SmartPhoneDepot is donating 5% of our sales to the relief efforts in the south.

We have many agencies that are customers (Red Cross, DHS, FEMA, FBI, US Military, city and state governments.... We continue to provide priority support to the relevant agencies that are providing support in the crisis.

I hope that all of you will take time to see what you can do. http://store.bizshopr.com/katrina.html

Dear SmartPhoneDepot,

While you may think you are doing a good thing, this is terrible. It looks as if you are attempting to increase sales by telling people if they buy from you, you will donate money. If you are serious about this, then donate a fixed amount and don't tie it to a percentage of sales.

Asc1998

Dear ASC,

We have already donated a fixed amount and we are doing this as an additional step. The link we provided is a direct donation to the Red Cross. This board is a community and as a member of this community we wanted to let our fellow members know the steps we are taking to help. I don't think our dontations will increase sales one bit and it is not intended as a ploy or gimmick. I have friends and associates directly affected by this situation and I think before you call someone opportunistic and explotive you should do a little background check who your dealing with. SmartPhoneDepot has tried to be a good corporate citizen and do things that benefit the community where ever possible. We helped with the Tsunami and we even helped with the Columbia disaster. We are a family business and we will always do what we think is best for the situation. If you need an accessory for your BlackBerry we hope you will consider us - but not because we are giving money to the Red Cross but because we have the best prices and the service to back it up.

i don't think that 5% of sales for a donation will net a profit for increased sales for rcg/SPD.com due to his public announcement that he's supporting the cause. he's an honest businessman, and i see this as an good-hearted donation and not a way to increase sales. gas companies, for example, are profiteering from the direct consumer due to the hurricane and their 'projections' for the basis of gas prices.

the ONLY way i'd be against someone making donations is if they didn't make a donation and kept the extra money they made, assuming there was any, due to increased sales directly related to said donations (again, i doubt there's that much of an increase in this case). if a person's intent was on gaining extra sales (as insinuated in the original post), but they still made the donation to the cause, then someone in New Orleans will be receiving help from their donation - who cares if the vendor made a few extra dollars... however, i personally do not see this as being rcg's intent by his donations.

rcg, i find it honorable what you are doing. you don't have to donate 5% of your earned money, but you are choosing to do so. good job, man. they need all the help they can get and every little bit counts.