Furniture Find. A fifty-year-old, Michigan-based retail furniture business launched an informational web site in 1996 and quickly became an online store. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"In our experience, the BBB's online symbol is an effective way to quickly communicate our commitment to service, in a way that customers intuitively understand."

Juststrings.com. This New Hampshire-based business focuses on providing "just strings" for instruments ranging from Autoharps to Zithers - and just about every stringed instrument in between. With customers in more than 65 countries around the globe, it is an international small business success story. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"The BBBOnLine Reliability program is an essential element of JustStrings.com's emphasis on customer service."

Hickory Farms. Hickory Farms is a well-known brand in the "brick and mortar" world. It has a 50-year tradition of gift giving and holiday entertaining, offering a diverse range of meats and seafood, fruits, cheeses, desserts and coffees and gourmet items. And it is a BBBOnLine Reliability Program participant. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"By participating in the BBBOnLine's Reliability Seal program, our customers know that Hickory Farms meets or exceeds all of the Better Business Bureau membership standards including resolving customer disputes through Better Business Bureau dispute resolution processes."

Logical Expressions. This company, founded by Susan Daffron and James Byrd in 1995, is located in Sandpoint, a northern Idaho town close to Spokane, Washington and the Canadian border. The BBBOnLine participant offers publishing services such as graphic design, writing, editing, and layout. The firm specializes in the production of periodical-type documents such as newsletters and magazines. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"...the BBBOnLine Reliability seal separates us from the scam artists and online riff raff lurking in cyberspace."

The Big Day. A BBBOnLine Reliability participant since May 2002, thebigday.com - a honeymoon gift registry - makes it as easy for couples to register for honeymoon travel and romance as it is to register for china and crystal, and to do it all online. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"Before we added the BBBOnLine seal to our site, we had people asking why we weren't members. It was a matter of trust. People don't ask us whether they can trust us anymore."

Burge's Smokedturkeys.com. Arkansas' Burge's put its catalog on the web in 1995, joined BBBOnLine in 1998, and added a complete, secure online ordering process nearly three years ago. The company depends primarily on "Word of Mouth", which includes the customers who eat at Burge's restaurants and sign up to receive a catalog. A considerable portion of Burge's business comes from corporate clients who may order as many as 600-700 smoked turkeys or hams at a time as gifts. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"Both corporate clients, who give our products as gifts, and individual consumers have mentioned our BBBOnLine seal when ordering from us. It has helped increase their confidence that we will deliver as promised."

Replacements.com. This BBBOnLine seal holder offers an astonishingly complete variety of crystal and china patterns. The owner's inventory, originally maintained on 3x5 cards, grew to a computer database serving 4.6 million customers. The Replacements.com web site was launched in 1998, and more than 50% of the firm's sales now come through that web site. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"The BBBOnLine seal helps customers know right away that they are dealing with a reputable business that will stand behind its products and services. I can't imagine doing business online without it."

Cozumel-vacation-rentals.com. While winter weather continues across much of the United States and Canada, warm days and tropical breezes prevail in sunny Cozumel, Mexico. BBBOnLine participant Lisa Lesikar is fortunate to have a presence in Tyler, TX, where her company is a Better Business Bureau member, and another on Cozumel Island to facilitate services for Cozumel visitors from colder climates of countries around the world. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"Joining the Better Business Bureau and displaying the BBBOnLine seal was a smart marketing decision that has added real value to our business."

Abitoblarney.com. Sheila McMahon, President of A Bit O' Blarney, thinks of things Irish all year round. After a move to Alabama, and a brief corporate career, Ms. McMahon flirted with the idea of running her own "Irish shoppe". However, the demand for Irish goods in Tuscaloosa didn't seem high enough to support a store. As a result, she turned to the Internet as the place to launch her Irish venture. She spent several months in research, and launched the site in October 1999. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"For any new or old online business the BBB Reliability seal adds value, and should definitely be an integral part of any business program. Along with business cards, stationary, and a business checking account should be the implementation of the BBBOnLine program."

