About Planet Icthus
What type of business is Planet Icthus? More than a business, Planet Icthus is a ministry. We try to keep the focus on encouraging people to share their faith. In this day and age, you cannot always share your faith in the work place, so there is a way to be a silent witness. The other thing is that we all want to talk to people about God, but we have a hard time getting the conversation going. We hope to provide people with conversation pieces that lead in to talking about Jesus Christ.
Why did you pick the name, Planet Icthus?
Well, it certainly is not a key word phrase anyone is searching for, but to us it has meaning. The whole world belongs to God, but most people do not know that. The Icthus symbol has long been used as a secret symbol for Christians, and we feel it is a strong statement, once the meaning of the symbol is understood. Itchus is the Greek word for “fish”, but it is also an acronym for Jesus Christ, Son of God”. Our whole world needs to know about Jesus Christ, God’s son. Thus, we like “Planet Icthus”.
What else do you enjoy about Planet Icthus? It is nice to provide people with meaningful gifts. We all have to buy gifts each year, so the challenge is to give something that has significance. For example, I have to buy at least six gifts just for my wife each year; Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas and one “Just Because I love You” gift.
What do your customers like about Planet Icthus? Our products and our service. Once people check out our selection of gifts, they quickly see the value of what we have to offer. When folks contact us, we take time to communicate. We reply to most emails immediately, and try to go the extra mile when people make special requests. We treat every customer with care and respect—the same way we treat their orders.
Why do customers shop at Planet Ichtus? We sell some great Christian gifts at reasonable prices. We purchase our products from a variety of vendors, always looking for the lowest prices so we can pass our savings on to our customers.
What are your goals for this business/ministry? Our goal is to operate a God-honoring gift store where people can find refreshing, uplifting, and inspiring gifts that will touch their hearts. We want every customer to feel valued and to be treated like royalty. Our primary goal will always be to serve God and glorify Him by serving our customers in a personal and professional way. (And we hope to make some profit along the way to subsidize our financial support, help send our kids to Bible College, buy health insurance, support other missionaries and set something aside for retirement.)
What keeps shoppers coming back to you when they could drive to a local Christian bookstore? All across the country Christian bookstores are closing, so it is harder for people to find the kind of gifts we carry. Also, when you consider the rising cost of gas, it's often cheaper to shop online, and it's certainly faster and more convenient than fighting the traffic.
What is your background? I am a missionary kid, a third generation Christian. My grandpa accepted Christ on “skid row” in Seattle, down by the Fish Market (known better these days as the place where StarBucks Coffee started). He heard a street preacher share the gospel and Grandpa accepted Christ and went on to be a preacher. My Dad became a missionary to headhunters in Borneo, so I grew up in a wild part of the world and saw first hand the transforming power of the gospel. I went on to Bible School and have been in full-time ministry all these years.
Besides your ministry with Planet Icthus, what activities does your family enjoy? Living in the Pacific Northwest, there's plenty to do each season. Summertime brings huckleberry picking, swimming, camping and bicycle trips. We are always active in our local church and we have a lot of friends that we enjoy fellowship with.
Do you have a business philosophy? In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that each of them should conduct his own business in such a way that he "wins the respect of outsiders." (1 Thes. 4:12) He also wrote to Timothy about the importance of "having a good reputation with outsiders, and not falling into disgrace." (1 Tim. 3:7) To apply these principles, we are committed to upholding the highest personal and professional standards in the way we treat customers and handle orders.
You've owned and operated Planet Icthus now since May 2002. How's it going? Man, it has been a learning experience! I am in full time ministry and we wanted to learn how to distribute books and information via the internet. A couple of us decided to start a small gift store to see how complicated it is to build a website, how to do eCommerce and how to win in the search engines so we can get the Word out. So we picked a theme that was in concert with our passion of reaching the world with the gospel. It has made me a better steward of all God has entrusted to me. One of these days I may have to sell the business, because I am so busy with my full time ministry and church. Getting it started was a lot of work, but with experience it has gotten to where it runs pretty smooth, and I am not a technical guy. I did not have to build the website, but it is pretty easy to add to it and maintain it.
