The other auction site: money-back guarantees part of Internet survivor Bidz.com's different approach to selling as it baffles for market share against giant eBay. (Small Business).SHORTLY after its online auction site began in early 1999, Bidz.con Inc. received a "high bid" of $1 for a Rolex watch for which the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. company paid $500. The company's partners claim they could not have cared less. "This Rolex that that person got, he is a walking advertisement for us," said David Zinberg, Bidz.com's chief executive. "He probably told 1,000 people where he got it and what happened." Zinberg and his partners, Matthew Mills Matthew Claude Mills (born July 14, 1986 in Swindon, England) is an English footballer, currently on loan from Manchester City to Doncaster Rovers. The promising England Under-21 defender signed from Southampton on a three-and-a-half-year deal in January 2006. and Lawrence Kong, have relied mostly on word of mouth to expand a business they say has grown over the past three years--despite massive industry consolidation and being in the shadow of giant eBay Inc. The company has tried to distinguish itself by keeping tight control over its inventory, owning all the merchandise it sells, and offering money-back guarantees. This, Biz.com owners believe, allows their customers to get better deals than they would find on other sites. "This is a customer service site, not a seller-driven site. The bargains are unheard of Not heard of; of which there are no tidings. Unknown to fame; obscure. - Glanvill. See also: Unheard Unheard (because) we've cut out all the middlemen--distributors and retailers," said Mills, Bidz.com's chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. . Sales last year reached $7.8 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the company, which is among the dozen or so online auction houses that survived the tech bust. Others include uBidz.com Amazon.com and Yahoo.com IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. planned Bidz.com's owners are daring enough to be considering going public in 2003. Company officials project $40 million in sales this year and claim to have received $15 million from some 450 investors since the company's inception. There may be room for growth in the online auction industry, but many online auction sites experienced success in the late 1990s, only to go out of business or be bought out within a year or two when demand for products reached a saturation point saturation point n. 1. Chemistry The point at which a substance will receive no more of another substance in solution. 2. The point at which no more can be absorbed or assimilated. . Bidz.com's fixed costs--buying goods, storage and staff--greatly reduce the profit potential that eBay enjoys with its model of collecting listing fees for sellers who own and ship their own goods. "Bidz.com could potentially be successful in its little niche," said David Kathman, an Internet analyst for Morningstar Inc. "But it's never going to be anywhere near as big as eBay." Bidz.com is mostly known as a site to find jewelry, which accounts for 80 percent of its sales. The remainder of the stock ranges from motorcycles to rare coins to centuries-old jade statuettes and weapons from Chinese dynasties Chinese Dynasties Dynasty Characteristics and History Hsia c.1994–c.1523 B.C. Semilegendary Emperor Yu built irrigation channels, reclaimed land. Bronze weapons, chariots, domestic animals used. Wheat, millet cultivated. First use of written symbols. . The company expects to turn a $5 million profit this year on 6,000 to 7,000 daily sales. Although Rolex watches don't go for $1 anymore, the company has no control over the number of people who bid on a product. About 95 percent of goods auctioned are liquidated DAMAGES, LIQUIDATED, contracts. When the parties to a contract stipulate for the payment of a certain sum, as a satisfaction fixed and agreed upon by them, for the not doing of certain things particularly mentioned in the agreement, the sum so fixed upon is called liquidated damages. (q.v. merchandise from manufacturers and wholesalers while the remaining 5 percent comes from deals Bidz.com has with 200 goods makers who sell their excess products on the site and pay Bidz.com a 5 to 15 percent commission (Individuals may not sell on the site.) Manufacturer Los Angeles Jewelry Inc. sells Bidz.com $2 million worth of goods annually--merchandise retailers couldn't sell. Although the jewelry maker sells its overstock o·ver·stock tr.v. o·ver·stocked, o·ver·stock·ing, o·ver·stocks To stock more of (something) than necessary or desirable. n. An excessive supply. Verb 1. for up to 20 percent below the manufacturing cost, dealing with Bidz.com is still more cost efficient than melting the jeweh-y down or hiring salespeople to unload it. For Zinberg, Bidz.com is the latest entry on a resume that most recently included ownership of Union Pawnbrokers, a chain of 23 L.A. County stores. The son of a movie theater manager, Zinberg's family left their native Romania 28 years ago when he was 16. The family lived in Israel, Germany and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of before moving to L.A. Once here, he had a variety of jobs before opening the first Union Pawn Brokers store in 1987. The idea to start his own online site evolved from the success he had auctioning items on eBay that were not selling in his stores. He recruited Mills as a partner after a chance meeting in a Century City restaurant. Having spent a decade as auction manager for Sports Car Ltd., an Oceanside car wholesaler, Mills knew how auctions attracted buyers looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a bargain. Lawrence Kong became Bidz.com's third partner in January 2001. Some in the industry credit the Internet shakeout for helping Bidz.com. "In some ways, the bust helped because it eliminated competition," said Chuck Hoover, vice president of business development for Culver City-based CarsDirect.com Inc. RELATED ARTICLE: PROFILE Bidz.com Inc. Year Founded: 1999 Core Business: Online auction house Revenues in 2001: $7.8 million Revenues in 2002 (projected): $40 million Employees in 2001: 45 Employees in 2002: 120 Goal: Take the company public next year. Driving Force: Demand by bargain hunters Bargain Hunters was a game show on ABC in the summer of 1987, hosted by Peter Tomarken. Games Each episode featured six contestants, with two playing one of the following games — Bargain Quiz, Bargain Trap and Bargain Busters — at a time. for jewelry and other liquidated merchandise for as little as $1 per item. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion