And what's funny is that the CEO clearly doesn't understand this irony, but the author does. Check it out. Here's a great example of an Internet company who's idea, at least in terms of stock price, has long since passed it's golden age. They sell books. But they didn't - they went public recently, closed below the offering price, and are now languishing around 3.
Timing is an amazing thing.
But VarsityBooks can easily be the poster child for the death of any company whose business plan is based solely around etailing. At least those who expect lots of cash and growth. I had to pay for my own books, and I could get them wherever I wanted, which in my case was three bookstores around campus. One was owned by the school, and two were private. There wasn't any online buying going on, and if there had been it wouldn't have been the school pushing it.