Offical Now - Flooz Is Dead and Filing for bankruptcy!
08-26-01, 06:53 PM
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Offical Now - Flooz Is Dead and Filing for bankruptcy!
www.flooz.com
We regret to inform you that Flooz.com, Inc. has ceased operations. The offices are closed and the company will file for bankruptcy protection.
Flooz.com has been adversely affected by dramatic changes in capital markets and the general slowdown in the economy. Flooz.com had been in merger discussions with a number of companies but was unable to find a suitable partner.
We wish to thank all of our customers, merchant partners, service providers, employees and investors for their support.
We regret to inform you that Flooz.com, Inc. has ceased operations. The offices are closed and the company will file for bankruptcy protection.
Flooz.com has been adversely affected by dramatic changes in capital markets and the general slowdown in the economy. Flooz.com had been in merger discussions with a number of companies but was unable to find a suitable partner.
We wish to thank all of our customers, merchant partners, service providers, employees and investors for their support.
08-26-01, 07:58 PM
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so what happens to people who actually spent their own money getting flooz (id really like to know why)...i remember they did have some decent promotions where you got free 30 flooz if you sent 50 or something like that.
08-27-01, 12:27 AM
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08-27-01, 07:12 AM
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I'm sure some of you have seen the other Flooz/B&N thread located here:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=133658
I was lucky and don't have any Flooz caught in this fiasco, but was wondering whether other retailers are honoring orders placed with them just before Flooz went down. So far, we've heard a lot about people's displeasure with B&N, but are orders placed at Tower still going through, for instance?
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=133658
I was lucky and don't have any Flooz caught in this fiasco, but was wondering whether other retailers are honoring orders placed with them just before Flooz went down. So far, we've heard a lot about people's displeasure with B&N, but are orders placed at Tower still going through, for instance?
08-27-01, 07:43 AM
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I just got off the phone with AG. They were offering a $10 credit and 6 additional paper cards in place of the $50 Flooz. Unless they offer more of a reasonable substitue, I will just cancel.
08-28-01, 02:06 AM
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Send your cash donations to whoopi.com
(I feel sorry for the 'ol whoopster. If she lost too much money, she might have to go back to getting a job in the 'ol rat race.)
Goldberg's Flooz blues: dot-com in bankruptcy
By Paul Bond
LOS ANGELES --- Whoopi Goldberg has become the latest celebrity to lose money on a once-promising Internet venture.
Flooz.com, the online gift currency company she had been promoting for two years, will file for bankruptcy, according to its Web site.
But the demise of Flooz, some analysts said, does more than just crimp Goldberg's wallet, it also sets the e-commerce sector back a notch.
"It sends a very negative impression of online shopping," Cyber Dialogue consumer analyst Ben Cutler said.
Cutler and others note that many recipients of Flooz and similar online gift certificates were encouraged -- sometimes for the very first time -- to shop online. Flooz, therefore, performed a service to all e-commerce by easing novice consumers into the experience.
"Our research indicates that it takes the average Internet user two years before they buy something online," Cutler said. "It's a sensitive process. You have to share who you are and where you live. Something like Flooz convinces people to try online shopping."
As for Goldberg, she reportedly owned about 10% of the company, which she acquired in lieu of cash for her services as celebrity pitchwoman.
Flooz reportedly sold $25 million worth of its cyber-currency last year. The service allowed customers to purchase Flooz at the company's Web site, then gave it away as gifts to be spent at the dozens of e-commerce sites Flooz had partnered with, such as barnesandnoble.com.
The company was unable to turn a profit with its business model, however, and couldn't find a buyer or raise more venture capital to keep it afloat.
"Flooz.com has been adversely affected by dramatic changes in capital markets and the general slowdown of the economy," a message at the company's home page reads. "Flooz.com had been in merger discussions with a number of companies but was unable to find a suitable partner."
And, according to a New York Times report, the company was also beset by fraud by thieves in Russia and the Philippines who used stolen credit cards to buy $300,000 in Flooz during the past three months.
Goldberg was just one of the many celebrities to opt that their form of payment be, at least in part, equity in the dot-coms they pitched, a strategy best used by William Shatner in his near-legendary deal with Priceline.com.
Shatner made millions with his quirky TV and radio ads for Priceline, though not nearly as much as he could have made had he cashed out of the company when its shares traded at $165 each. He did, however, sell 35,000 shares at $90, but in February he still held options for 90,000 shares. Priceline closed Monday at 5.76.
Most celebrities, including Shatner, took equity in startup Internet companies before the firms went public. Many of those companies have abandoned any hope of going public anytime soon and are fighting just to stay in business.
"If you've got worthless equity in an Internet company by the end of this year, it will be worthless forever," Keenan Vision Inc. Internet analyst Vernon Keenan said.
