The toughest thing is that, you know, we're a little bit lean on our marketing dollars, and we're pressed on our expense dollars across the board in order to run the business, so we've become a little bit of the world's best-kept secret.

In 1938, Lloyd Anderson and some of his climbing buddies here in the Northwest were hard-pressed to find ice axes that met their quality needs and would perform well for them in the field. And so, they pooled their money and sent off to Europe for a purchase of ice axes, and from that informal buying-club beginning sprang REI.

I think we pressed a little bit and we were a little anxious. I kept telling them if they stay relaxed, stay focused and keep pushing, good things will happen.

The NCAA and universities should not be in the business of marketing a product that is the leading cause of death among college students. Also, it should be noted that the alcohol advertising does not leave the younger audiences untouched. Ten year olds are rooting for their favorite teams, meanwhile, being subjected to the promotion of alcohol use.

If you got this from your vet, it would probably cost about 30 or 40 dollars.

Word of mouth is way more important than millions of dollars spent marketing.