FatWallet
TypeCashback website
Online coupons
FoundedMonroe, Wisconsin, United States (1999)
Defunct2017
Revenue12.3 million (2009)[1]
OwnerPerformance Marketing Brands
Websitewww.fatwallet.com

FatWallet was a comparison shopping website, centering on a set of forums that allowed users to publish deals and rebate offers on products and services, with computer-related products and electronics most prominent in the listings. It was headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin, and ceased operation on October 9, 2017.

Products and services

Coupons and Cash Back

FatWallet featured a "Coupons" section where users could find discounts from online retailers.

Before being acquired, FatWallet also featured its own "Cash Back" rebate shopping section, in which members received back a percentage of purchases made through referral links to partnered retailers. FatWallet has since ended the cash back program and now directs its members to the program offered by Rakuten.

Forums

FatWallet users posted the sale prices of major retailers, often before they were officially released in retailers' advertisements, which involved the site in a legal dispute in 2002 involving Black Friday advertisements. Several retailers, including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Staples, have served FatWallet with "take-down" notices pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, claiming that their sale prices were copyrighted and must be removed from the FatWallet site. In addition, Wal-Mart served FatWallet with a subpoena to reveal the identity of the users who had posted Wal-Mart's prices, but the demand was later dropped.[2][3]

Although FatWallet initially complied with the take-down notices due to the fear of liability, within two weeks it reposted the prices and argued that the prices were facts rather than expression, and therefore not subject to copyright. FatWallet filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against three of the retailers, seeking damages for knowing assertion of invalid copyright claims and a declaratory judgment that the take-down provisions of the DMCA were unconstitutional. The case, FatWallet, Inc. v. Best Buy Enterprise Services, Inc., was dismissed. The court ruled that FatWallet lacked standing to sue for any harm done to its users for having their postings temporarily removed, and FatWallet did not assert any injury to itself that the court found cognizable.[3]

Since its launch, FatWallet has expanded its forums to include discussion on other financial topics such as investments, banking and credit cards. The Finance forum has been mentioned in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times referencing personal finance topics including on credit cards and 401K investment tips.

FatWallet launched "Best Deals" in 2009 (initially called "Today's Top Deals"), which features researched deals found on the internet by staff and members. Best Deals also features an "Expert Picks" section where staff research bigger ticket retail products like laptops, computers and HDTVs for the best value for the price, and post their endorsements each week.

Relocation

Between March and April 2011, FatWallet moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, from Rockton, Illinois, in order to avoid termination of affiliate contracts with online retailers such as Amazon.com, which provide about 30% of the company's revenue. An Illinois law passed in March 2011 in anticipation of passage of the U.S. Main Street Fairness Act, required online retailers with Illinois affiliates to collect and remit sales taxes to the state.[4]

Acquisitions

FatWallet was sold to Ebates (now Rakuten Rewards) in 2011, at the same time as AnyCoupons, and later merged with Ebates to form a new company called Performance Marketing Brands. Former owner and founder Tim Storm stayed on as a strategic adviser for the new company.[5][6]

FatWallet's parent company, Ebates (now Rakuten Rewards) was sold to Rakuten, as announced September 9, 2014. FatWallet was wholly sold during the transaction.[7][8]

Shutdown

On September 20, 2017, Tim Storm posted on his Facebook page the following:

I heard the news today... oh boy.
When I sold FatWallet in 2011, I told myself that I sold the right to complain about whatever happened after that.
I'm immensely proud of what we built—and sad to hear that it will be shutting down very very soon.
I've not been involved at all in the last 6 years, but my heart is with everyone that played a part, either with me, or after me.
It was a hell of a ride.[9]

Shortly thereafter, a FatWallet employee confirmed that FatWallet's owner, Rakuten, would be shutting down the website, but was unable to provide further details.[10]

On September 22, 2017, FatWallet General Manager Ryan Washatka officially confirmed the site would be shutting down, although the timeline was yet to be determined.[11]

On October 9, 2017, at approximately 4:00 p.m. EST, the site went offline and began redirecting to Ebates.com.

Awards

FatWallet was twice named one of the "50 Best Places To Work in America" by the Best Places To Work Institute and Entrepreneur magazine. It was ranked at #20 on the list for best small businesses in 2010,[12] and #13 in 2011.[13] Founder Tim Storm was also named as one of four finalists for Entrepreneur of 2010 by Entrepreneur.com.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ FatWallet founder up for national award – Alex Gary - Rockford Register Star Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine. Blogs.e-rockford.com (2010-07-29). Retrieved on 2013-09-13.
  2. ↑ Walker, Rob (2005-09-18). "Collective Bargain Hunting: FatWallet.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  3. 1 2 Stross, Randall (2007-11-18). "Digital Domain: What to Do When Goliaths Roar?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  4. ↑ Doris Hajewski (16 March 2011). "New Illinois tax law threatens Fatwallet's online retail network". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  5. ↑ And now a word from our founder. Fatwallet.com.
  6. ↑ Backed By VCs, Ebates Buys FatWallet.com And AnyCoupons.com, Starts New Company. TechCrunch (2011-09-09).
  7. ↑ Rakuten of Japan to Buy Ebates, a U.S. Rebate Site, for $1 Billion. New York Times (2014-09-09).
  8. ↑ Announcement of 100% Acquisition of Ebates Inc. Rakuten Press Release (2014-09-09)
  9. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/timstorm/posts/10154885652603091
  10. ↑ "FatWallet - Thank you!".
  11. ↑ "FatWallet - All good things must come to an end on Monday October 9th, 2017". www.fatwallet.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Best Small & Medium Workplaces in America". 2010.
  13. ↑ "The Best Small & Medium Workplaces in America". 2011.
  14. ↑ "Tim Storm From FatWallet is Finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year".
  15. ↑ Online Discount Coupons in Switzerland
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