Birchbox is a site that sells high-end makeup, and $10 sample box subscriptions that entice customers to try new types of high-end makeup. Walmart is a discount mega-retailer that sells lots of makeup, but hardly any of it is high end. Yet Birchbox could join the Walmart family if a rumored deal goes through. [More]
speculation
Twitter Sales Rumors Heat Up, But Is A Deal Around The Corner?
By 9.26.16
In the three days since reports began to surface that Twitter was looking to sell itself — possibly to Google or professional networking site Salesforce — rumors, ranging from a $16 billion list price to a sale happening right this minute, have heated up significantly. [More]
Fix Up Your House Because You Want To Live In It, Not Profit Off Of It
By 5.3.10
The kids over at Consumer Reports are working on their August kitchen-remodeling story and are finding that there is less emphasis on remodeling homes with ROI in mind. [More]
"Iceland Is No Longer A Country, It's A Hedge Fund"
By 4.6.09
Vanity Fair’s April cover story is on Iceland’s banking massacre — detailing how the the tiny, well-to-do country committed “one of the single greatest acts of madness in financial history.”
Is Borders About To Go Under?
By 3.25.09
Yesterday’s post about Borders closing down its unprofitable CD and DVD sections prompted a tip from the owner of a small music label. He says his distributor has already cut off shipments to Borders once for nonpayment (in November 2008), and on Monday the distributor warned labels that they’ll have to agree not to hold him “liable on any future shipments to Borders in case they file for bankruptcy.” Borders’ CFO left in January, which is rarely a good sign for a troubled company. And this morning, the Detroit Free Press notes that the bookseller is facing being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. We may not have to wait long to find out; CEO Ron Marshall is hosting a conference call with analysts and investors next week.
Real Estate Speculation: From A Trailer Park To Foreclosure On 4 Homes
By 4.21.08
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a fascinating article about real estate speculation in Minnesota. The article focuses on Bradley and Sarah Collin, a couple with three children who were living in a trailer park when they were suckered by a local “property management company” that (illegally) paid the couple $20,000 cash to buy 4 houses in a new subdivision.
Missing Data On 650,000 Customers Related To Credit Card Fraud Surge?
By 1.18.08
On Tuesday we speculated that the surge in credit card fraud and forcible card reissues our readers have been reporting to us were the result of a recently discovered breach at a “major retailer,” and now GE Money Bank reported that the data of over 650,000 customers of JC Penney and hundreds of other retail stores is missing. Are these two events related? The official line is no. GE Money Bank says the data, which was stored on magnetic tapes, “was created in such a manner to make unauthorized access extremely unlikely and difficult, even for experts with specialized knowledge and technology.” But guess what?
Game Quest Direct Thwarts eBay Gougers
By 1.23.06
Silicon Era has posted a great expose of Game Quest Direct, a once-retail video game chain that hit it big by acting as a bulk republisher of particularly sought-after games. Inspired by the absolutely mad eBay prices on games like Disagaea or Resident Evil 3 for the Gamecube, these guys decided to strike up deals with the publishers to get these games back in circulation at a reasonable price. The problem? The very same gaggle of eBay speculators who inspired GCD’s business are now calling foul:
