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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: H James Morris who wrote (93113)	2/7/2000 7:03:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Glenn, what the hell did you do? You might have initiated an investigation of Amzn by the SEC!! BTW I requested the SEC investigate. That is my intention. >First books, then stocks. And now, diamonds may be the new, new thing to sell over the Internet. Good news for consumers, but it could mean a squeeze on profit margins for traditional jewelers. Thanks to the booming economy, U.S. diamond sales are soaring, gaining an estimated 11% or better last year to roughly $25 billion, good for half the world's market share. That follows a nifty 9% rise in 1998. Vendors are giddy as this year's demand appears to be just as promising, and retail diamond prices have been firm. But the 'Net is casting a shadow on this sparkling outlook. Diamonds are probably one of the last things people associate with e-tailing, but that has begun to change. Far from being too expensive, too individual or too difficult to buy sight unseen, diamond sales over the Internet are surging, with a virtual explosion of sites in just the past six months dedicated to selling diamond jewelry. And the reason is simple: Prices that are anywhere from 20%-50% cheaper, carat for carat, on equivalent grades. Most of the sites are small and private, so little hard data exist currently. Yet Bluenile.com, which, for example, began taking Internet orders last June, saw sales jump 233% to $10 million in the fourth quarter from the third quarter's $3 million. Other sites are seeing similar triple-digit growth rates. Once rare on the Internet, sales of $50,000-$70,000 diamonds now are not uncommon. James, I am sure the article is accurate but am wondering if it was insitigated by Bluenile.com. They are a Kleiner Perkins firm not public as of yet although I believe their plan is to go public. My speculation is they are bleeding red ink like Amazon. Anyhow, I am online so as not to miss the shift. Dan Morehead, president of DiamondTrade.com in Dallas I had a meeting with diamondfloor.com on this issue for B2B in the industry.