BLMS... dislike the name, like the guy

[lincolnic]

ooh, didn't think you would have to pay shipping....but I guess he still need to pick it and stuff.

I guess you have to pay taxes too?

Yep, taxes too. I believe they still charge shipping for local pickup because someone still needs to put the order together.

What I really wish is that Small Bear had an actual storefront, but I can understand why they don't. I can't imagine they'd ever get enough foot traffic to be able to pay rent.

[peAk]

ooh, didn't think you would have to pay shipping....but I guess he still need to pick it and stuff.

I guess you have to pay taxes too?

Yep, taxes too. I believe they still charge shipping for local pickup because someone still needs to put the order together.

What I really wish is that Small Bear had an actual storefront, but I can understand why they don't. I can't imagine they'd ever get enough foot traffic to be able to pay rent.

I wish they offered next day air service. You are very lucky because you pretty much get next day air although he usually ships out a couple of days after you place the order.

Since Mouser is in Texas, I get one day delivery and they always ship out same day... which is nice but I too pay taxes.

[TNblueshawk]

There was a long thread about the name over at BYOC last year and Lawrence chipped in if I recall right (Jacob I think you did too if I remember right.) I tried to pull it but the search isn't working or maybe it is the seachee.

Well he certainly won't get any female customers...wait......

Prior to the whole PC craze there would likely be very few of us that would have bat an eye about the word. It seems to me that prior to the PC thing the word bitch was on par with calling someone a jerk, an a-hole or something along those lines. So for a dude you didn't like you would say call him an a$$ wipe and for a chick you might say bitch. Both meant the same thing. Sort of like d'bag is now if you will. But bitch didn't carry the inherent meaning that it does now it seems to me. But in the end a$$wipeslovemyswitches just doesn't have the same ring I don't reckon.

Some of you will have grown up in an era where this word only meant what it does today.

Just a few thoughts off the cuff on it. I'm not positive on the above but it is my perception anyway.

[culturejam]

Prior to the whole PC craze there would likely be very few of us that would have bat an eye about the word. It seems to me that prior to the PC thing the word bitch was on par with calling someone a jerk, an a-hole or something along those lines. So for a dude you didn't like you would say call him an a$$ wipe and for a chick you might say bitch.

I don't know. The word "bitch" is now basically a household term for all kinds of things. When I was a kid, the idea of calling a guy a "bitch" was totally unthinkable. It made no sense at all, since the word was reserved for insulting women (comparing them to a dog and also implying they had a bad attitude and were outwardly hostile for no good reason). In my world, bitch wasn't a common insult for anyone until the mid 90s. And now it's basically used for everything and anything.

So I would argue the word is now far less offensive than it was "before the whole PC craze", whenever that was. At least this is true with the company I keep and the social groups I observe and the media I consume. YMMV, and all that stuff, bitch! 

[pickdropper]

I don't think it boils down to political correctness.  I hear a lot of folks use it in a non-offensive way between friends as slang (much like AlanP suggested with the mighty C word, which is considered horrifically offensive in the US, but is used much more casually in other parts of the world).  I suspect that is what he is going for with the nam.

But the trouble with using any sort of slang/curse word that is totally fine with some and offensive to others is that you may reduce your potential customer base.  Considering the number of threads on it, it obviously causes a reaction from some folks.

If he feels that it's funny because it rhymes and that is worth fewer sales, that's totally up to him (assuming it does actually reduce his sales).  I'm not offended by it, I just don't really see the value of it from a business perspective.

[pickdropper]

Prior to the whole PC craze there would likely be very few of us that would have bat an eye about the word. It seems to me that prior to the PC thing the word bitch was on par with calling someone a jerk, an a-hole or something along those lines. So for a dude you didn't like you would say call him an a$$ wipe and for a chick you might say bitch.

I don't know. The word "bitch" is now basically a household term for all kinds of things. When I was a kid, the idea of calling a guy a "bitch" was totally unthinkable. It made no sense at all, since the word was reserved for insulting women (comparing them to a dog and also implying they had a bad attitude and were outwardly hostile for no good reason). In my world, bitch wasn't a common insult for anyone until the mid 90s. And now it's basically used for everything and anything.

So I would argue the word is now far less offensive than it was "before the whole PC craze", whenever that was. At least this is true with the company I keep and the social groups I observe and the media I consume. YMMV, and all that stuff, bitch! 

