BIDZ.com rises on record 24-hour sales
BIDZ.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDZ) shares are rising after the online jewelry auctioneer reported gross sales of $1 million on Nov. 29. The Culver City, Calif.-based firm said the sales broke company records for a 24-hour period.
“This marks the first time that we have achieved $1 million gross sales in one day,” CEO David Zinberg said in a statement. “This milestone is thanks, in large part, to our ever increasing selection of merchandise and our very broad customer base who understand value.”
The positive announcement comes on the heels of a scathing report released by Citron Research on Monday. Citron is short selling shares of Bidz.com. On Thursday, Bidz.com said it was investigating possible wrongdoing by Citron’s editor, Andrew Left. Left accused Bidz.com for irregular bidding and said one of the firm’s major shareholders and suppliers has a criminal past.
As a result of investigating several irregular auctions, the company banned certain merchants from selling TVs and “may or may not take similar action with other merchants,” Zinberg said in a statement provided to SeekingAlpha.com on Friday. Auction Bytes, a trade publication that covers the online auction industry, reported after Thursday’s close that two online sellers said Bidz.com is shutting down its Certified Merchants program.
In afternoon trading, BIDZ shares are up 0.17%, or $0.02, at $11.74. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $4.90 to $22.50.
