About Us
Hello Everyone,My name is Glenn and these are my two "best friends" aka "my kids". They travel with me wherever I go. At any rate, we would like to welcome you to the world of travel at ValidTravel.com. Join me for a cup of friendship. The purpose of this page is to let you know a little more about us. On this page you will learn how we started, how we evolved into the business we are today and where we are going. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
The Beginning of Valid Travel
It was right around Thanksgiving 2003. I sustained an injury at work that put me out for around 4 months. Don't worry. I'm ok now. At any rate, I was getting bored and aching for something to do. So, I thought for a while and realized how much I really love to travel. So, I decided to share this passion with others. I have been an avid traveler since I was a child so I decided I would build a website around travel. I put my first page up on January 5, 2004. Within a month (I really did not know what I was doing), I had a directory of travel websites 101 pages long. Before I knew it, I had many requests for reciprocal links. This went on for two years, because I could not decide what direction I wanted to go from there at all.
Moving Forward With Valid Travel
Two years later, I got some advice from a man I had been sort of following because he seemed like someone who really wanted to help people. One day I decided to send him an email asking his advise on where I should go with my website. He told me that if I wanted to make a business out of this travel directory, I really did not need any products. He suggested I add Google Adsense to my site. I did and, as a result, I made a little over $60.00 my first month. I know. That's not a lot of money, but it was good enough for me since I had not made a dime on it since I built it.
A short time later, I decided I wanted to sell products on Valid Travel. I did not know how to break into the discount travel game. Besides, with websites such as Travelocity, I really did not think it would be wise to try to compete with a giant like that. I thought about it and decided that I was going to sell Samsonite luggage. I have also been an avid camper since I was a child. Since camping is a subcategory of travel in most directories, I also decided I was going to sell Coleman camping equipment. I got in touch with Samsonite and they told me that I could not sell their products directly, but I could become a part of their affiliate program. So, I became a member. Then, I went to Coleman. They told me that they deal only with brick and mortar businesses directly. However, they gave me the name of their dropshipper. So, I set up an account with the dropshipper, got an ecommerce account so I could accept credit cards and got a shopping cart program I paid for monthly.
Valid Travel Today
Early in 2007, I got some very bad news from the dropshipper. They told me that Coleman was no longer dealing with businesses that were strictly internet. I could continue to sell as long as their stock lasted, but once it was gone, they were not going to be given anymore stock from Coleman. Since those were the only products I was selling directly from my site, I thought Valid Travel's days may be over as far as a business is concerned. However, I found a new dropshipper that I am very happy with. I have another website provided by them called KippsMart.net. I paid a one time fee and they registered the domain name for me free. They also provided free hosting. Valid Travel is directly plugged into my new site. If you are looking for camping/adventure travel products, miscellaneous travel bags among other products, when you click on them, you will be directed to the appropriate page on the new website. Valid Travel has also just became affiliated with Travelocity. Among many travel deals we have listed on our products page, there is also a travel booking engine where the you can either build your own vacation package or save individually on car, airfare or hotel.
The new dropshipper also provides an ebay ad wizard (another one time fee) which I have also been using to sell some of the stuff I sell on Kipps Mart on ebay. I have no negative feedback so far, so I must be doing something right with the customers.
Our free newsletter, "Get Out of Town!", provides a different article of interest each month. There is also a place for readers to have a chance to write about their own travel experiences.
If you are an avid camper like me, check out our blog, "Crazy About Camping?". There are some posts that will make you laugh out loud. There are also some serious posts in there. In other words, there is something for everyone in our blog.
Valid Travel's Future
The future looks pretty bright for Valid Travel. I want to continue providing optimum services and superior products to assure that my customers can make the most of the limited time they have for travel and vacations. Any questions or problems you may encounter will be considered high priority by Valid Travel.
Our mission, as visitors enter the world of travel, is to give them the break they need from their daily routines.
Take care and enjoy your visit,
Glenn H. Kipps
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