FatWallet
 | |
| Company type | Cashback website Online coupons |
|---|---|
| Founded | Rockton, Illinois, United States (1999[1]) |
| Revenue | 12.3 million (2009)[2] |
| Owner | Performance Marketing Brands |
| Website | www |
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 Cashback program and now directs its members to the program offered by Ebates.
Forums
Why did fatwallet shut down? :(
Relocation
Between March and April 2011, Fatwallet moved to Wisconsin from northern 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 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 advisor for the new company.[5][6]
FatWallet's parent company, Ebates Inc. 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 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 is yet to be determined.[11]
On September 26, 2017 Priti Kare, eBates director of public relations, announced that FatWallet's operations and website would be soon be shuttered.[12]
On September 27, 2017, according to a statement from spokesperson Alessandra Nagy, "FatWallet’s website will be taken down some time in the next month (October, 2017), Nagy said in an email."[13]
On October 6, 2017, FatWallet sent an email confirming shut-down of its web site on Monday, which read, "Thank you for shopping FatWallet. With sadness, we must inform you that we will be closing our site on Monday, October 9th..."
On October 9, 2017, at approximately 4:00 PM EST, the site went offline and began redirecting to eBates.com.
FatWallet.com now has a goodbye message on its homepage.[14]
A number of FatWallet users and contributors have moved to a new forum platform, https://phatwalletforums.com/, after the shutdown of FatWallet web site. Some prominent members of the Finance sub-forum started their own forum at https://www.fragiledeal.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,[15] and #13 in 2011.[16] Founder Tim Storm was also named as one of four finalists for Entrepreneur of 2010 by Entrepreneur.com.[17]
See also
References
- ^ Carman, Lindsey (25 April 2016). "'Championing the Consumer:' How FatWallet's Deal-Thirsty Community Helps Retailers Win Loyal Customers". DealCrunch.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ FatWallet founder up for national award – Alex Gary - Rockford Register Star. Blogs.e-rockford.com (2010-07-29). Retrieved on 2013-09-13.
- ^ "Fatwallet.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
- ^ Doris Hajewski (16 March 2011). "New Illinois tax law threatens Fatwallet's online retail network". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ And now a word from our founder. Fatwallet.com.
- ^ Backed By VCs, Ebates Buys FatWallet.com And AnyCoupons.com, Starts New Company. TechCrunch (2011-09-09).
- ^ Rakuten of Japan to Buy Ebates, a U.S. Rebate Site, for $1 Billion. New York Times (2014-09-09).
- ^ Announcement of 100% Acquisition of Ebates Inc. Rakuten Press Release (2014-09-09)
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/timstorm/posts/10154885652603091
- ^ https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/off-topic/1586217?showmessage=19972800
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20171008003027/https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1586370
- ^ http://www.rrstar.com/news/20170926/beloits-fatwallet-to-shutter-its-operations-website
- ^ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-3BUmpp9KckJ:www.gazettextra.com/20170927/beloit_based_fatwallet_to_be_absorbed_by_sister_company+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
- ^ https://www.fatwallet.com/fatwallet-goodbye
- ^ "The Best Small & Medium Workplaces in America". 2010.
- ^ "The Best Small & Medium Workplaces in America". 2011.
- ^ "Entrepreneur of the Year finalist – Tim Storm of FatWallet". Performance Marketing Association. 3 August 2010.