Buy.com Delays IPO Until Next Month

Internet retailer Buy.com Inc. has pushed back its much-anticipated initial sale of stock until early next month.

Company executives would not give the reason for the delay, citing the so-called quiet period that precedes a public offering.

The Aliso Viejo company had announced plans to go public this week, selling 14 million shares at an estimated $10 to $12 a share in an effort to raise as much as $168 million.

The Internet superstore, known for its deep discounts, recently announced estimated fourth-quarter revenue of $200.6 million, a threefold increase over the previous year.

Analysts called the results impressive--perhaps enough to make investors look past the company’s ongoing losses. Buy.com lost more than $80 million in the first nine months of 1999. Even after its sizzling holiday season, sales costs for the quarter amounted to $202.4 million--$2 million than revenue.

Wall Street has cooled recently to Internet retailers that demonstrate a continued lack of profitability, analysts said. Charlottesville, Va.-based Internet retailer Value America went public in April at $23 and rocketed past $43 within days, but has plummeted to just under $6 in recent months after shipping and management problems hurt its results.

Buy.com specializes in computer hardware and software, but also sells books, videos and consumer electronics.

Initially, it made a splash by offering products at cost or at a loss, theorizing that heavy consumer traffic would lead to profits from the sale of advertising on its Web site. The profits never materialized, however.

The company has reshaped its strategy somewhat, using loss leaders to steer customers to higher-margin products.