After announcing deals on watches and exercise equipment, the email invites readers "Take 5 with Patrick, " which involves the CEO likening Wikipedia to mind-control and Wall Street corruption. Apparently the feud between Wikipedia and Overstock goes way back. Back in late 2006, someone from Overstock edited the company's Wikipedia page to read like an advertisement. This was reverted by one of the site's editors. Over the next few months, Overstock's "director of social media," Judd Bagley, used dozens of Wikipedia identities to revert Overstock's entry and harass editors. Overstock also began a site called antisocialmedia.net, run by Bagley. Fed up, Wikipedia banned all Overstock. IP addresses from editing Wikipedia pages. Since then, Byrne has used his "Take 5 with Patrick" postings to disseminate articles such as "Social Media - Hijacking the Discourse," "How to Handle a Corrupt Reporter," "A Small Thing Called, the First Amendment," and "Our Corrupt Federal Regulator the SEC."

Take 5 with Patrick
Forbes journalist Gary Weiss's posts about Overstock

Here is an account of the horror I went through with Overstock.com. I post this in hopes of helping others avoid their company, and their atrocious customer service. I apologize for the length/grammar, but I'm kind of writing this in a hurry.

I bought a 360 on launch day. On December 27th my newest 360 red ring of deathed (this was my 4th) and I was sick of dealing with it, so I decided to send it in for repair, and sell it when it got back to help recoup the cost of buying an elite system.

Ordered an XBOX 360 elite (order #[redacted]) on December 28th 2007 for $449.95 plus $2.95 shipping. I ordered through a website called fatwallet.com because they had a deal that ordering through them got you a 4.0% cash back rebate on orders through overstock.com

on 1/7/08 my wife got a box from UPS and called me to tell me that it was too small to have an XBOX in it. I called ups concerning my xbox package thinking that this was some other item, and they told me it was delivered. I called my wife back, and she told me the tracking number on the package, and it was the tracking number for the XBOX. I had her open it, and inside she found a "Nyko Xbox 360 Intercooler" worth $18.50 from overstock.com. The packing list stated "XBOX 360 elite system - $449.95", but the box was far far too small to fit that item, and again, only an intercooler was in the box.

I called overstock.com and told them what had happened. The associate was apologetic, and said he would put me in touch with parts to get my XBOX sent out right away. I talked to a lady in parts, and after some discussion she agreed to overnight me an XBOX 360 elite system Tuesday, and I should get it on Wednesday. She also said that my 4.0% rebate would probably not work anymore, so she would credit my Visa back $20 for the inconvenience.

Tuesday around noon I notice that a second order number is on my account for an elite 360 from the night before, but that it is all ready canceled. I open the live chat and inquire when my 360 will be shipping. The associate apologizes and says it will not ship for a few days, and that it will ship standard shipping when it does ship. They also say I was credited $20 in in-store credit for the inconvenience. I check my account, and I see no extra $20, just the one for the rebate mistake. I tell him thats unacceptable and that I will call in.

I talk to a rep, and he says theres nothing he can do, and thats the way it will be, and the people from the night before never wrote any notes about overnighting or shipping out next day. I say I want them to just cancel my order then, because I wanted the XBOX for this week to play with my little brother visiting from mass (I live in FL). He says he cant give me a refund until I return the intercooler they sent me. I say thats not fair to hold my $450 hostage over a $20 item, and he says theres nothing he can do. I ask for a manager, and he reluctantly transfers me after telling me the manager wont be able to help me.

The manager was extremely rude, He asked me if I would mind being put on hold, in the middle of a sentence, and I said "yes I would mind, I'm talking" and he put me on hold anyway. I then start yelling at him when he came back on for cutting me off, and he hangs up on me.

I call back, get a different manager, whom again cannot help me, but is much more customer friendly about it. In the end I just have to wait for them to finally send me a return label, then for them to issue a refund about a week after they get the wrong product back.

I filed a complaint with the BBB, and ordered a new XBOX 360 elite from Amazon, which will probably be getting my business from now on. This whole thing has been such a nightmare. I still have not gotten a return label for the intercooler, and overstock wont help me. I beg for any help you can give in this matter.

One of them is a chargeback. Call your credit card company and tell them the whole story. They might be able to recover your money for you. Before you do that, however, you might want to try an EECB. One of readers had the exact same problem getting a shipping label from Overstock, and was able to contact their CEO and get it resolved. For more information about how to learn to launch your own EECB, click here.

