E-Commerce Times Talkback

Re: Special Report: Look Who's Making Money Online
Posted by: ECT News 2001-03-27 11:15:33

See Full Story

Not a day goes by without yet another report of massive
high-tech layoffs and lowered financial
expectations -- not to mention the economic slowdown,
stock prices in steep decline and
the ongoing series of dot-com closures.

But underneath most radar screens, a group of e-commerce sites are getting ahead in
the New Economy. In this special report, the E-Commerce Times takes a look at six
profitable Web businesses and examines the reasons why
they have avoided the pitfalls of the faltering pack.

Re: Special Report: Look Who's Making Money Online
Posted by: pschon 2003-08-17 19:30:58 In reply to: ECT News

Just wanted to agree with the other person, the article was a waste of my time.
What would be interesting would be how little guys without money and brick&mortar presence are creating NEW businesses on the internet.
Really ....

Re: Coupons Drive our online sales
Posted by: corey 2001-03-29 20:13:11 In reply to: ECT News

Staples did great from a sales perspective, but did not yet turn a profit.

Re: is the answer bricks and clicks?
Posted by: Jenny Wilson 2001-03-27 18:33:26 In reply to: ECT News

It is comforting to hear of the online companies that are actually making a dollar. But it seems that this article is heralding the success of bricks and mortar companies who were wise enough to make the move online early, rather than highlighting the true dotcom success stories.

It may be that bricks and clicks is the only online strategy that works - in which case the internet is just another distribution channel. I would like to see an article that refutes this argument - and heralds the profit stories of true dotcom startups.

Coupons Drive our online sales
Posted by: Jenny 2001-03-27 18:00:43 In reply to: ECT News

I am surprised considering none of these are major discounters on the web. We as a family bought over $15,000 worth items on the web last year, but consistently we went to sites like
http://www.DotDeals.com
who list coupons / rebates before making a purchase. My theory infact has been, no coupon means the store doesn't really want my business. I wonder how good sites like Staples.com and Half.com did.

Not very helpful
Posted by: Scottie 2001-03-27 15:16:44 In reply to: ECT News

So the point of this story is all you need is a billion dollar existing business and worldwide brand equity and you'll do well on-line?

Sharper Image: old, famous company, proprietary products, physical "footprint" in malls everywhere

Homestore: cartel, proprietary products (MLS), physical "footprint" in real estate offices everywhere

Lands End: old, famous company, huge mailorder business with proprietary products

I suppose it is good to know who is doing well on-line, but it doesn't really help settle the real issue; is the Internet simply another "channel" for big existing businesses or is it a disruptive force that can kill those existing businesses if an upstart employs the right strategy?

The answer to the last question would be an awful lot more interesting.

Re: Special Report: Look Who's Making Money Online
Posted by: Ken Wallace 2001-03-27 12:38:47 In reply to: ECT News

Good article, we have seen a year of negative stories and it is refreshing to see some positive reports for a change. While there is nothing radically new in these business models it is truly amazing that we have so many Billions of dollars wasted on bad ideas and now everyone seems to be in a state of shock and despair simply because they got a harsh reality check! If you do it right the first time you won't have to repeat your mistakes.VC greed and lack of planning has never worked before why did anyone think it would this time. I believe we are still at the beginning of the greatest change the world has ever seen. The sooner all the Bad Plans are gone the better. KRW

Re: Special Report: Look Who's Making Money Online
Posted by: SusanKing 2001-03-27 11:19:37 In reply to: ECT News

Glad to see a story on this - one of our local stores - a specialty toy store - has found that a website has tripled their sales. They also follow up local customers with phone calls - reaping even more sales. Guess, as always, you have to know how to satisfy your customers.
I also agree about LandsEnd - they always follow up. I lot of websites send you into Never Never Land.