Brick and Mortar vs .com sites

Has anyone had to approach a website to discuss their idea or
innovation vs a "brick and mortar" retail outlet?

In chapter 3 of John's book there are explicit instructions to take
your idea/inovation to a likely retail outlet for the prodcut and
question a store employee/owner gauging their reaction and modifying
the design accordingly.

What happens if the only realistic place to sell your potential product
is on someones business internet web site? Would the same rules apply
when investigating the idea? Do you e-mail them and say "Do you have
such and such product?" How do you get to the person who can provide
valuable information vs some flunky hired to fill orders? In face to
face meetings, you can tell if someone says "its a great idea" while
their face says "your idea sucks." In which case you may need to
rethink the approach. How would such a scenario work with a .com
site? How would you know if thier opinion is guenuine or if they are
just being polite?

Anthony

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