"Whoopi jumped on the wrong e-commerce train," Keenan said. "She should have gone with Amazon.com, but they didn't need her. But at least these celebrities won't have to worry about getting burned by another economic bubble again for 50 to 100 years."
Goldberg's Flooz blues: dot-com in bankruptcy
By Paul Bond
LOS ANGELES --- Whoopi Goldberg has become the latest celebrity to lose money on a once-promising Internet venture.
Flooz.com, the online gift currency company she had been promoting for two years, will file for bankruptcy, according to its Web site.
But the demise of Flooz, some analysts said, does more than just crimp Goldberg's wallet, it also sets the e-commerce sector back a notch.
"It sends a very negative impression of online shopping," Cyber Dialogue consumer analyst Ben Cutler said.
Cutler and others note that many recipients of Flooz and similar online gift certificates were encouraged -- sometimes for the very first time -- to shop online. Flooz, therefore, performed a service to all e-commerce by easing novice consumers into the experience.
"Our research indicates that it takes the average Internet user two years before they buy something online," Cutler said. "It's a sensitive process. You have to share who you are and where you live. Something like Flooz convinces people to try online shopping."
As for Goldberg, she reportedly owned about 10% of the company, which she acquired in lieu of cash for her services as celebrity pitchwoman.
Flooz reportedly sold $25 million worth of its cyber-currency last year. The service allowed customers to purchase Flooz at the company's Web site, then gave it away as gifts to be spent at the dozens of e-commerce sites Flooz had partnered with, such as barnesandnoble.com.
The company was unable to turn a profit with its business model, however, and couldn't find a buyer or raise more venture capital to keep it afloat.
"Flooz.com has been adversely affected by dramatic changes in capital markets and the general slowdown of the economy," a message at the company's home page reads. "Flooz.com had been in merger discussions with a number of companies but was unable to find a suitable partner."
And, according to a New York Times report, the company was also beset by fraud by thieves in Russia and the Philippines who used stolen credit cards to buy $300,000 in Flooz during the past three months.
Goldberg was just one of the many celebrities to opt that their form of payment be, at least in part, equity in the dot-coms they pitched, a strategy best used by William Shatner in his near-legendary deal with Priceline.com.
Shatner made millions with his quirky TV and radio ads for Priceline, though not nearly as much as he could have made had he cashed out of the company when its shares traded at $165 each. He did, however, sell 35,000 shares at $90, but in February he still held options for 90,000 shares. Priceline closed Monday at 5.76.
Most celebrities, including Shatner, took equity in startup Internet companies before the firms went public. Many of those companies have abandoned any hope of going public anytime soon and are fighting just to stay in business.
"If you've got worthless equity in an Internet company by the end of this year, it will be worthless forever," Keenan Vision Inc. Internet analyst Vernon Keenan said.
"Whoopi jumped on the wrong e-commerce train," Keenan said. "She should have gone with Amazon.com, but they didn't need her. But at least these celebrities won't have to worry about getting burned by another economic bubble again for 50 to 100 years."
08-28-01, 07:51 AM
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I am not sure if I believe this but this story was posted on www.theregister.co.uk today.
Credit card scam puts dotcom close to death
By Robert Blincoe
Posted: 28/08/2001 at 11:52 GMT
An online gift certificate site, Flooz.com, has filed for bankruptcy. This may be because it was the victim of a major credit card scam costing it $300,000.
The FBI are investigating a ring of Russian and eastern European bandits who are believed to have used stolen credit cards to buy Flooz's gift currency, known as the Flooz.
The problem really kicked in last month, according to head Floozy Robert Levitan, when banks halted all payments for goods made using the Flooz.
Levitan blamed the fraud and the current dotcom doldrums for forcing his company to seek bankruptcy protection.
Cisco was a major partner in the venture, and Whoopi Goldberg advertised the launch of the site in return for a stake in the business.
Flooz.com had raised $35 million over the last three years. It's going into Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which unlike Chapter 11, means there's no real hope of coming out of it alive
Credit card scam puts dotcom close to death
By Robert Blincoe
Posted: 28/08/2001 at 11:52 GMT
An online gift certificate site, Flooz.com, has filed for bankruptcy. This may be because it was the victim of a major credit card scam costing it $300,000.
The FBI are investigating a ring of Russian and eastern European bandits who are believed to have used stolen credit cards to buy Flooz's gift currency, known as the Flooz.
The problem really kicked in last month, according to head Floozy Robert Levitan, when banks halted all payments for goods made using the Flooz.
Levitan blamed the fraud and the current dotcom doldrums for forcing his company to seek bankruptcy protection.
Cisco was a major partner in the venture, and Whoopi Goldberg advertised the launch of the site in return for a stake in the business.
Flooz.com had raised $35 million over the last three years. It's going into Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which unlike Chapter 11, means there's no real hope of coming out of it alive
