Hardly anyone has figured out how to make money on the Internet, but Kaplan seems to be an exception. Each day, Onsale posts some 6,000 items for auction on its Web site, ranging from personal computers and consumer electronics to high-tech kitchen gadgets. Buyers post their offers by e-mail, often amid hectic electronic bidding; Kaplan reports sales around $8 million a month (as well as modest profits) and claims his site draws as many as 50,000 daily visitors. ““That’s more than a large shopping mall,’’ he says.
Onsale specializes in merchandise that retailers and manufacturers have overstocked or that is nearing the end of its shelf life. That can translate to price markdowns of 25 percent to 50 percent, says Kaplan. NEWSWEEK sampled the offerings last week. Among a dozen varieties of desktop computers, there was a Pentium 200 MMX PC, fully loaded, that sold for $1,425, nearly $500 less than at CompUSA. Toshiba cordless phones fetched around $139. (Retail price: $200 to $250.) But beware. NEWSWEEK also found computers selling for more than retail; some lacked standard equipment and software, such as an operating system.
What might the future bring? First, more products: sports equipment, power tools, fancy kitchen gear - anything that appeals to Onsale’s techie clientele. By the end of the year, Kaplan will have branched into last-minute travel. The Internet may never offer the choice and hands-on satisfactions of the mall. But there’s no denying its convenience. As Kaplan would say, check it out: www.onsale.com.
