Quote - > Quote - The side bar needs to be darker as well Stacey. It is too glaring. But the header is a bit better. I don't see the logic in all of this white, it does not excite one to buy, it makes one "uncomfortable".

~A~

I have to say I am inclined to agree 100% (and I don't like to agree with people - it feels unatural to me somehow ).  Even though the header and sides are "off white" now, they are far to bright and painful on the eyes.  There is too much contrast from a design point of view, creating too much visual tension and drama on the page - which makes the experience much less comfortable of viewing the pages and shopping.  This will serve to speed up click throughs, and while may appear to be generating more trafic in the long run, the traffic is not taking the time to actually view products, or browse.  They will click through, get whatever business they came to do here done quickly, and move on - which serves to reduce overall profit and sales from impulse buys, browsing consumers, or people who are digging and looking for something unusual.

I myself have purchased many things, here, at RDNA, at CP, and at a certain "other" site, after long visits just looking through products and seeing something after hours that was a "Must Have" and not what I intended to buy.  I have an extensive wishlist of such items to make it easier for me to find them when I have funds.  The current design makes such "expeditions" hard on the eyes and uncomfortable - so I am not likely to do them.  I would bet others have thought the same way.

I so hate to delve into such technical terms of comercial sales and commercial arts training as I have just done (in fact I think this is a first, and many do not even realize the extent of my education or experiences in such matters) so please, please, please consider the above very deeply and carefully before dismissing it?

I have to agree with you here. Hopefully your comments will be taken into consideration.