Stories about: eToys

In April 1999, I began predicting the Internet stock bubble would burst on November 8, 1999. Well, as many of you have pointed out, it didn't. Instead, dot-com incubators continued hatching schemes for monetising eyeballs in the New Economy, and Wall Street day traders ate up A to Z Internet IPOs. It was tough being my usual prig.

The old economy proved it's still got some kick Tuesday as the Dow rose 1.01 percent, or 109.88, to close at 10976.89. The increase is broadly the result of stronger-than-predicted second-quarter productivity in the U.S. economy. Analysts had expected a 4.3 percent annual rate and were pleasantly surprised with the actual 5.3 percent result. This news also bodes well for interest-rate watchers, as Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan is unlikely to raise rates now that inflation worries are placated by strong productivity.

It's 7:30 on a Friday morning, and the smiling hosts of QVC, the leading television shopping channel, are busy showing off a portable blood-pressure monitor. They field three calls about the product in less than five minutes before moving to a demonstration of how to shop at QVC online. Then it's time to advertise a dollhouse for sale and alert viewers about jewelry that will be featured later in the day. "What keeps you coming back to QVC, Joyce?" the host asks a caller from Ohio who has phoned in to praise the blood-pressure device and report that she's bought many items, including computers, from QVC over the years. Her answer is straightforward: "You," she says, "and knowing I'm going to get good stuff."

The e-business model has all the hallmarks of success that traditional bricks-and-mortar enterprises can only dream about, including bigger profit margins and faster growth, according to a Gartner case study released last week.

Online educational-toy seller Toysmart.com Inc. this week joined the ranks of failed dot-coms, another victim of competition and a corporate investor that was unwilling to take unnecessary risks.

Educational-toy retailer Toysmart.com Inc. officially closed its doors yesterday, though its site remains online. Bought by Disney last August, Toysmart is the latest online toy retailer to bite the dust in recent weeks, following Nickelodeon's RedRocket.com on May 5 and KBkids.com, which fired 45 of its 145 employees two weeks ago.

Toysmart.com Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts, has shut is virtual doors, the victim of more well-known online toy retailers such as Toysrus.com and Walmart.com.

What's the old joke about the two guys facing down a hungry lion? One asks the other, "Can you outrun a lion?" The other replies, "I only have to outrun you."

Top Web sites were honored here last night at the Webby Awards ceremony, a lavish event that is fast earning itself a reputation as "the Oscars of the Internet."

Online retailing in the U.K. can expect to experience sustained growth within the next five years, with shoppers forecast to spend 20 billion pounds (US$30.5 billion) on purchases made over the Internet in 2005, Fletcher Research Ltd. announced at its Retail Online forum.

How many times has someone told you, "Hey, you can do that on the Web"? The first time, you may have wanted to read the latest issue of your favorite magazine without running down to the newsstand. Then maybe you wanted to buy a couple of books cheap. Now it's to find a mortgage, order groceries, or download your favorite music. Gee whiz, it seems like you can do everything on the Web.