Dutchbulbs.com. Van Bourgondien's issued its first annual catalog in the 1880's, and launched its first web site in January 1996. It started out as an informational, two-page site that took catalog requests. When customers started asking when they would be able to buy products online, the company hired a development team, and created an e-commerce site. Customers were first able to purchase Dutch bulbs and perennials online in the fall of 1997. Far from being an afterthought for a long established business, Internet sales now make up 35% of Van Bourgondien's total sales. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"The BBBOnLine seal educates our customers and shows them that we are a reputable e-commerce company."

Chermak Saab. Joseph Chermak Inc. of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania sells Saab and Suzuki products. The company has been in business since 1948. With 15 employees they are not a large dealership. Yet the company has found innovative ways to take advantage of the Internet, beyond showing its cars and giving directions to its location. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"We show our BBB membership plaque in our showroom, and the web site is an extension of our showroom. It stands to reason to add the seal to our site, and it also tells consumers that they have recourse if they have a concern down the road."

Styluscentral.com. Many businesses have been changed in the last six years by the presence of the World Wide Web. But few have been as totally transformed as StylusCentral.com, an online business out of Warwick, Rhode Island with an interesting pedigree. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"I have had customers tell me that they checked with the BBB prior to ordering. The BBBOnLine link is proof that we will be there for them after the sale."

Misterart.com. In the mid-90s, entrepreneur Marc Adler recognized a need and an opportunity on the newly developing World Wide Web. Mr. Adler was always interested in art, and he supported the arts in Houston. In the early days of the web, he recognized an opportunity to sell art supplies online. As a result he launched MisterArt.com at in 1996. The site currently sells more than 60,000 different products. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"We proudly display it (the BBBOnLine seal) on every page of our site to continually remind site visitors that we are a member of an organization promoting customer trust and confidence, and that we work hard to ensure all customers have a safe and pleasant shopping experience."

Thegpsstore.com. In the idyllic North Carolina town of Ocean Beach Isle you can find one of the country's most comprehensive selections of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. The company first launched The GPS Store in 1997, then added a physical store in September of 1998. What started as a two-person store has grown to a company with 8 employees and a new 5,000 square foot facility. Today the company's sales are split evenly between offline and online sales. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"We've found that people are much more comfortable doing business with a company that is associated with the Better Business Bureau. We are very happy to be a part of the BBBOnLine program and would definitely recommend it to any business."

Acadiawreath.com. In 1995, Lynn Jebbia recognized an opportunity to unite her work as the sales and marketing director for a local Internet service provider with her past experience as a business owner and in the local fir tree and wreath industry. So it was that she founded the Acadia Wreath Company, an online venture to bring the fine balsam fir wreaths of Bar Harbor, ME to families and holiday revelers all over the country. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"Having a working BBB seal on the web site lets people know that we'll deliver what we promise. And we're very pleased with how often people actually click to our online BBB report to verify that."

Consumer Cellular. In 1995, John Marick and partner Greg Pryor left their jobs in a large wireless telephone company to strike out on their own. They formed Consumer Cellular in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and the company has now grown to provide cellular phones and cell phone service to customers in 15 western states. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"We don't have the name recognition or advertising budget of our competitors. Advertising spending in the cellular industry exceeded spending in the beverage industry last year, and one company alone spent over a billion dollars. As a smaller company, we have to find other ways to get out our message. Having the BBBOnLine seal gives us credibility and increases consumer comfort in doing business with us."

Advantage Accommodations. Owned and run by Carol and Armand Belanger, the company provides a variety of resort accommodations, from condos to ten-bedroom homes. A 1994 contract with a British consulting group brought executives from around the world to the company's properties, and was instrumental in accelerating the company's growth. The Internet has opened up a worldwide market for the company's services. With listings on many Internet search engines and Internet advertising, clients from all over the world can view their services and products. Read our full article here. Visit the company here.

"Potential clients who have viewed our documentation on the BBBOnLine program commonly state that the documentation was the reason they contacted us instead of calling our competitors. My thanks to the BBB for initiating the program and for giving my company the privilege to participate.