PREVIOUSLY: EECB Scores Direct Hit On Overstock's CEO

From the Madison County Record:

Shandie Deaton filed the suit Sept. 18, 2007, one month after she made a purchase on Overstock.com. She alleged her receipt violated FCRA.

The act was passed in 2003 and provides that anyone accepting credit or debit cards may not print more than the last five digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of sale or transaction.

Credit card machines put into use after Jan. 1, 2005, required immediate compliance with FCRA. Machines in use before Jan. 1, 2005, were required to be in compliance by Dec. 4, 2006.

Deaton claimed Overstock.com violated FCRA by printing the expiration date and/or printed more than the last five digits of class members' credit card or debit card numbers on the receipts provided at the point of a sale or transaction between Overstock.com and the class members.

"Overstock.com' violations were not the product of an accident or an isolated oversight," the complaint stated. "Rather, Overstock.com knowingly and intentionally continued to use Devices which were not programmed to, or otherwise did not, comply..."

According to Overstock, customers can freely access their website, however when placing an order, they must agree to the website's terms and conditions before they can continue.

"Any dispute relating in any way to your visit to the Site or to products you purchase through the Site shall be submitted to confidential arbitration in Salt Lake City, Utah," a portion of Overstock's terms and conditions reads.

"To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no Arbitration under this agreement shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Agreement, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise."

We took a look at this arbitration clause and noticed that there's an exception to it. If you even "threaten" to violate Overstock.com's intellectual property rights, they reserve the right to haul you into state or federal court in the state of Utah. What a piece of work.

Arbitration, not litigation: Judge dismisses federal class action v. Overstock.com [Madison County Record] (Thanks, Shelley!)
Overstock.com Terms & Conditions

Late yesterday the company made an important change, saying that it would not send messages about users' Internet activities without getting explicit approval each time.

MoveOn.org Civic Action, the political group that set up the online petition, said the move was a positive one.

"Before, if you ignored their warning, they assumed they had your permission" to share information, said Adam Green, a spokesman for the group. "If Facebook were to implement a policy whereby no private purchases on other Web sites were displayed publicly on Facebook without a user's explicit permission, that would be a step in the right direction."

Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking [NYT]

Reader Evan writes:

I needed this rug to cover the floor of the small area of my apartment kitchen where my table sits, as my neighbor downstairs screamed at me that my wife and I were ruining her life whenever we sat down to eat. (Apparently the table legs were scraping the linoleum floor.) Anyway, it's an 8x8 area, and I needed to cover the whole thing, and a there are very few rugs produced at 8x8. Overstock.com had a few. I bought one.

What arrived last month, and pictured herein, is what I received: a pair of ladies leather pants, black and handsome, with a label that refers to it as an 8' square hand-woven bleached jute rug. The same error was on my shipping label. Insane.

Overstock customer service was friendly, righted the situation and shipped out the rug — but only after they received back their leather pants.

1. Amazon.com
2. Nordstrom
3. L.L. Bean
4. Overstock.com
5. Lane Bryant
6. Boscov's
7. Kohl's
8. REI
9. Land's End
10. Macy's

We're slightly suspicious, because we've heard nothing but ill about Overstock.com.

Of the list, a "consumer insights" executive said, "Since today's consumers are faced with countless options, they're able to be more demanding of the level of service they require," Evans said. "Regardless of channel, the sweet spot will always be service, and expectations only continue to increase."

What do you think of the list? Does it jibe with your experience at these stores? — BEN POPKEN

(Thanks to jpac!)

The lawsuit largely involves a patent dispute, claiming that Skype makes use of proprietary technologies owned by StreamCast. This apparently caused StreamCast to lose 28 million subscribers.

They also claim that Kazaa's co-founders "engaged in a conspiracy" to bilk them out of billions.

It all reads like the blind lashings of an imminently bankrupt company. Can't beat 'em? Sue 'em!

