Introducing The Dark Blue Jacket Shop

I'm very excited to announce the opening of The Dark Blue Jacket Shop!

With the blog developing a meaningful readership - and the incredible reaction of the Columbus Blue Jackets fan community to the CannonFest 2010 event - I've been spending some time trying to figure out how I, and the DBJ blog, could be of additional service to CBJ fans far and wide.  Out of that reflection came two things: 1) The current incarnation of the "Time to Step Up" 2010-2011 CBJ season preview series, and 2) The Dark Blue Jacket Shop.


"Time to Step Up" has been nothing less than a total success in my book.  It's been a regular gathering spot for Blue Jackets fans, where we can take a moment to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that each member of the roster faces going into the upcoming season.  Your comments and feedback have been at least as valuable as the content that I've offered, and I'm so gratified by the way that the blog traffic has focussed on this series.  It's been a blast, and I commit to keeping at it until I've run through the roster, coaches and hockey-related front office.

As for the shop, I tried to find a new way to offer a service to all of you.  We all know that finding Columbus Blue Jackets merchandise is a challenging task.  Sure, you can find jerseys pretty easily, but it gets sketchy pretty quickly after that point.  Amazon, however, has a wealth of CBJ items available that simply needed to be presented in a way where you can skip the "guess the right keyword" search hassle and jump straight to the items you want.  I've tried to organize every Blue Jackets-related item that I could find (well over 350!) into appropriate categories on the shop.  I also listed the least expensive options in my shop -- there are countless duplicate items on Amazon, all with different pricing.  (If I missed an item, or erred in selecting a more expensive item than what you found, please let me know!)

Over time, the shop will grow.  I didn't dive into the collectible, signed items yet, nor have I done a good enough job with player photos (framed or otherwise).  Over time, I hope to pull that material in.  If you have suggestions on what you'd like to see from the shop, I'd love to hear your feedback.

So there you go, a one-stop shop for your Columbus Blue Jackets fan needs - from jerseys to pennants to rugs to lamps to bedding to Christmas ornaments, and everything in-between.  I hope you like it, and perhaps you might look to it as a place to get some CBJ logo stuff for yourself, or as a gift for the Blue Jackets fan in your life. And if you never shop there (the Blue Line stores are awful nice), no skin off my back.

In the interest of full disclosure, I entered into an affiliation arrangement with Amazon in creating the shop.  If enough people end up shopping at The Dark Blue Jacket Shop, I get a pittance from them that just might help get Dark Blue Toddler his next Elmo (or should it be Stinger?) item.  Trust me, this shop - and the service it provides - is not here to make me rich.

Carry The Flag!