linking and ecommerce

i sell widgets, do I link with other widget sellers?

[hcge]

Hi all, I am new to the forum and am getting lots of great ideas and advice.
I have read a lot about linking to other sites, but I want to know if I should be finding other sites that sell similar items? or what? If I am in a tourist town, do I link to attractions that they might be interested in? If you widgets, would you want your customers or potential customers to go to the competition?
Do you have links on your home page or a link page? I saw lots of sites in my early building career that offered lots of links to other sites on their home page. I always wondered why they would want someone to use links on their home page to leave their own site?
As an aside, I am learning the shorthand, but don't know what PR# means?
Thanks for your help!

[sun818]

> if I should be finding other sites that sell similar items?

Knowing how your competition does business is always a good idea. I'll often visit competitor sites and see the buyer experience is like. It helps me to realize what I do better and at the same time what areas I can improve in.

> potential customers to go to the competition?

I do it with price comparisons sometimes, but I don't usually leak leads to the competition. I also link out to partners that buy wholesale from us. Buyers appreciate that you provide a source closer to them facilitating quicker delivery of products. The other benefit is the perception that your company is reputable enough to partner with other companies.