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Technology Stocks : OnSale Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Vic A who wrote (775)	2/13/1998 11:48:00 PM
From: Clark Davis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4903

I initially lost money shorting this stock. I learned not to fight the trend. Since then, I have made money on both sides (short & long). With the lockup period ending, being investing in this stock is like cruising on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg. It's only a matter of time before this baby sinks. If you jump ship(short) too soon you die & if you stay aboard(long) believing this ship won't sink you'll go down with the ship. This is a disaster waiting to happen. The trick will be timing your move.

To: Vic A who wrote (775)	2/14/1998 12:11:00 AM
From: D.J.Smyth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4903

Vic, tony; respect your insightful thoughts, but both your comments remind me of the IBM's CEO's comment in the 1950s regarding his perception of why Xerox would ultimately fail. The fact is, no one really knows which internet commerce site will ultimately succeed and which will fail. I've read nothing yet which would convince me that Onsale won't succeed, and extremely so. Onsale is an auction; hey. More predominately, it's the internet - car auctions where time travel and restrictions relative to space/location can impede your ability to properly bid is not really comparable. If onsale succeeds (as it has thus far) it succeeds because it gives 100% of the people 100% access to the same product 100% of the time - there are no limits relative to space, time, club, etc - just the internet. It's a retailer. No kidding. It has some inventory, but products are sold from many sites, not just Onsale's warehouse site. Onsale sells, as well, products, per se, on "consignment" earning a commission on the sale as it were. They do envision, by the way, using both auction and non-auction formats in the future. They'll probably do whatever works to create the most revenue. Not comparable to Yahoo because Yahoo is a brand name? C'mon. We both went to business graduate school and you really don't believe this do you? You mean to say that the name "Onsale" can't become a "brand name" too? The CEO's comments of "getting big fast" was intended to imply making the name "Onsale" synonomous with internet retailing as they expand into other areas of merchandising, moving beyond computers and sporting goods to cars, airline travel, time share vacations, etc. Anyone can purchase goods over the internet from anywhere. The philosophy is sound. At some point Yahoo's advertising "real estate" space becomes limited, thus revenue becomes limited. But does a company like Onsale have limits as to how far they can expand relative to the type of goods sold as well as the method of sale (auction vs. non-auction)? I don't care whether you shorted the stock or bought long. We have no position yet, but I do believe this company has the necessary elements for success. And here I go again, after telling myself it serves no purpose to ramble on the internet like this. The funds will decide whether Onsale's stock price rises or falls, and the amount of internet chatter becomes pointless.

To: Vic A who wrote (775)	2/14/1998 3:27:00 PM
From: tony pan	Respond to of 4903

Just a side note. I know some friends working at another start-up Internet shopping network(ISN). Their parent company is HSN. The parent company provides it with goods at cost and also handles its shipping and billing. HSN do promote the site on its show. They are doing 30 mil this year. They may do an IPO this year. I like their odds better than ONSL.

To: Vic A who wrote (775)	2/14/1998 3:57:00 PM
From: Mo Chips	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4903

<<2. It is not "HSC" as that medium is very interactive and has a "Talk Show / Game Show" feel to it as well as the urgency pressure as time expires on the items. As well as being totally accessible to all non-techies and or computer literate persons. I would even propose that persons who shop on HSC are not the same persons who would purchase items through Onsale. Ask yourself as I have - A. Would you use Onsale (my answer as a business owner and computer literate user is YES) B. Have you ever used HSC (my answer is NO). Finally do you know of a person(s) who does frequent HSC and how many of those people do you see getting into eCommerce?>> First, I think it does have the sense of urgency, remember the auction has a specified end time. And I think the crossover between the TV and the internet is occuring. Go to firstauction.com It is the Auction website of the HSN. They sell many of the same items as they sell on HSN TV. So maybe there are similar customers on the TV and on the intenet... Mo