A dot com (sort of) that's making money

April 6, 2001 10:16 PM

A dot com (sort of) that's making money I'd love to post this link to f****dcompany.com but unfortunately these people claim to be profitable. So I have to wonder if some of those really stupid business ideas from the web boom weren't so so stupid after all.
posted by rdr (11 comments total)

Very interesting indeed, but just a little creepy.
posted by Bag Man at 10:43 PM on April 6, 2001

Here's another link to a casket based e-business site. They'll also do custom work.
posted by the_ill_gino at 11:02 PM on April 6, 2001

Check out the site mentioned further down the article, very disturbing.
posted by johnny novak at 12:11 AM on April 7, 2001

When I look at fuckedcompany.com or read about any of these failed dotcoms, the thing that surprises me the most is the amount of people they had working for them. It's only when they fail that you hear that they had 100s of people working on their crappy site, or a fairly good site... that could've been taken for a work of a few individuals, not a whole freakin' office building.

The bottom line is that there's plenty of sites that make money, but they are not run by IPO seeking crew that burns through capital as if there's no tomorrow, doing anything to get growth--selling their stuff way below cost, or giving it away for free. Instead, small operations with a simple site but good prices and service, run by a handful of individuals may not be making a killing, but they are making money.

On a sidenote, I really miss the days of $20 cupons of $20 purchases and such... Don't see those too much anymore :(
posted by Witold at 7:55 AM on April 7, 2001

Mr. Styph?

*chuckle*...
posted by whatnotever at 12:08 PM on April 7, 2001

Sure you save money on a coffin, but then you have to buy a new coffee table when your spouse dies.
posted by Dirjy at 12:10 PM on April 7, 2001

I liked the brunette in the yourcoffin.com site... but the whole idea of that site definately disturbed and gave me a good chuckle at the same time.
posted by SpecialK at 12:54 PM on April 7, 2001

I can't believe they have a picture of those two women in their skimpy bathing suits using a coffin for a toboggan. What, that's practically TOBOGGAN PORN, I tell ya, TOBOGGAN PORN.
posted by rodii at 3:15 PM on April 7, 2001

The bottom line is that there's plenty of sites that make money, but they are not run by IPO seeking crew that burns through capital as if there's no tomorrow, doing anything to get growth--selling their stuff way below cost, or giving it away for free. Instead, small operations with a simple site but good prices and service, run by a handful of individuals may not be making a killing, but they are making money.

This article does a nice comparison of the two types.

Of course, that's not to say that either stratgey is wholly correct or incorrect. I think the strategies lead to different results. The problem we're seeing is that many many companies who took the fast route didn't manage their businesses correctly. The ones who took the slow route, and are still around, had no choice but to manage their business a certain way.

There are a lot of startups, even today, who have taken wads of cash and are becoming successful and profitable. It's really about how you manage your business. Nobody's going to get rich on banner ads...
posted by fooljay at 3:41 PM on April 7, 2001

I was putting together an Internet plan for my good friend's funeral casket & urn business a few years back when a lot of people were suggesting that this idea would actually work on the Web. The ironic part of it all was that he passed away while we were developing the business plan. Wonders never cease. At least I can feel assured that there would have been at least minor successes involved with the initiative. Sigh.
posted by Hankins at 4:00 PM on April 7, 2001

Gee whiz rodii, I wish they had TOBOGGAN PORN on MeFi, but unfortunately it's the SHITTIEST FUCKING WEBSITE EVER.

This has been your search term-planting post of the day. Thank you.
posted by zempf at 6:28 PM on April 7, 2001