Same thing in my experience.  When I was a kid, Bitch was really only used as a derogatory word for females or a correctly applied term by veterinarians and dog lovers.

These days, it's much more of a casually thrown around word.  We should probably give some credit to Dave Chappelle.  :-)

[muddyfox]

Now y'all made me go and get some switches from the guy... 

[Droogie]

since I only live a mile or two away I get my orders the next day.

I'm in Brooklyn too, but for some reason the Post Office always botches delivery either to my work or home address (not Lawrences' fault). I wish he had local pickup like Steve at Small Bear—usually same day if I order in the a.m.

Just to spite me, the Post Office delivered my latest package from him yesterday without a hitch! Do you guys mind if I resurrect this thread every time I place an order from BLMS? Why mess with a good thing?

[TNblueshawk]

Dave and Forrest, I think where I was going with "today's" version versus "yesteryear" if you will was in the past absolutely you used it for a woman and it was gender specific but it was truly used more in a situational sense meaning some chick ticked you off so you called her the name. It could be your girlfriend, wife or mother or whatever. You didn't refer to the female population as "bitches" or at least not in the mainstream way that it is used now with some serious contempt. I could give specific examples in today's world that I've heard it used, both seriously and joking, but I guess it is not appropriate to go there.

I currently work with no one nor do I have any friends that even use the word in any way other than referring to a woman who is crabby, a PITA or etc...  But that is who I roll with anyway. I refer to dudes with the same attributes as dicks if you will.

But I agree with you that obviously that word, any many others of course, used in a business name is likely to leave some people out.

As far as the PC goes, it started whenver someone decided that anyone but the first place team gets a trophy. THAT is when it started and I don't have the exact time on that 

And Droogie I see what you did there...you used the word 'hitch' which rhymes with....

[jkokura]

I come at the word from another point of view, and it has nothing to do with PC issues. I'm not particularly fond of political correctness all the time, but I am sensitive to the issues that kids today face.

The word Bitch has been used, as you guys have described above, to indicate female canines, cranky mothers/wives/girlfriends, a group of friends or a singular friend to which you hold some affection, or perhaps to describe the a person you don't particularly like. I get all those uses, and while I don't use the word myself, I understand why and how others do. It would bother me in many contexts, aside from talking about female dogs, but I don't get my panties in a knot about it. People use all sorts of words that bother me.

But there's another use of the word that really bothers me, and that's the use in which someone 'makes' someone else be their 'bitch.' It perhaps had it's start, or at least some proliferation in the Prison systems of North America, or at least Hollywood makes it seem so, but it's expanded past that point. If you've ever talked to a kid who's been bullied and assaulted on a playground, they might have another view of that word. It's EXTREMELY derogatory, offensive, and down right awful to some of these kids. Not all kids know this, but I work with children and teens, and I know a few kids who would react very poorly and have been mistreated by the word Bitch.

Just something to think about.

Jacob

[madbean]

Well, it's a good thing he did not go with his first choice..."C**kblockers Component C**tsortium"!

[culturejam]

I get where some of you guys are coming from about not liking the name. Business owners have to understand that choices they make in their marketing (including company name) may end up alienating some customers. I can only assume they understand the potential downsides to marketing efforts that are not 100% "down the middle", and are okay with the outcomes.

A nice counter-point to Bitches Love My Switches is old favorite General Guitar Gadgets. I ordered a few times from them in my first year of pedal building. I think it was the third order I had made that came with a religious pamphlet inside the box, and an offer for a free bible. I really just wanted pedal parts, not a new worldview. So I never ordered again. I assume JD knew that some people would react this way and that he factored this into his business model. Similarly, I assume Lawrence knows that "Bitches" will cost him customers and factors that in.

So yeah, I can see where a business that injects its own "personality" into the marketing might be a sticking point for some people.

Well, it's a good thing he did not go with his first choice..."C**kblockers Component C**tsortium"!

His second choice:

Lawrence's Dildo Factory...Now with Switches!!! LLC

[pickdropper]

Well, if he ever starts selling another company that sells picks, he won't have a difficult time naming it.  :-)

[culturejam]

Well, if he ever starts selling another company that sells picks, he won't have a difficult time naming it.  :-)

Hicks Love My Picks?

[muddyfox]

Picks 4 D***s?