Overstock.com 2006 Annual Report Download - page 5

• our belief that our information technology infrastructure can and will support our operations and will not suffer significant
downtime;
• our belief that we can maintain inventory levels at appropriate levels despite the seasonal nature of our business; and
• our belief that we can successfully offer and sell a constantly changing mix of products and services.
Furthermore, in some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, could, should,
expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential or continue, the negative of such terms or other comparable
terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. In evaluating these statements, you
should specifically consider the risks outlined in this Form 10-K, including those described in Item 1A under the caption "Risk
Factors." These factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by any forward-looking statement.
Except as otherwise required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to release publicly any update or revisions to any forward-
looking statements to reflect any changes in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of
our forward-looking statements are based. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The following description of our business contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or our future financial or
operating performance that involve risks and uncertainties, as set forth above under "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements." Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of
certain factors, including those set forth in Section 1A under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
We are an online "closeout" retailer offering discount brand name merchandise, including bed-and-bath goods, home décor,
kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics and computers, sporting goods, apparel, designer accessories and travel services, among
other products. We also sell books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, videocassettes and video games ("BMMG"), and we operate as part of
our Website an online auction site—a marketplace for the buying and selling of goods and services.
Our company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was founded in 1997, and we launched our first Website through which customers
could purchase products in March 1999. Our Websites offer our customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while
offering our suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel. We continually add new, limited inventory products to
our Websites in order to create an atmosphere that encourages customers to visit frequently and purchase products before our
inventory sells out. We offer approximately 36,000 products under multiple shopping tabs on our main website, plus almost 500,000
media products on our BMMG tab.
Closeout merchandise is typically available in inconsistent quantities and prices and often is only available to consumers after it
has been purchased and resold by disparate liquidation wholesalers. We believe that the traditional liquidation market is therefore
characterized by fragmented supply and fragmented demand. We utilize the Internet to aggregate both supply and demand and create a
more efficient market for liquidation merchandise. Our objective is to provide a one-stop destination for discount shopping for
products and services proven to be successfully sold through the Internet.
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