[OT] Internet miniatures ordering survey

I am considering starting up an internet miniatures company (yes,
another
one) and would like your input.  I would initially try to distribute
figure
lines that don't have North American, or at least Western US,
distributors.
I'd appreciate it if  you to answer the following questions.  I know
this
probably wouldn't apply to you if you're outside of the US, but I'd
still
like your input on your internet ordering experience.  I'm just in the
information gathering stage to determine if this is a viable option &
see if
this is something I want to do.  You can respond to my e-mail below if
you
wish.
Thanks in advance for your time,
Nils Hedglin
Nils.A.Hedglin@Intel.Com

1) Why do you buy miniatures through the internet, instead of from your
local store or through more traditional mail order channels?

2) Why would or wouldn't you order from a US distributor as opposed to
directly from the manufacturer?

3) What do you think is a reasonable turn around time for an order that
the
distributor has in stock?

4) What do you think is a reasonable turn around time for an order that
the
distributor has to back order?

5) What is the best miniatures distributor's webpage (excluding the
service
aspect) you've seen & why?  How would you improve it? (Please provide
the
URL so I can check it out.)

6) What is the worst miniatures distributor's webpage (excluding the
service
aspect) you've seen & why?  How would you improve it? (Provide the URL
if
your comfortable.)

7) What was the best service you received from an online or mail order
miniatures company?

8) What manufacturers would you like to have a closer (Western US)
distributor for?

9) What non-ordering services would you like to see from a distributor? 
I
would intend to have pictures of all the figures, but I'm thinking of
other
things like a size comparison chart between different manufacturers to
see
how their figures would work together.

10) If you found the same figures, for the same price & shipping, on two
different webpages, what would be the deciding factor for which company
you
would choose?

Thanks again,
Nils