eToys.com vs KBToys.com
I am an active LinkShare.com member and use their affiliate based program to make money online. LinkShare.com is a program similar to Commission Junction and Amazon Associates. They give me open access thousands of different products that are sold in trusted brick and mortar businesses such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
I have subscribed to many of the retailers email newsletters so that I can get fresh and hot material to blog about on many of my deal related blogs. I discovered that the newsletter I receive from eToys.com is the same newsletter I receive from KBToys.com.
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I thought that this was real unusual and I wanted to investigate the reason why these two newsletters were the same. Doing a Google search I was able to get quite a bit of information about eToys.com and KBToys.com, it was almost overwhelming.
[click image or here to go direct to Wired News story]
According to a report published on Wired News back on May of 2001, KB Toys actually purchased eToys.com for a totally sweet deal of only $3.4 million. On Wikipedia I learned that the CEO Toby Lenk performed the classic Titanic, “I’m going down with the ship” bit as he refused to dump his shares and expected his staff to do the same.
[click image or here to go direct to the Wikipedia document]
Linking to the document on Wikipedia that covered some information about KB Toys, I learned that it was just three short years later when KB Toys found themselves in the same financial “Titanic” boat as their formerly acquired company eToys.com:
[click image or here to go direct to the Wikipedia document]
Is there a difference between the two websites? That was the question I wanted answered.
“eToys.com Has similar Products as KB but also offers things not found on KBtoys.com. They have PC Software with a few games, but also the fun learning games and programs for younger kids.” - betterpricedgames.blogspot.com
You tell me, I can’t see a difference. The categories on each site vary a little bit but present the same products being sold. I would suspect that the The KB Toys branding holds more weight than the eToys.com name, but that would be just my own opinion. The terms of service pages between the two sites are practically exact duplicates:
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No matter if there is a difference between the two sites, one thing was quick to jump to my attention: KB Holdings, LLC doesn’t seem to be doing very well financially.
[click each image to view the full story]
What Are Your Thoughts?
Now knowing more about KB Toys and their financial situation, do you think that this is a company that you will do business with by promoting their affiliate commission based products on your blog or website? How do you think this situation will effect other companies in the same market such as Toys R Us and Walmart? Do you know more about the eToys.com and KBToys.com story? Is there something that you can add to this by dropping a comment? $3.4 Million dollars is dirt cheap to purchase eToys.com, if you were in charge at the time, what are some things that you would have done differently?
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2 comments
Well, here’s my take on things.
I am familiar with both brands, eToys mainly because of widely reported business failure back during the dot com bubble bust. But I know KB, because it is what I see in every mall I’ve been to from Texas to California.
So, with that in mind, I would think that your first time online toy buyer, would be more apt to go with a very established brand e.g. Toys R Us, or KB, versus eToys.
But then I could be wrong, it wouldn’t be a first.
Looks like someone should be getting the Google dupe penalty slap.
For the most part, all the companies you mention are selling the same products an none of them make their own. For toys, KB or Toy R Us are probably familiar with most buyers and the only difference to the buyer would be who has the best price. Same Barbie Doll.
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