The internet has enabled instant feedback from millions of consumers, but that doesn't mean you always have to listen to them. Online discounter Overstock.com became O.co six months ago but announced today it is switching back. Enough flip flopping. Grow a spine, tech companies.
When Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock.com, isn't issuing paranoid rants about "naked shorts" ruining Wall Street, or admitting that his online store's buggy software has been producing false financial reports, he keeps busy lying to journalists. Including yours truly. Back in 2002, I interviewed Byrne for Business…
For years, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has maintained a loony crusade against Wall Street traders, claiming there was a conspiracy to sell his company's stock short. (He may well have been onto something — but then again, a stopped clock is right twice a day.) CIO reveals a far more serious problem affecting…
Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock.com, has popularized the notion that "naked shorts" are ruining Wall Street. In the process, though, he also popularized the notion that he was a paranoid nutjob — a reputation that he's hardly shed since the SEC issued new regulations governing the shady stock-trading practice.…
New York's state legislature passed a law that will require Internet vendors with any business ties to the state to collect sales tax. The law is so sweeping that it includes nonphysical ties, such as affiliate-marketing programs, which pay a slice of sales to websites which refer customers to an online store.…
MoveOn.org, the activist group, takes credit for Facebook revising its privacy policy. The company itself says it was just listening to user feedback. But you know better: Money talks. The New York Times reports that prior to Facebook's announcement last night, at least one advertiser, Overstock.com, told Zuckerberg…
Overstock.com usually charges $2.95 per order for shipping. However, when they drop the shipping price to $1, the average order size skyrockets. Why does saving two dollars on a $400 bookcase make people more likely to buy? Everyone loves a bargain, while no one loves math. [NYT]
Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey is not the only person using a fictional identity online to fluff his ego and advance his business aims. The New York Times refers to the practice as sock-puppeting , "the act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one's self,…
