I didn’t realize how good we were together until I lost you. After you taught me everything, I was seduced by Apple with her sleek glass doors and hand-polished sandstone floors. She promised me things. Maybe I could be in a commercial with her or sit next to her holy iPod displays. But then, contract by contract, detail by detail she revealed herself. Her margins were huge. “It’s okay,” she said, “I have so many visitors it will be worth it.” But the customers weren't there for me. They were there for her. Her terms were ludicrous. “Don’t worry about consignment, we’ll sell them all.” But she didn’t. I was placed on a tiny rack in the back of the store next to the $50 iPhone cases and watched, week after week, as single digit sales came in. And when I was down and alone with tiny sales numbers, she didn’t even have the decency to pay me on time.

After she left me for a bigger company I went through a hazy string of others: Walmart, Target, BestBuy. I don’t want to talk too much about it, it was a dark time in my life but I had no where else to turn.

I was wrong, dearest Brookstone. I should have never left you. All of us hardware startups hold you dear in our hearts. And now that you’re in the pit of despair, married to the federal government and his sleazy Chapter 11 bankruptcy code, I’ve realized how unfairly I’ve treated you. I know you only sell high-priced gadgets that few people need, but those people don’t realize how good you treat your suppliers. How you trust in them and nurture them.

But none of this will matter soon. I fear you’ve started a long, painful death. The last few times I visited your stores you seemed lonely. Your shelves were full and your sales associates over-eager. Your once-inviting massage chairs were dirty and empty. Your iPhone connected meat thermometers seemed irrelevant. Desperation was in the air.

So to you dearest Brookstone, in your final days, I thank you. You showed me how it’s done. And for the hundreds of other small hardware companies that first learned how to sell products through your retail stores, I say with utmost respect: we appreciate you more than you may ever know.

With sadness,

Hardware P. Startup