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Overstock.com (Nasdaq: OSTK) is an online retailer in Cottonwood Heights, Utah but with a mailing address in Salt Lake City.
Founded in 1999, Overstock is a leading on-line E-commerce marketplace, in which Internet users purchase surplus and returned, as well as new merchandise.
Roughly half of Overstock.com merchandise is sold on behalf of third parties - which include manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers - with standing business relationships with Overstock. The remainder is purchased by or manufactured specifically for Overstock. Overstock also purports to manage the inventory supply for other retailers, and says that it enables small retailers to purchase stock at below-wholesale prices.
Overstock.com also functions as a marketplace for new merchandise at cut-rate prices.
The company's distinctive television advertisements feature German actress Sabine Ehrenfeld.
Anti-shorting campaign
The company has received attention, not all of it favorable, stemming from CEO Patrick Byrne's battle against alleged naked short selling of his company's shares. Byrne has claimed that his company's shares have been attacked by "miscreants" in the stock market, headed by a "Sith Lord." Critics maintain that Byrne is seeking to divert attention from the company's failure to turn a profit.
In May 2006, Overstock received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission, requesting information about the company's accounting as well as its allegations against short-selling. Though Byrne said in a press release that he "celebrated" receiving the subpoena, critics of the company viewed it as an indication of the company's mounting troubles.
Corporate address
The company's corporate filings indicate its location as Salt Lake City; it is actually in the City of Cottonwood Heights, some six miles south of the state capital, but in a ZIP code primarily associated with Salt Lake City.
External links
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