I'm a father of two incredible Godsends, two boys under the age of 10. They both are very immersed in the digital realm for learning and leisure and I knew one of the items they would be gunning for that Christmas was the highly revered (at the time) iPod w/ Video.

Paying the expense for two of those outright would have broke my single parent income. I thought I only had two options: 1) Pay with a credit card with their exhorbant fees or 2) Find a local rent-to-own outlet which, again, had ludicrous pricing schedules and plans.

Then I recalled the website I had stumbled on while doing an online search for the keywords "Federal employee purchase discount" which returned something called ECP2 I believe, which operated under the site name of "Purchasing Power", and later became the name altogether.

I was able to purchase two iPod 30 GB video devices, all the while sparing more capital toward other presents. It was a boon for them that year. A real life-saver to say the least.

I then bought something for all of us as soon as those were paid off: A JVC Everio camcorder. That became a paramount centerpiece for us as it has captured some very endearing moments (Check out "Spire's Pine Swinging Posse" on youtube to see what I created with that, and what you could be capable of too). Again, with the bi-weekly payments coming directly out of my paycheck I wound up really never missing the money. The previous purchase had pre-conditioned me how to budget for it.

The following Christmas I bought two Sony 's. The vendor had dropped the ball on the shipping updates, as well as having a shortage on accessories which belayed the entire order being received. But the staff at Purchasing Power remedied the matter appropriately, almost making me feel like I was their only customer.

After the camcorder was paid off I had figured that my creations rendered from it deserved to be displayed on something more than a 27" CRT TV. So, once again, I turned to the site and got a DLP projector. To say the least, that one purchase alone has nearly re-invented my home. While most people are sinking thousands onto a 60" TV, which will never grow bigger than 60", I have the tool that I can adjust for any occasion: I can have a home theater where the screen can be 90", or take it with me, say to a backyard party and throw home movies onto a screen 21 ft diagonally. Plus, the kids love being able to 'drive' in their video games (Set the projector to widescreen, opt for the 1st person POV behind the wheel in the video game and watch them get carsick). Myself, I love doing flight simulation software, with a virtual cockpit before me.

What I appreciate altogether is how harmless it has all been. The products usually show up within 2-3 days, the paperwork is so minimal and the transactions are done so rapidly. If only all businesses operated with this kind of candor and assurance with their customer bases, maybe then the national economy would find itself stabilized.