And I am interested in investing. The thing is that I don't know how. The email they sent out tells you, but its full of details so I was wondering if anyone could simplify it. It says I have to open an account with WR Hambrecht, but from there, I don't really understand my obligations regarding fees and such and also the status of my relationship with that company. Can anyone simplify this for me? thanks.

Just thought I'd post the contents of the email for everyone:


Dear Overstock.com customer,

WR Hambrecht + Co is pleased to announce that Overstock.com, Inc. is planning to go public through OpenIPO, an online auction that allows investors to participate in the pricing and allocation process of the IPO shares.

To participate in the OpenIPO auction you need to have an account at WR Hambrecht + Co or one of our selling group members.To see a list of our selling group members please go to http://www.wrhambrecht.com/ostk/selling_group/. To open an account with WR Hambrecht + Co please go to http://www.wrhambrecht.com/ind/accou..._started.html.

To find out more about this offering go to http://www.wrhambrecht.com/ostk


Best regards,

Matthew Regan
Director of Brokerage Services
WR Hambrecht + Co


Important details about the OpenIPO deal:


The issuer: Overstock.com, Inc.
Description of the company: Overstock.com is an online “closeout” retailer offering discount brand-name merchandise for sale over the Internet.
Expected size of offering: 3,000,000 shares of common stock.
Shares are being offered by the company and by a selling shareholder
Targeted price range: $12.00 - $16.00
Expected symbol: OSTK
Lead Managing Underwriter: WR Hambrecht + Co


This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities. Only the prospectus makes the offering.
Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained by...


Going to http://www.wrhambrecht.com/ostk



Writing to WR Hambrecht + Co 539 Bryant Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94107


Calling 1.800.673.6476

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.


No offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the registration statement has become effective, and any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without notice of its acceptance given after the effective date. An indication of interest in response to this advertisement will involve no obligation or commitment of any kind.

WR Hambrecht + Co is a member NASD/SIPC.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message is intended only for the addressee. Please notify the sender by email if you are not the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not copy, disclose, or distribute this message or its content to any other person and any such actions may be unlawful. Electronic mail sent through the Internet is not secure.

WR Hambrecht + Co (WRH+Co) does not accept time sensitive, action-oriented messages or transaction orders, including orders to purchase or sell securities, via email

WRH+Co reserves the right to monitor and review the content of all messages sent to or from this email address. Messages sent to or from this email address may be stored on the WRH+Co email system.

I was reading through their info several days ago and if I remember correctly there is a minimum purchase of a 100 shares.

Not only do you have to apply for a WR Hambrecht account you have to send the application with a minimum deposit of US $2,000 by check to the address specified on there site.

Investing in an IPO is a waste of money and a bad idea.

2 things - the target price is 12-16, but large holdings get everything at that price so you can expect to pay 25-30$ a share and then it will go straight down to about 20$ a few days later.

Second thing, investing in a dot com IPO is basically taking your money and lighting it on fire, it's highly volatile and will burn up very quickly.

Erm... no

The target price is the initial range, and it can go up or down, depending on demand for the issue and the amt of capital the company wants to raise.

If the IPO prices at $16, then, if you are allocated shares, you get it at $16. WR Hambrecht's Open IPO allows everyone, small or large, to get IPOs at the same price.

I've participated in many IPOs and I received shares at the issue price, not the opening price.

For example, earlier this year, JetBlue (JBLU) priced at $27/share, but started trading around $37-$39/share. If you got IPO shares (meaning an allocation before the stock opened for trading to the public) you got it at $27.

You need to open an account with WR Hambrecht with a minimum of $2000, then put in a bid for shares. Other than the IPOs, WR Hambrecht is a normal brokerage with the normal sets of fees.

http://www.wrhambrecht.com/ind/account/fees.html

Buried at the bottom is a miscellaneous account inactivity fee ($20/yr), which is waived if you make at least one trade a year.

Overstock.com officially went public yesterday, raising $39 million on $13 a share. Here's the story from Reuters:

Online retailer Overstock.com raises $39 million in IPO