Buy.Com Ends Below Cost Pricing

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
0
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<< Buy.com customers are buyers, not browsers, so the company sank millions into redesigning its Web site for maximum convenience and speed. To conserve cash, the company eschewed an expensive holiday ad campaign and crafted guy-oriented giveaways linked to the Super Bowl and Howard Stern's radio show. >>



Wow, they hit it right on the nose! I wish I had Super Bowl tickets. :( Oh well, it looks like my buddie's 65&quot; widescreen will have to cut it.

I hope buy.com and amazon.com can stay in business. 90% of my online purchases are through them! If they fail, we might see a very bleak e-tailer market. I'd have to say, they set the standards of what everyone is up to.
 

da bastard

Senior member
Oct 11, 1999
263
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Amazon.com will die! Buy.com may stay afloat, but their stock will crash when Amazon.com goes under. I assume when Amazon is about to go under some large firm would buy it for its name.
 

namlook

Senior member
Oct 26, 1999
882
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If amazon goes under the whole internet economy will probably go under as well. Amazon is the anchor that hold e-commerce together.
 

madhamster

Junior Member
Oct 22, 2000
22
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Amazon sucks and deserves to die, as does egghead &amp;Co, but I really reeeaaaly hope buy.com and especially onvia stay afloat... On a related note, I contacted TranscendPC.com about some issue, and here's what I got in reply 5 min ago:

--------------------------------------------
A message to our loyal customers/friends:

Transcend PC has experienced a series of sudden and unfortunate
events, and can no longer remain open to serve you. This was largely
due to the fact that we did not obtain the financial support that was
both anticipated and necessary. As these events began to unfold, you
may have noticed that we temporarily closed our operations (effective
November 9, 2000) as we dedicated our efforts to pursuing alternative
sources of financing. Sadly, we must report that we have exhausted all
of our resources and options to remedy the situation but were
unsuccessful. Consequently, we had to make the extremely difficult
decision to cease operations entirely and immediately.

In addition, we also want to thank all of you that have e-mailed the
past few days inquiring about the status of the business, sending
encouraging words, and wishing us the best. We were absolutely shocked
at the shear number of people who expressed their support. We cannot
fully tell you just how much it means to know that even during this
time so many of you are still there to support us and believe in the
way we tried to do business. We can honestly say that we had the best
customers on the internet, and we will miss you so very much. It was
our privilege and honor to serve you while we had the opportunity.

Respectfully,
All of us at Transcend PC
-----------------------------

They where top rated on resellerratings, really good business, and now this... Sad. :-(
 

Cerebus

Member
Dec 1, 1999
89
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I would imagine that the online world is just like the b&amp;m world, most business is done with small business. Amazon does not have the advantage that a Super Walmart has. One can &quot;shop&quot; a dozen stores online in a matter of minutes.

Amazon is having real world problems which are probably bugging them more than any slowdown in business. But I don't think that Amazon is the ebusiness hinge pin. With the billions in online sales last year, how much of that was Amazon's share?
 

AndrewR

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,157
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If these companies would stop giving away MILLIONS in coupons, they would probably improve their financial situation even though their sales would decrease. The fact that Buy.com has dozens and dozens of coupons for anywhere from 20-33% that can be used on every purchase just makes them idiotic, not a victim of ecommerce.

I'm not sure what Amazon's problem is -- perhaps they need to get rid of Bezos and bring in a real CEO.
 

buckeye

Senior member
Feb 28, 2000
330
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I wouldnt want to shop online if there were no coupons. I sacrifice the wait time of 1 week or so, just because I can save some 10 or 20 bucks..otherwise I can go to a B&amp;M and pick up the same product, which will be hassle free.
 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
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Boo hoo - I guess this is what happens when you build a business model that bundles in no profits at all. I LOVE amazon.com and have used it for nearly all my holiday shopping for years, but you have to question a business that can do that much volume, with such a large customer base, and still lose money.

Admittedly, all retail operations lose money for the first few years, but Amazon seems to have such a scattershot approach with the way they keep expanding their inventory that they can never turn it around. One wonders how they might be doing if they had stuck to books and music, where they are still outstanding.
 