StreamCast sues eBay over Skype 'conspiracy' [VNUnet]

Here's an amazing gem from Patrick Byrne, on why Overstock is so exuberant that the feds have a battering ram at the company door:

"I may be the first CEO in history to celebrate receiving an SEC subpoena. Some of the requests suggest the whispering of the blackguards, but I remain unconcerned about their hokum. In truth, I am gratified to see that the SEC is looking into the issues about which I have been speaking: I believe our capital markets are broken in a deep way, our system of corporate voting and governance is a hoax, the savings of Americans are being drained through our financial system's fissure of unsettled trades, and the system appears to be cracking around Overstock.com (of course, I could be proved wrong if they would force the settlement of, or even reveal the size of, all unsettled trades in OSTK, which I believe number from 7 to 30 million shares). While some of the miscreants file frivolous delaying motions, and others schmooze with hedge funds and write what they are told to write (yet call themselves 'journalists' to shield their perfidy behind the First Amendment), I on the other hand applaud the SEC's actions and eagerly anticipate my chance to get these issues into court."

We assume he'll be defending himself, wearing a bathrobe, no underpants and a beer foam party hat while whisking a plastic toy light saber dramatically about the courtroom to illustrate his points.

Previously:

• SEC Sticks Subpoena To Overstock
  
• SEC Tells Agents to "Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself"
  
• Overstock.com's CEO Patrick Byrne 'Perhaps' is an Ogre
  
• Overstock.com Actually Understocked, Manned by Soulless Robots
  
• Overstock.com's Patrick Byrne Leaks Own Interview
  
• Overstock.com's Patrick Byrne: Not Gay, Not Coked Out, Not a Jedi

Which is why the SEC subpoenaed the online discount company today for documents about its finances, communications and policies, including its complaint against Gradient Analytics.

Overstock filed suit in August against Gradient Analytics and a hedge fund manager, David A. Rocker, for libel and unfair business practices after they publishied negative reports on Overstock's future.

CEO Patrick Byrne (pictured) is his own kind of discount crazy. He's previously, "admitted to making up stories about being gay and a coke-head in the hopes of uncovering a mysterious group short-sellers led by a "Sith Lord." These individuals allegedly engineered an intricate conspiracy to cripple Overstock. Part of the conspiracy included tapping Byrne's phone calls and apparently some kind of spy ring."

Previously:

• SEC Tells Agents to "Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself"
  
• Overstock.com's CEO Patrick Byrne 'Perhaps' is an Ogre
  
• Overstock.com Actually Understocked, Manned by Soulless Robots
  
• Overstock.com's Patrick Byrne Leaks Own Interview
  
• Overstock.com's Patrick Byrne: Not Gay, Not Coked Out, Not a Jedi

"It just makes sense," commented Ferdinand Q. Bub, a customer service analyst over at Price Waterhouse Cooper. "Many customers would complain about negative experiences calling customer service lines. Either a soulless robot or a Sikh in Bombay adopting a Southern drawl and referring to himself as "Tex" would pick up the phone. The "human" factor was missing. But what's more "human" than calling up Overstock to complain about a fudged order, only to discover the rep who's answered your call is your long-dead grandmother, or the kid brother who died in that car crash, or the wife who died in chemo? And what's more: they appreciate your concerns!"

Indoctrinated by Pavlovian measures to satiate the zombies' unquenchable yearning for human flesh during their shifts, companies like Expedia and Overstock are increasingly becoming reliant on undead CSRs. "As when any new employee is brought on board, there's a training process," he explained, pointing out a bedraggled corpse chained to a wall, holding a phone against his head while a manager urged him to say "Hello, Aunt Alicia!" When the trainee had managed to gurgle out the phrase "Huhhhhhhhhlloooo Aunnnnnnnntttttt Allllllisshhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa," he was promptly rewarded with a bucket of bloody chum. "We also have a competitive employee rewards program," the manager beamed.

Customers aren't so thrilled. "It's kinda creepy," one Kentucky computer technician wrote, "Last week, I watched one of these things bite the face off of my ugliest kid at his birthday party. So naturally, I go to return that mp3 player I got through Overstock for him. And not only won't they accept returns, but I got to listen to some fucking zombie apologize for the inconvenience on top of it!"

But that's not going to sway companies from becoming increasingly reliant on the undead. "There's no more room in hell, so zombies aren't going anywhere. Get used to it," Bub said. "In the meantime, many companies are starting to realize the exciting potential of employing undead workers: low salaries, yet higher intelligence and efficiency than what you could hire a living American for. In the next few years, expect to see zombies ladling out your tacos and selling you stereos at Best Buy. This is the wave of the future."