April 17, 2001

3:16 PM

Kozmo's website is back upbut this time with an interesting memo:
". . . any rental item you do not return by April 16,2001 will be deemed a purchase and your credit card will be charged the full retail value of the item."

the site came back up yesterday. not much notice for returns . . .
posted by christian (9 comments total)

Yeah! They finally found a working profit model!

A little too late though...
posted by mathowie at 3:19 PM on April 17, 2001

And as
Salon points out, the site doesn't list where the drop-off boxes are located -- and the Starbucks boxes were recently removed.

Anyone heard whether they're planning a liquidation sale?
posted by cpatton at 3:26 PM on April 17, 2001

Just dispute the charges if they dare to charge you. If they don't provide an adequate return policy, there's little you can can do about it. They don't have a case though I must say, that's a pretty clever way to liquidate inventory at retail prices. There will be plenty of people who just pay up and don't bother disputing this.
posted by Witold at 3:53 PM on April 17, 2001

I'm really bummed out... I just got the Kozmo catalog in the mail today. Why, why, why didn't they just focus on NYC and San Francisco where they could have succeeded?
posted by anildash at 3:55 PM on April 17, 2001

Why, why, why didn't they just focus on NYC and San Francisco where they could have succeeded?

The other thing I don't understand is why they couldn't comprehend that you don't have to compete price-wise when you offer convenience. Example: Airport giftshops are outrageously expensive ... because they can be.

Let's say it's 11pm. I'm jonesing for a pint of Ben and Jerry's, a Coke, and some cigarettes. Do you think I honestly care whether those things are cheaper at the corner store (the one that closes at 9)? Hell no. I'll happily pay Kozmo a few bucks more than normal retail, just to have it brought to me in the middle of the night.

Did Kozmo not understand that? Am I missing something here?
posted by shauna at 4:15 PM on April 17, 2001

Agree completely with Shauna. Kozmo could've modeled themselves after those food delivery services who deliver, with a surcharge, restaurant food to people. I've paid for that many times for the convenience of having good food without having to go out or cook.
posted by gyc at 4:57 PM on April 17, 2001

Anil, I got the catalog too. Catalog? HELLO??! Web-based delivery service, why do I need a catalog? Kozmo was about the impulse purchases and late-night must-haves. Shauna, you nailed it. Kozmo was about Konvenience. ;)Who looks through a catalog for that stuff? Why didn't they spend that money on something else? What a waste. Just like so many other dot-com failures, Kozmo seems to have been done-in by stupid business practices.
posted by megnut at 5:25 PM on April 17, 2001

"Joe and his roommate had a major case of the munchies one night," Adams said, "and thought it would be cool if
there was a delivery service for snack food. Yeah, the whole Kozmo concept came from one really bad attack of
the munchies." I always had a hunch this was true.
posted by rdr at 4:55 PM on April 18, 2001