do very little about, specially when all the possible solutions are just band-aid fixes.   If there continues to be a lot of concern here, we'll just have to provide the option for the artists to opt out.
 
I suppose we could make pcards optional for each card, but it may not be the best experience for the customer.   If the majority of artists are ok with this, our preference is to just provide it for all, making the consumer super happy.  If not, we'll have to add the functionality so the artist can decide for each card.
 
Don't have a sample for a pcard available for viewing just yet.   I will make a posting when its available.
 
Ideally the recipient would receive a small image of the pcard in an email.  They would have to click on it to see the full view.
 
Teri, yes we power the reminder services for Barnes & Nobel.   Also for 1800Flowers, Overstock, Lilian Vernon and a few others.   This service is the source for some of our revenues which in turn funds projects like GCU.  Most do not want to offer greeting cards as there may be a chance to cannibalize selling their own product (i.e. consumer buying a card instead of a gift).   Pcards is a different story, since most of these retailers know they can't do much in terms of sales on the day of.   Of course we would then have to share the revenues with them, which would make it a bit uninteresting for all of us, unless we raise the price for them.
 
 In regards to buying a card coupled with a gift.   This has been an age old problem and there have never been any great solutions.    It is very costly to "marry up" a personalized greeting card with a corresponding gift before it is shipped out.    The participating company would pretty much have to own/operate a very expensive print-on-demand printer or just carry a handful of card selections.    The best solution for marrying a gift and card together is buying a card from GCU and easily attach a gift card to it.   That is one of the reasons we switched to our current fulfillment partner.    
 
How about if we try to finish the layout for the homepage.   I really like what Teri has so far.    Lets go section by section and implement any suggested changes, including the exact text, colors, etc.    Lets also include better images for the placeholders, so we can all get a better idea what the page would look like.  Teri, You can find a better copy of the logo here: http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/images/gcu/home_header_new.gif   We can continue discussing what the tag line should be.  
 
Teri, is it possible to desing the homepage to accommodate a 310wx210h image, similar to BigDates.com homepage?
 
Have a great weekend,
Nasser

    I have Question for Mr. Nasser.  Are GCU's cards printed in the United States?  If the answer is yes, this would make an excellent selling point for our product.
     Why I am asking this question is I am feeling a little sick at my stomach right now.  I just heard from a dear friend still in the business that the company he works for is closing down all in house production and the owner [ they were a very profitable company, but were bought out by one of the big guys three years ago] is sending it across the border and off shore.  As far as the Artist, all of the board artist are now gone and the art department now is a bank of computers run by kids right out of college revamping the archives.  At least the people in the production
[printing] departments at her company were given two months notice, the subsidiaries in Canada were told when they left work after their shift and the doors locked behind them.
     I'm greiving, this was one of my best and most loyal clients for over twenty years.

Nasser, Thank you for your prompt reply, to those of us who are retired now from what was a wonderful industry what is happening now is sad.  Putting economics completely before the people who have put in many loyal years to make companies a success seems to be sweeping the country.
I'm glad to hear--made in the USA-----It should be somewhere on the back of our cards.  I know going International is the goal, but you would be surprised what a selling point it would be in this country especially throughout the mid-west.
      Norval

Thank you again Teri.    Really appreciate the time you've invested in this.
 
We can take it from here, but wanted to get everyone's input before doing so.  
 
Any text suggestions anyone?    Will shoppers know right away we're talking about real greeting cards?    Should we change the main title from "Expanding the Possibilities" to "Greeting Cards for All" or "Worlds Largest Greeting Cardstore".
 
Do you like the Upcoming Holidays box at BigDates.com?   The main image will change automatically with holidays and seasons, what else do we need to add/do to make the page Halloween like or Thanksgiving like?
 
Ernestine, Denise, or other volunteers, do you have the time to manage the feedback/suggestions and help finalize the last pieces of this page?
 
Looking forward to finalize your input so we can put this page up.   BTW, we're now #1 in natural search on Google for "Paper Greeting Cards"   It's been a gradual climb, but we finally made it.  We've definitely been experiencing more activity, so getting this homepage up should make a difference.
 
Thanks,
Nasser