American Kitefliers Association

Huh?

The original post was about supporting your local kite shop. If you tend to save a few dollars and order things over the internet you should not be surprised when the local shop closes. We have lost a lot of shops over the past few years and most that are still around are not getting rich dealing in kites. When you need a part its easy to run in a show them whats broken and they pull it out of their parts bin and your kite is back in flying shape for a few dollars. I found out the hard way that filling the parts box is expensive. I spent over $600 at wholesale just on fitting and I don't even want to think about how much the fiberglass and graphite rods cost. Every chance you get tell them how much you appreciate them and send them a customer referral from the field next time your flying.

Have fun..

Indeed, I too am a firm believer in supporting within your community (geographical or by extension).

AKA Merchant Members - http://kite.org/community/merchant-members/

Here in my hometown, I also try to buy local or at least from privately owned businesses.