About Sword Buyers Guide

"Behind the Scenes at SBG"

Hi there fellow sword lover!

I'm Paul Southren from Adelaide in South Australia - your host and chief editor of SBG (that's me pictured below with my Japanese wife Kana and our daughter Lana).

I started this site in February 2005, not just a sword review site, but also as a resource to help shorten the usually fairly steep learning curve encountered when someone starts to get interested in anything beyond a display sword...

As such, I like to think that my task here is to help you find the best value for money truly functional swords - while avoiding the cheap and nasty 'sword like objects' that fall apart in your hands when swung or used against even the most basic (and boring) target like a cardboard box...!!

"In short, I like to keep the site simple and FUN..." :-)

GOT A QUESTION? If you have some sword related questions, be sure to visit my (appropriately named) Sword Questions and FAQ page.

MY 'QUALIFICATIONS'

My own knowledge of swords comes from studying books written by the experts, trawling through countless old forum posts and a fair amount of sword handling and test cutting experience...

Despite this (or maybe because of it!), I am not at all embarrassed to say that I do not consider myself in any way as a 'sword expert'. (Indeed, there are people at places like Sword Forum International and My Armoury who have probably forgotten more things than I will ever know...!)

...The only problem is that some of the experts at these forums have a bit of a reputation as being 'sword snobs'.

In other words, if you ask some of them a question about a sub US$300 sword, the typical response is a flippant 'save up your money for something more expensive'.

But as my site and the experiences of my visitors have demonstrated, there are quite a few very sturdy and eminently functional swords in our price range - the real 'jewels in the junk' - and finding these jewels is exactly what SBG is all about...!

FUNDING

You can probably tell that this site is my passion and a labor of love.

But buying swords to review, giving away FREE SWORDS to my growing review team (For details on how YOU can join the team, click here) and numerous prizes awared to subscribers of my online magazine is obviously a pretty expensive exercise...

Initially, all these expenses came out of my own (rather shallow) pockets. But over time, as my site grew and its reputation began to grow, I was able to make my site self funding without having to compromise my sites integrity...

As a big believer in transparency, I have no problems letting you know that SBG is funded via the following methods:

1) We have affiliated ourselves with THE most professional and customer service focused sword sellers in the industry. I’ve lost count of the number of deals I have knocked back simply because they are not in my site visitors best interests (we are here for the long term, not to make a ‘quick buck’).

2) Like most content sites, SBG also receives a small but steady trickle of money from google adsense ads sprinkled on relevant pages. Not a huge amount, but enough to pay for a new sword every month!

3) Finally, SBG is funded "the old fashioned way": by direct sales from the SBG Sword Store where I have arranged some truly excellent value for money deals on swords that I personally recommend and stand behind. You can read more about how SBG started selling Cheness swords and actually became a sword selling site in its own right by clicking the link above.

I’ve found that by maintaining my sites integrity as a completely honest, unbiased resource – and always putting the needs of my visitors first – SBG has grown in leaps and bounds and is now completely self funded and making a reasonable profit.

And while I'm hardly rolling in cash, in November 2006 it was making enough money so that I was able to follow my passion, leave my day job, and dedicate my time to building and maintaining my site and online magazine on a full time basis...!

I definitely feel very blessed... As not only do I get to review and test swords for a living, but my site now pays for my own personal sword collection!!!(How cool is that!?!)

HOW I BUILT MY SITE (MY SECRET!)

When I first started to build SBG I really had no clue about website design or indeed didn't even know a single snippet of html code - and even now still consider myself to be barely computer literate...!

So how on earth did someone like me build a site of this size that is literally visited by around 1,800+ people a day (and counting) and is in the top 1% of all the websites on the internet??!

The answer: SiteBuildIt! (SBI! for short) – an all in one site building resource designed to turn any hobby, passion or interest into a viable online business.

What makes SBI! unique, and what I think attracted me to this particular program in the first place, was not so much its all in one, step-by-step solution to creating a website without any prior knowledge (though this was certainly attractive!), but rather it’s integrity and honest, no BS approach.

Unlike all the other scammy so called 'online business opportunities' out there, SBI! recommended that to have a successful website you needed to put the needs of your visitors first, take your time and have FUN writing your own original content about something that you REALLY love and enjoy – and the money will take care of itself.

Which is of course the exact blueprint for success that I have followed with SBG!

This approach REALLY works, and my own success with it is definitely not an isolated case. You can see a very impressive list of several hundred other SBI! websites that have made it into the top 1% of all the sites on the net - covering topics as varied as martial arts, world war II planes, Chinese tattoo designs, weight training – even a site on medieval siege weapons! Check them out here it's a ridiculously huge list. SBG is on there too of course (and is just one of many SBI! success stories - with some sites making from $2,000 to $10,000 PROFIT per month at maturity!)

So if you are looking for a genuine way to supplement or even replace your income – (or just looking for a way to afford every sword you have ever dreamed of!), I simply cannot recommend Site Build It enough...

Or you can do as I did and start with the free ebook below which is an introduction to the entire process of creating your own profitable website from scratch, with or without SBI, the choice is yours!

If you are interested in creating your own profitable hobby site, all the information you need is available for FREE in a 193 page ebook that details the EXACT steps you need to follow – offering the option to use either ‘the all in one’ product of SBI or by piecing together a whole host of other various FREE services available on the internet (with links on where to find them all of course!).

And the best part is (besides being totally free!) it holds nothing back - leaving the choice on whether you want to use free resources or SiteBuildIt completely up to you (they are of course hoping you will buy their excellent product, but it is NOT necessary to use the information provided in this free step by step course)...

Thank you for having an interest in how Sword Buyers Guide came to be. If you have any questions at all, feel free to drop me a line.

Paul Southren

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I'd like to give a brief shout out to some of the people who have helped and/or continue to make SBG a website I am happy to put my name to. While this is no Grammy acceptance speak (hehe) these people deserve no less than my most sincere thanks: Paul Hansen from the Netherlands for his constructive criticism and helpful suggestions, without which this site could well have lost relevancy to a broad section of the sword community. G. Scott Hoagland for being the first person to help review a sword on SBG besides me! Thanks mate! :-D Jason from Arms of Valor who supplied me my first Generation 2 sword (the Excalibur) - and who continues to offer my visitors such generous discounts. A true swordsman if ever there was one... Paul Chen from Cheness Cutlery, easily the most honest man in the sword business, for helping SBG find a way to fund itself without compromising its integrity. Mike Harris (aka Shootermike) for his constant encouragement and willingness to put his swords on the line. I owe you a keg or two of ale by now my friend! Steven Kernan from Auburn, Washington State for his design of the SBG Logo and invaluable advice. You can contact him by email for any artwork projects at: stevenkernan@yahoo.com Dr. Ken Evoy for creating SiteBuildIt so someone like me could create this site without having to become an I.T. expert! And my loving wife Kana, who has to navigate a house full of swords and put up with my out of control sword addiction...! Also, thanks to the countless people who have offered me words of encouragement and thanked me for making this info available - and of course a big shout out to all the SBG Sword Forumites - you guys make it all worthwhile!