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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Bid.com International (BIDS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ruyi who wrote (23854)	4/21/1999 6:30:00 PM
From: F. Evans	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 37507

Oh what a tangled web you weave Dagan....when you practice to deceive. Frank

To: Ruyi who wrote (23854)	4/21/1999 7:06:00 PM
From: Cameron	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 37507

bid.com is a quite different operation than other consignment based auction sites. In reality it is simply an on-line retailer which happens to use the auction mechanism as its point of difference. Now... let's say you are a national packaged goods firm (several of which I have worked for). You decide to run a promotion where you offer $.50 off each 2 Litre bottle of your product for the month of July. Where does the expense go... marketing expenses... of course!! Not cost of goods. This method of accounting makes bid.com comparable to all other retail operations. I have never actually thought about how I would account for a commission based auction operation. If you are selling on commission and decide to subsidize the price then you are effectively reducing your commissions so the expense would become a cost of goods - or really a net reduction to commission revenue. Makes perfect sense to me. Key measure is discounted expected earnings per share - which is below both the marketing or COGS line. When you say things like >>The damage keeps coming. Accounting questions ??? all you do is reduce your own credibility. Why not just post the article - which is interesting by the way! Sheesh!!!

To: Ruyi who wrote (23854)	4/21/1999 7:30:00 PM
From: Barry K	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37507

Dagan, You said "The damage keeps coming. Accounting questions ??? " Well read what that certified auditors, a well-respected tax and accounting analyst with Lehman Brothers, and NASDAQ said in the article that you posted.... there is no problem here, can't you understand what they said? "... the company's accounting has been approved the company's auditors Deloitte & Touche LLP and it complies with U.S. and Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. The company's 1998 financial results were filed with the SEC as of April 15 prior to its listing on Tuesday. Robert Willens, a well-respected tax and accounting analyst with Lehman Brothers, said he can see the theory behind Bid.Com's accounting and that he doesn't believe it is "erroneous." A Nasdaq spokesman said foreign-listed companies must comply with U.S. GAAP before listing on the exchange." Are you suggesting that none of them know what they are saying, and you do??? Get real..... I believe them, not you! Barry

To: Ruyi who wrote (23854)	4/21/1999 7:59:00 PM
From: WhatsUpWithThat	Respond to of 37507

First post from you I found interesting, Dagan. Glad to have had it posted. Accounting questions? It appears not, since the auditors and exchanges are satisfied. Misleading gross margin figures for 1998? Apparently so. They are going to stop selling product under cost, but is the 6.9% gm that I believe was the most recent quoted also overstated compared to other companies because of their 'atypical' method of accounting for these loss leaders as advertising? Denise, you're in Finance (Cameron, you too?) Anyone else care to comment on how borderline this is for GAAP? Personally I hate it when companies play games like this, though it underscores the fact that for all (repeat, Dagan, all) companies, accounting is a lot less hard science and a lot more subjective than most people think. There's a lot of dickering and negotiating and general playing around before coming to an agreement with your auditors on the FS you'll publish. Finally, this doesn't alter my position on BIDS: still expecting solid upside. WUWT

To: Ruyi who wrote (23854)	4/21/1999 8:05:00 PM
From: Serge Collins	Respond to of 37507

Now we know why the underwriters suddenly downgraded -- ACCOUNTING IRREGULARITIES. Under GAAP, you cannot put losses for goods sold under another cost item such as R&D or SG&A. Look who their accountants are Deloitte & Touche -- OH NO, not that bunch again! The accountants for two of the most spectacular stock market scams in history -- Bre-X, YBM Magnex. If you want slack accounting, D&T is the one to call.