Penchie

Member
Oct 24, 2000
51
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I think it all comes down to which method of purchase do you want
to support with your spending $$'s

If buy.com was the same price as the brick and mortar establishment
the tax savings alone would save around 8 percent.

The brick and mortar requires getting in the car and if it's 10 miles
away from your home, that's 20 miles worth of gas, maybe 1.40 worth,
although tiny, must be figured into the savings of shopping online.

But the reality is buy.com &quot;IS&quot; cheaper than the brick and mortars
on most if not all items and the truth is the bestbuys and compusas
of the world sell most items at full blown list with the exception
of the items in their circulars. Certainly not a &quot;best buy&quot; in
my opinion and on those items buy.com stomps their a**!!

So.........what I'd like to see is buy.com becoming satisfied with the
name recognition they've achieved with all those coupons and advertising
and stop that nonsense that &quot;is&quot; their bleeding.

I'd like to see them become profitable and stay around and I'd like
to see the people who genuinely enjoy shopping online support them
if they have a good price regardless of a coupon or free shipping.

Truth is buy.com is spoiling it's customers on these coupons and it's
gonna bite em in the end and it's totally unnecessary. A better
price and a huge selection &quot;IS&quot; enough!!! Just look at your local
Wal Mart. Why is it always so damn crowded???

Certainly ain't coupons!

Finally I hope Amazon.com withers up and dies! I don't trust those bast&amp;rd#!!!
All I know is about 90 percent of my orders at buy.com ship without problems
and at Amazon.com it's been about 40 percent with the remaining 60
resulting in some apologetic email stating &quot;supplier problems&quot;. They're
worthless in my opinion.

So it all comes down to support your favorite method......shoppin in yer
underwear or gettin in the car to pay list plus tax.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INTERNET RETAILER....


Pench crawls down off soapbox



 

cbass98

Member
Apr 8, 2000
170
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If Amazon.com goes down, it may cause all the other online vendors to crash with it as well. Wall Street's definition of online business is basically Amazon.com (they don't know who Buy.com is or Onvia.com). Thus, if Amazon goes down, it could spark a selling frenzy due to lack of confidence in online etailing. That then would cause the other 2 stocks to collapse and thus forcing them to close down operations.

Hell, we may not have a Buy.com or Amazon.com or Onvia.com next year. May have to buy retail again.....*shudder*
 

FrontlineWarrior

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2000
4,905
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I don't understand why B&amp;M stores that have large online presenses just not raise their prices (in their B&amp;M stores). All the major B&amp;M are going online, so it makes sense to raise B&amp;M prices for the convenience, while keeping online prices still profitable. The mom and pop B&amp;M stores are already overcharging in order to survive so there really shouldn't be too big of an impact in raising prices B&amp;M. You would think that after a few years Buy.com would stop uncharging in order to drive traffic. I mean, they already have the brand name and the service, why not take advantage of it now? Or was their mission all along to take rich investors' money and gradually distribute it amongst the common folk via coupons and below cost pricing? I'm no Economics major but anything would be better than continuing to lose money without at least TRYING to make a profit.

edit: so, where's the hot deal? :p
 

dopcombo

Golden Member
Nov 14, 2000
1,394
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hmm.... i think that wall street doesn't just see online ecommerce as amazon.com alone. Most of what is called e-commerce is actually B2B transactions, while B2C is a very small proportion of all the money that is flowing around the place. So even though amazon.com is currently the biggest B2C company, even if it were to die a horrible death tomorrow, online e-commerce will still go on. In fact, if amazon.com died tomorrow, it might spur a new round of online entrepreneurs simply because of the free-ing up of the market again.
:p

personally, i hope they stay alive simply because all the other companies would actually have a reason to give discounts. think abt it, if amazon.com weren't there, what's the point? there wouldn't be any &quot;microsoft&quot;-type of company to compete with anymore.

alrite, enuff BS.... get on with the deals :p
 

Nutzo

Senior member
Apr 24, 2000
441
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I hope Amazon stays around. I love all the free amazon.com certificates that can be earned. When combined with Coupons, I've really bought alot from them this year. The big toy sale they had when they took over ToysRus sales was great. Did most my christmas shopping at several weeks ago.

