Onsale Moves to Wholesale

Internet auctioneer Onsale announced Tuesday it can get it for you wholesale. The Internet retailer announced an advertising-supported program for selling computer products at wholesale prices, in a move likely to accelerate the plunge in personal-computer pricing. Existing retailers who rely on profit markups also may come under enormous pressure as a result of the move. Even Onsale acknowledged that the wholesale-pricing program "may entail some unpredictable cannibalization of the existing online auction business," the company said in a statement. The Menlo Park, California, company also reported a fourth-quarter loss, in line with Wall Street_s expectations, but said profit margins have been narrowing. Shares of Onsale fell US$6.25, or nearly 12 percent, to $52.19 by late morning in active Nasdaq trading...