The History of the Dart Shop
The "About Us" Page ........is where I get to tell the story of the Dart Shop and how it has grown from humble beginnings on Ebay, to become one of the major Darts Retailers in Australia, with thousands of clients nation wide. I hope that you choose to keep reading, because writing this article brings back some wonderful memories, with just a couple that I would like to share with you.
Turn the clock back to 2001, the hype from the Sydney Olympics had died, I was the owner of a Snooker & Pool room in Western Sydney NSW and I was working 12 hours days. It was about then that I was introduced to Ebay and I loved the concept. Within days I was listing items for sale. Items that had been in the storage room for years, an old pinball machine, some boards for video games and in all honesty, anything I didn't need or want. I was selling cues and balls that had sat in the sales cabinets for months. I was amazed at how fast things could be sold, but more than that, to people thousands of miles away that I didn't even know. Ebay at that stage was based on trust and reputation and to this date, I still have an Ebay account with over 30k transactions and 100% Reputation.
Around 2002 it was obvious that the only profitable area in the Snooker Room was the Retail Sales of Snooker and Darts products. "Snookeronline" was growing and we invested into a dedicated website. Shipping the bulky snooker items was too hard, tables were too expensive and we decided to focus on Darts only. My wife loves darts, I played socially when the room was quiet and I had access to a great supplier that could provide me with excellent products......The Dart Shop was born.
I closed the Snooker Room down in 2005 and we continued selling Darts from home, whilst working full-time to support the family. There were some amazing customers and events, some happy, some sad. Two of the most memorable customers were: War in Afghanistan involved a lot of Aussie Troops and for a couple of years, I had the huge privilege of sending Darts to our Troops in Combat Zones. We would send them to a Central Mailing Box and they usually got to their destination in a couple of weeks. We always gave "The Boys" their orders at almost cost price and when possible, we threw in some flights or shafts as freebies. Every now and then we would get an email saying hello, occasionally a photo of them all playing darts, or a simple thank you because we gave them a discount. The very people keeping our country safe were thanking us, for providing a discount on a $30 set of darts. Those Boys were true Heroes and I trust that everyone came back safe.
Eric. This gentleman was an Electrician and when his order first came through, I was astounded. It had specific mailing instructions and if I recall rightly, the goods had to be at a "Despatch Station" in Tasmania by February 18th, because that was when the last boat for the year would leave heading to the Antarctic Station at the South Pole! For many years he would send me photos of such beautiful and calm scenery, horrendous snow storms, giant icebergs or cute little penguins. We all loved receiving his emails and sadly, we have lost contact over the past couple of years. I hope that he is well.
In March 2015 I received a telephone call. This one was different. It was a gentleman named Morten and he briefly explained that he operated the biggest Table Tennis Internet site in Australia, they had a Factory / Shop in Erskine Park (Western Sydney) and he asked me if I would be interested in doing something together, getting our Darts into a physical Bricks & Mortar Shop and growing the business to be THE Dart Shop in Australia. How could I refuse?
In June 2015 The Dart Shop became part of the Leisure link Group Pty Ltd. This union will allow the Dart Shop to continue growing, whilst offering the same personalised service that we always have. We want to ensure that no matter where you are in Australia, no matter what product you want, that The Dart Shop is the person that you choose to assist you.
So there it is. My "About Us" has brought back some fond memories of our journey. I hope that you were not bored and I trust that you understand both how proud I am and how passionate I am when it comes to the Dart Shop. We now have the resources, the finances and the backing to better serve our customers, look for new opportunities and to continue striving to become the best Dart Shop that Australia has ever known. So whether you shop online or you come down to the showroom in Erskine Park, you can be assured of receiving quality products, great prices and a friendly smile.
180's to you all.