I've ordered over $350 worth of stuff &amp; didn't pay a dime so far <G>. That doesn't include the $129. remote car I got this summer for $29, due to the pricing mishap......

 

TheBigZ

Senior member
May 25, 2000
629
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If Amazon goes down it's gonna take all of e-commerce with it eh?? Heh. I don't think so. About all it will do is finally bring to a close the practice of getting one-shot customers at any cost. There are still e-commerce megaliths out there, that have done hundreds of millions of dollars in volume, AND shown a profit! How can this be you ask?? They're privately held. Huge department store chains have gone out of business, and the doomsayers said the mall was dead. Yet they keep building malls... they're a little different than they used to be, but they're still malls. E-commerce is here. And it's staying. Period. Sure, two years from now it won't look anything like it does now... but it's staying. Without going into details, I have a commercial website. I have a microscopic sliver of a multibillion dollar market. Shatner does TV ads for my competition. You think I'm worried about the death of e-commerce... heh, no way baby! ;)
 

Ranger X

Lifer
Mar 18, 2000
11,218
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Why does Amazon suck? I've had pleasant experiences with them and would definitely deal with them again. They offer gift certificates and they offer a wide variety of goods. I don't see where the complain is coming from.
 

HKS

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
238
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Well, though it is true that you would have to drive to your local B&amp;M.... think of it like this. Buy.com doesn't have to front for expensive store property, display casing, etc. that your local store needs to, in addition, you can't handle or touch the product like you can at your local store. If Buy.com has the same product as your local store for the same price, then though you save on the tax at Buy.com (actually, I don't because I'm in California) you still have to pay shipping. All in all, you end up paying MORE for the same product, without having the luxury of being able to return it at your convenience and NOT dealing with a CSR that tries to make YOU pay for shipping...

Bottom line, if buy.com didn't offer coupons or deals that were better than my local B&amp;M, I wouldn't go to them. Why wait a week when you can have it in a day? =)

-JTL
 

rickforrest

Senior member
Nov 5, 1999
228
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&quot;Why wait a week when you can have it in a day? =)&quot;

Because the local B&amp;M may not have it in stock. What's more frustrating than to drive to the store, find a parking place, go inside, and then they don't have what you want?

On the flipside, I can do a search for similar products on buy.com and get the best one for ME, based on price and features. Much better selection than the local store. Especially here in South Carolina.
 

Nack

Senior member
Oct 10, 1999
851
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&quot;It's like boiling a frog,&quot; said Chief Financial Officer Mitch Hill.

Now THAT is the buy.com that I know, and is very indicative of what I believe to be their general attitude towards customers. :) I probably would not shop there if they were not significantly (more than a dollar or two) cheaper than the B&amp;M stores. I frankly don't think much of their service, or their attitude towards customers. So long as I can buy things there at 10% or so below B&amp;M prices, PLUS a 20% coupon on top of that, I will continue to be a &quot;loyal&quot; customer. The way I see it, they can use me (and my business) to appease the vulture capitalists in anticipation of their next cash flush, and I can use them to get stuff at 30% below retail. If there comes a time when that relationship is no longer profitable for either side, either side can end it. I really HOPE that they don't go under because I really LIKE getting cheap stuff, but the sun will rise tomorrow, and the world will continue as always if they do. We will just buy fewer toys, pay a little more for them, and move on (most of us STILL with at least 5 or 10 unfulfilled buy.com orders outstanding).

This may sound cold, but I am about 2 for 3 on my buy.com orders. When you call, you rarely get a straight answer from the CSR. When they offer to call back, they don't. I suppose having so many unfulfilled orders isn't a big deal when you are saving 30%, but I look at shopping at buy.com as a trade of convienence and certainty, for lower price.

I don't feel this way about all online stores, just buy.com and a couple of others. Outpost.com, for example, has superior customer service, fair prices, and a great shipping policy (free overnight). When I NEED something, I pay a little more and buy it at outpost or the local B&amp;M. When I am buying optional expensive toys, I wait for a $30 off $150 and free shipping weekend, and get it at buy.com.

my 2 cents

Nack gets down off of the soapbox and returns it to pench ;)
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
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DIE!!! DIE Places that charge a ridiculous amounts of shipping for extremely slow shipping options!!! DIE!