eCOST.com went public at $5.80 a share, far below the $9 to $11 range it first set. The web store began inside PC Mall, a catalog seller of computers and gear, and was spun out as its own public company in August 2004. Its pitch was bargains: refurbished laptops, closeout cameras and daily deals that disappeared when stock ran out. Online electronics shopping was growing fast, and margins were famously thin.

Deals That Disappear

eCOST bet that price-hunting shoppers would come back again and again for short-lived deals. It used the buying power and warehouse of its former parent to offer a wide range of tech products at low prices. Free shipping offers and email deals kept customers returning. The trouble was the crowd of rivals. A bargain market rewards whoever is willing to earn the least on each sale.

Passed From Owner to Owner

eCOST listed on Nasdaq in August 2004 under the ticker ECST. Sales grew, then losses followed and the stock fell. In February 2006 PFSweb, an e-commerce services company, completed a stock merger with eCOST. PFSweb sold the eCOST assets back to PC Mall in 2011 for $2.3 million. The brand changed hands again after that, while larger rivals such as Amazon and Newegg took over the market.

Cover: Untitled (Warehouse on Wharf), Carleton Watkins. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a warehouse on the wharf (bargains by the pallet).