* Forwarded from COMP.SYS.AMIGA.MISC by Stephen Walsh (3:633/280).   
   * Originally by: google@amigakit.us (google@amigakit.us), 27 Jun 14 05:44.   
   * Originally to: all.   
      
   AmigaKit.com reaches 10th birthday!   
      
   Way back in June 2004, AmigaKit opened it's doors to its first customers.  We    
   are very pleased to reach the 10th   
   anniversary of the launch and would like to make a special thank you to all    
   who has supported us through the last   
   decade!   
      
   It is not an easy market place to trade and there have been many challenges    
   over the last 10 years.  We hope to achieve   
   even more for the Amiga and our customers in the next 10 years.   
      
      
   A Special Message To Our Long Standing Customers   
      
   There is a core group of customers worldwide that have ordered from us    
   regularly since 2004 to the present day.  This   
   seems a good occasion to express our sincerest gratitude.  We would like to    
   thank them for their orders and keeping   
   AmigaKit going through the good times and the more challenging times.   As a    
   celebration of this event, we would ask any   
   of these customers to contact us if you are placing an order in the very near    
   future so we can offer you a loyalty   
   discount on any items you may need.   
      
      
   A Brief History of AmigaKit   
      
   In 2004, the Amiga reseller scene was going through a lot of change,  several    
   retailers across the world either closed   
   down or faded away.  Store website inventories were no longer being updated or    
   domains being renewed, and slowly one by   
   one, the choice for consumers dwindled away.   
      
   AmigaKit was established as a full time business to help in some way buck the    
   trend and provided a professional reliable   
   service to Amiga users worldwide where they can obtain their Amiga products    
   and services without paying over inflated   
   prices in well known auction websites.  We established a full time technical    
   support service to provide after sales   
   support and help customers with installation queries.   
      
   We started developing our own software in-house such as OS-Install, EasyNet    
   and EasyADF and continue to produce software   
   to this day, including the new AMIStore for A-EON Technology.   
      
   In 2006, AmigaKit purchased the remaining inventory from Eyetech and the Amiga    
   product range grew in size, so we moved   
   into new offices in Cardiff.   For the very first time, we visited the famous    
   Amiwest show in California and met the   
   many customers there that were up to that point, just names on our system and    
   not faces and personalities.  Exhibiting   
   at shows became a long standing tradition for us from this point.  Attending    
   conventions and shows always is costly but   
   at the same time it is rewarding to personally speak to our customers and    
   build friendships on many occasions.   
      
   In 2008, the remaining inventory of High Street Micro was also acquired.  One    
   of the problems we found was that there   
   were no new product being manufactured so we had to re-invest our revenues    
   into sponsoring hardware and software   
   projects and encouraging hardware development.  Several products were a result    
   of this scheme including the popular   
   products such as the ZorRAM and MAS Player evolution.  Most recently we have    
   diversified into manufacturing Amiga   
   joysticks such as the Arcade Evolution joystick.   
      
   In 2009, we took on another full time technician so that we had more capacity    
   for Amiga repairs, servicing and in-house   
   hardware projects.  One of the first tasks of the year was to prepare for the    
   AmigaONE X1000 project which we were only   
   involved in from a reseller point of view.  Later on in late 2010, our role    
   changed and we had to help get the project   
   back on track.   
      
   By 2012, it was clear we needed a large building and the opportunity came    
   around to buy a property a mile away from our   
   offices.  It required a lot of renovation to meet our requirements and the    
   building work presented many challenges   
   during the six months.  Once this was complete we slowly migrated our    
   operations and inventory from old building to the   
   new during the summer months.   
      
      
   What is next for the AmigaKit project?   
      
   Our business would not exist without our loyal customers, so the most    
   important relationship is with all the Amiga fans   
   out there.  We will continue to support them with technical help and visit    
   computer shows around the world putting faces   
   to names.   
      
   Our continued partnership with many hardware suppliers and partners will    
   produce new Classic Amiga and Next Generation   
   Amiga projects.  If customer continue to vote with their wallets and buy these    
   new products, our suppliers can continue   
   to expand their resources for many more new exciting products in the future.   
      
   We have already made plans and are committed to producing and sponsoring more    
   software projects and working together   
   with other companies in the Amiga market to make the Amiga a more successful    
   computer platform.   Here's to another   
   decade!   
      
      
   Messages from our business partners:   
      
   "I would like to congratulate Matthew and AmigaKit for 10 years of service to    
   the Classic and Next-Generation Amiga   
   community. I was customer of AmigaKit and Matthew long before we became    
   friends and business partners. In 2005 AmigaKit   
   built my first A1-XE AmigaOS 4 system and shortly after my first Pegasos II    
   MorphOS system. Although I used other   
   suppliers, Amigakit was always my first port of call for all my Amiga spares,    
   consumables and repairs. We even   
   collaborated on several special Classic Amiga projects which included an    
   experimental multi-booting Amiga 4000 tower   
   system which at the time supported AmigaOS3.9, a pre-release beta version of    
   AmigOS4.0 Classic and MorphOS PowerUp. In   
   my experience AmigaKit's service and reliability has always been first class    
   and I had no hesitation in selecting   
   Matthew and his team when we were looking for distribution partners for the    
   new AmigaONE X1000 back in 2010. All that   
   remains to be said is congratulation on reaching your 10th anniversary, here's    
   to the next ten years. "  Trevor   
   Dickinson, co-founder, A-EON Technology   
      
   "AmigaKit has been a reliable partner from the very start. They don't just    
   move boxes, but provide real added value with   
   their service. I've gotten to know the people behind AmigaKit at a number of    
   Amiga shows, and I also met their families.   
   We've always had a great time, and I'm looking forward to more meetings and    
   continued solid business. Here's to the next   
   ten years!" Jens Schoenfeld, Individual Computers   
      
   "E3B has been in business relationship with Amigakit now for over five years    
   now. Several projects, like the ZorRAM or   
   the new PRISMA sound card, were developped and produced in close cooperation,    
   always with the goal in mind to get   
   customer tailor made solutions for the Amiga community.  Of course, things    
   were not always easy, and working together   
   while being separated by some thousand kilometers, with beta tester sitting    
   all around the world, can be demanding - all   
   project so far did suceed, and this seems to prove we are on the right way.     
   We hope to continue this relationship also   
   for the future and congratulate for 10 years in business!"  Michael Boehmer,    
   E3B   
      
      
      
      
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