Fab.com began its existence as a social networking site for gay men, but evolved into a a curated flash sale site for home goods, art, and accessories. There just aren’t as many cut-rate luxury goods around as there used to be, though, and the company has culled off 70% of its employees. Now some customers report that no one is picking up the phone.

Customer service is important when you’re in the selling-things-to-customers business, which is why it’s notable that Fab has stopped answering calls to customer service, though they are still answering e-mails. Our semi-estranged former sibling publication Valleywag has declared that the company will probably die sometime this year.

“We are testing different service level models, alongside merchandising and pricing strategies,” a spokesperson told Code/Red. It looks like the flash-sale trend is over, with only Woot and Zulily surviving. Maybe Fab could go back to that social network thing.

We’re all haters, though. Hateful purveyors of nonsense rumors. Fab’s CEO counters that the company is not doomed, and things are just awesome with the company.

Yes, because non-doomed companies shut down their entire customer service phone operation all the time. Fab has invested in designing and manufacturing its own furniture: it’s possible that $150 beanbag chairs will be Fab’s salvation after all.

Fab.com Is Probably Dead This Year [Valleywag]
Code/red: Fab Operators No Longer Standing By [Re/Code]

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