How secure is your Web site? How safe is it for customers to use credit cards? Our Web site is secured by McAffe Secure, HackerSafe and Comodo, "utilizing 128-bit SSL certificates thereby offering the highest level of encryption or security possible." Also, we have no employees outside our family, and we do not ever sell or disclose customers' private information to anyone else—period. Customer security and privacy are of extreme importance to us—in fact, our two highest priorities.
How else may customers order your books? Customers who prefer not to use a credit card or place an order online may simply call us and place their order over the phone. If you don't want to use a credit card, call in your order and we will give you a total, we will assemble the order and we will send it when we have your check. Just have the product name and product ID handy. We're available to help place orders, answer questions, and help in any way we can. But honestly, if you pay by credit card it is going to go through the web site using the same process, because our store software has to track all sales, taxes and inventory. But using your credit card in our store it is more secure than using your credit card at a local store or restaurant, where any number of employees have access, they keep your information on file forever and they are a bigger target for hackers. The biggest issue with internet security is how long the business keeps credit card information on file. We store information for a very short period of time and then delete it.
Will you hire help? No. We have a tremendous support team—a network of skilled professionals who stand behind us and help in various ways. However, the operation of our business is handled entirely by our family. When customers call, they talk directly to us. We are 100% "family owned and operated".
What changes will you make over time? We are committed to regularly evaluate our service and our products so that we can be quick to adjust and improve. We listen to customer feedback. We do minimal advertising and rely more on word-of-mouth referrals from our customers. Also, we are making our Web site more user-friendly and will be offering new products all the time. Just like your local stores, products come and go with the seasons. Keep checking our site for new things and for clearance bargains!
What kind of feedback are you looking for? All kinds! We want to hear from you. Please give us your feedback, just click on Contact Us on the top navigation bar. We would like suggestions for new products and improvements we can make to our Web site and our service. Also, please let us know whether you are completely satisfied with our packaging, shipping, service, etc. Did we treat you royally?
How may customers contact Planet Icthus? You may email us at sales@planeticthus.com, or call us at 208-968-2888. We work Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm Pacific Standard Time.
Any final words? We want to thank you for shopping at Planet Icthus. We pray that the gifts you order from us will be a blessing in your life. May God give you many opportunities to share your faith in Jesus Christ with people around you. And to all our exuberant customers—big thanks to you! We have been so blessed by your compliments and encouragements.
Here is a Coupon for you!
If you are a first-time shopper to Planet Icthus, you may receive 10% off your first purchase. (Only one coupon per order, so only one promotion code will work at a time.) Simply type the word
"welcome" as a coupon code when you go to check out. Blessings to you!
Gifts and giving are really at the heart of Christianity, they are an expression of true love. While our giving of material gifts to one another is important, it is a faint echo of our Creator’s giving.
We learn about this type of giving-love because we see it displayed by what God did in sending His Son to die on a Cross for the payment of man’s sin, “This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
The provision for man’s sin is the greatest gift of all, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). God’s gift to mankind is personal salvation from the penalty of sin. It's not earned, it's not a reward, it is a free gift!
While Planet Icthus exists to provide meaningful and tasteful Christian gifts, we recognize that nothing material in this world can compare to what has been given to us by God to secure eternal salvation (Ephesians 1:14). If you are interested in learning or teaching what the Bible says about God, man, sin and the gift of salvation, we recommend reading “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus” published by GoodSeed - Bible Study, Evangelism, and Discipleship resources.
"Here is a book that cuts to the chase about what the Bible really has to say. With so much literature being written that conjures up a biblical mysticism, here is a book that attempts to dispel the so-called “confusion” of the Bible. John Cross, the author, goes to great depths to keep the message of the Bible in clear view. With around 1200 quotes from the Bible, he weaves a continuous commentary made up of insightful teaching and entertaining stories. Clarity and understanding are in the forefront of this books purpose. After reading “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus”, I came to a much better grasp of what the Bible’s message really is. I hope that you find the same clarity in your journey through this wonderful book."
-- Anonymous Reader