Tom Taulli

What do you think of Amazon.com’s new zSHOPS? Reply: Yet again, Amazon.com (AMZN) is leveraging its awesome customer base of 12 million. Investors certainly like the zSHOPS concept. And I think they’re right. It is no secret that Amazon.com wants to sell virtually everything to everybody; but, of course, this is impossible. Right? Well, by […]

Even for Net start-ups, it is rare to see an IPO that has zero revenues. But this was the case with Stamps.com (STMP) , which had a successful debut. Then again, the company is setting the stage for taking a sizeable portion of a big market. After all, there were 197 billion pieces of mail […]

While the general market was mixed, Internet shares ended strong, driven by a major announcement from Amazon.com, as well as rumors about the possible sale of Excite@Home. The ISDEX climbed 10.29, or 1.98 percent, to 529.41, the Nasdaq Composite was down 27.35 to 2,728.90 and the Dow Jones industrial average was down 62.05 to 10,213.48. […]

The latest buzzword on the Net, of course, is B2B (business-to-business). So, what is a B2B company? Simply put, it allows businesses to transact with each other — in virtually any industry, such as chemicals, steel, plumbing and so on. B2B appears to be the so-called “Next Big Thing.” Actually, I think this is understating […]

The major indices all ended lower on Tuesday although stocks staged a comeback late in the day which helped the ISDEX end in positive territory. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index was up 6.09, or 1.19 percent, to 519.12, the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 6.00 to 2,755.75 and the Dow Jones industrial average had lost 28.81 to […]

barnesandnoble.com (BNBN) is like a good book with a bad cover. A name like “barnesandnoble.com” just doesn’t have a cool, Net sound to it. However, when looking at the company, there is lots of substance. Eventually, investors will catch-on and so will the stock. The stock has been, well, lackluster. The current price is 18-5/16. […]

Hi Tom: What are you thoughts on EFAX.com? It seems to me that they may be on the way down since AOL has signed a agreement to work with JFAX.com. Thanks — Joel Staniec Reply: Wouldn’t it be great to have a universal phone number? It certainly would make life much easier. There are several […]

The broader markets continued their losses today. However, Internet shares finished strong. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index was up 16.95, or 3.42 percent, to 513.17, the Nasdaq Composite fell 8.94 to 2,740.89 and the Dow Jones industrial average was off 36.41 to 10,282.18. America Online Inc. (AOL) had jumped 9-5/8 to 97-1/8. Volpe Brown Whelan reiterated […]

The ISP (Internet Service Provider) business is perfect for consolidation. First of all, the service is becoming a commodity. Second, there are many mom-and-pop operators (about 7,000). Finally, to make money in the business, scale is essential — which America Online Inc. (AOL) has proven. Despite all this, the ISP market has been slow to […]

Late in the day, the broader markets plunged with the Nasdaq Composite showing its fourth largest point drop ever. The markets renewed their concerns about the U.S. dollar and interest rates, leaving rate-sensitive Internet issues bruised. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index traded down 23.17, or 4.46 percent, to 496.22, the Nasdaq Composite had slumped 115.61 to […]

I had a chance to visit MP3.com (MPPP) and meet its young CEO and founder, Michael Robertson. It’s hard to believe that his company had only five employees in January 1999; now the company is bursting at the seams, with over 280 employees. Michael Robertson had the vision to see that the Web would revolutionize […]

It’s the so-called necessary evil: insurance. Yes, it’s one of those products that you buy and pray you’ll never have to use. Insurance, though, is a complex thing. It’s pretty easy to fall asleep when thinking about such things as unappropriated earned surpluses, band grading, stop-loss provisions, or such somber things as accidental death and […]