OVERSTOCK.COM LAUNCHES NEW CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAM
MIDDLETOWN, NY (December 18, 2002) -- Overstock.com, a leading online “closeout” retailer offering discount merchandise over the Internet, has joined with VAC Service Corp., North America’s largest independent service company, and WarrantyNet, an award winning, web-based, warranty management enabler, to offer extended service plans (ESP’s) on its consumer electronics and computer products. The plans are designed to provide Overstock.com customers with peace of mind and freedom from financial loss should their product purchases require service following the expiration of product warranties.
“This is the kind of program that adds an extra dimension to the incredibly low prices and savings Overstock.com achieves everyday for its customers. It can now provide the assurance of service covering parts and labor should a product require repair during the life of an ESP, and the peace of mind that goes with that. The strong response to the program since its recent launch has undoubtedly confirmed that this is something its customers desire. As Overstock.com continues to market this program and as it expands into more product categories, more and more consumers can look forward to the benefits of ESP’s,” commented Mark Wilson, VAC Sales VP, who announced the program.
Overstock.com offers a broad array of product categories ranging from consumer electronics, and computers, to sporting goods, housewares, bed and bath supplies, jewelry, and more. Discounts average 40%, and are up to 80%, on most merchandise. Gross merchandise sales of Overstock.com have grown from $1.8 million in 1999, the year the online discount resource launched, to almost $70 million in 2001.
According to the Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eCommerce Index, Overstock.com was the third “fastest-growing” etailer for the 2001 holiday season with 13 million visits and a 107% gain. Recent figures indicate Overstock.com receives more visitors than many industry giants.
In addition to its consumer site, Ovestock.com has four other channels of business, including Overstockb2b.com, where mom and pop and other business owners can purchase small-to-large quantities of name-brand inventory at below wholesale prices, enabling them to better compete against the major national chains (in November, 2001, Overstock.com reached an agreement with Safeway, Inc., under which it became the preferred supplier of merchandise to “Safeway Club Exclusives” – the grocery chain’s initial foray into selling non-food items, and to Safeway’s Extreme Value Center, which is a store-within-a-store model being tested by Safeway during the current holiday season); Partner Program, which provides dealers with a one-stop liquidation channel for quickly selling any quantity of excess inventory directly to consumers; Powered-By-Overstock.com, in which Overstock.com will purchase and manage the inventory supply for any company that wants to sell bargains to consumers; and Worldstock.com, a socially-responsible goods department that creates a way for artisans to earn a living while creating globally-sustainable products at affordable prices.
VAC Service administers warranty and extended service programs for a wide variety of products, including consumer and office electronics, electric housewares, major appliances, lawn and garden equipment, power tools, exercise and fitness equipment, bicycles, cameras, watches and jewelry, and now automobile tires, and more. VAC is also deeply involved in digital satellite system installation and service, software support, PC installation, and a wide variety of teleservices.
VAC Service Corp. is headquartered at 99 Tower Drive, P.O. Box 730, Middletown, NY 10940-0730. Telephone is toll-free 1-800-431-5843. Fax is (914) 692-3620. Visit VAC Service Corp.’s web site at www.vacservice.com. In addition to its executive offices and teleservices center in Middletown, VAC maintains regional offices on Long Island, NY, Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, Cincinnati, OH, Chicago, IL, and Orlando, FL.
A subsidiary, VAC Service Corp. of Canada, Ltd.(www.vacservice.ca), maintains regional sales offices in Toronto, ON, Montreal, QUE, and Vancouver, BC, as well as a full-service (sales, administration, and teleservices) office in Ottawa, delivering an uninterrupted service program 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. VAC Europe is based in the United Kingdom.
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About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. is a leading online "closeout" retailer offering discount merchandise over the Internet. Overstock offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering suppliers an inventory liquidation distribution channel.
CLIENT CONTACT:
Jim Tucker, President
VAC SERVICE CORP.
1-800-431-5843, extension 306
jtucker@vacservice.com
AGENCY CONTACT:
Ron Marin
Ron Marin & Associates
(973) 670-2103
rmaincpr@skylands.net
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