Monday, December 6, 2010

Making Money Program

This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Once a week, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they’re doing to grow.

Consumer electronics search engine and review site Retrevo had the best traffic day in its four-year history on Monday. But unlike Cyber Mondays of the past, site visitors who were browsing the site’s comprehensive reviews also had the option to buy electronics without leaving the Retrevo site.

In the past two months, the company has been dipping its toes into e-commerce — an industry that it plans to dive into fully next year. The site’s long-time sources of revenue have been advertising and cost-per-click fees it collects by referring its users to electronic retailer sites. Since launching e-commerce components, such as its daily deals, it has more than doubled its monthly revenue.

To complement the new strategy, the company is launching a new search engine today that allows consumers to search accessories, the major portion of its product offerings, by entering a specific electronic device they wish to accessorize.

Taking this leap into e-commerce was something of a risk for CEO Vipin Jain. E-commerce is a decidedly different industry than review indexing, and there was a question of whether readers who trusted the site for information would also trust the site with their money (the answer thus far appears to be that they will).

class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable recently chatted with Jain about making the transition that he says is likely to triple annual revenue.

Building a Strong Frame

Retrevo built a 6-million-unique-users-per-month user base for its search and review engine before it decided to start selling products itself. And although selling electronics is turning out to be much more profitable than recommending them, the four years that it spent refining this system were an important component in building the site’s e-commerce success.

For one thing, customers already trust the site. “We probably would not have had this much success with e-commerce if we had not gone through building the trust with the information and reviews and recommendations first,” Jain says. “I think that where we are and where we think the company is going to be, I think that is a result of having that belief in the recommendation and the advice we are giving them. It is easier for them to open their wallets and give us money to buy products.”

It’s also unlikely that consumers would choose to buy from the site if it were just another Amazon-like retailer. The comprehensive reviews, which make it easy for people without a lot of technical knowledge to pick out a product, is the reason that people will continue to visit the site. And, as Jain sees it, the commerce component is a way of completing this easy-to-navigate experience. Instead of sending customers to a third-party site that might be confusing, users can easily complete their checkout where they started their search.

Changing Course

Earlier this year, when Retrevo started planning for the switch, the staff didn’t have any delusions about what a drastic change the company would be making. Retrevo sought new talent from online retailers like Newegg.com and eBay to help its team think in e-commerce terms.

“We were the king of the hill in our old world (CE reviews and recommendations),” Jain says. “E-commerce is full of potholes, and we are going against big guys such as Amazon. Amazon can be very aggressive when it comes to pricing for items that they want to move.”

Instead of competing with Amazon down to pennies, Retrevo’s advantage needs to come from helping customers buy the best products for their needs and get the most out of them. The accessory search engine that launches today, for instance, helps customers find the right accessories based on what devices they have. If the accessory doesn’t work with the device, the company will accept the return with no questions asked.

It would seem that selling and recommending devices on the same site might be a conflict of interest, but Vain insists that it is no more so than when the review site has hosted advertisers like Sony in the past.

“I think we have established over the years that Retrevo is a trusted place and the reviews and recommendations that we give you have not been influenced by any business model or revenue model,” he says.

Because being a reliable source of decision-making information about products is the key to its e-commerce strategy, it seems like much of Retrevo’s success or failure will depend on whether this statement holds true.

Image courtesy of class='blippr-nobr'>Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr, Chuck “Caveman” Coker, Dean Terry

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

For more Startups coverage:

    class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Startupsclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Startups channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad
"The
main problem that Goldman raises is a question of size: 'too big to
fail.' In some markets, they have a significant fraction of trades. Why
is that important? They trade both on their proprietary desk and on
behalf of customers. When you do that and you have a significant
fraction of all trades, you have a lot of information."

Further,
he says, "That raises the potential of conflicts of interest, problems
of front-running, using that inside information for your proprietary
desk. And that's why the Volcker report came out and said that we need
to restrict the kinds of activity that these large institutions have.
If you're going to trade on behalf of others, if you're going to be a
commercial bank, you can't engage in certain kinds of risk-taking
behavior."

The giants (especially Goldman Sachs) have also used high-frequency program trading which not only distorted the markets
- making up more than 70% of stock trades - but which also let the
program trading giants take a sneak peak at what the real (aka “human”)
traders are buying and selling, and then trade on the insider
information. See this, this, this, this and this. (This is frontrunning,
which is illegal; but it is a lot bigger than garden variety
frontrunning, because the program traders are not only trading based on
inside knowledge of what their own clients are doing, they are also
trading based on knowledge of what all other traders are doing).

 

Goldman also admitted
that its proprietary trading program can "manipulate the markets in
unfair ways". The giant banks have also allegedly used their Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group (CRMPG) to exchange secret information and formulate coordinated mutually beneficial actions, all with the government's blessings.

 

In addition, the giants receive many billions in subsidies
by receiving government guarantees that they are "too big to fail",
ensuring that they have to pay lower interest rates to attract
depositors.

 

Derivatives

 

The government's failure to
rein in derivatives or break up the giant banks also constitute
enormous subsidies, as it allows the giants to make huge sums by
keeping the true price points of their derivatives secret. See this and this.

 

Toxic Assets

 

The PPIP program - which was supposed to reduce the toxic assets held by banks - actually increased them, and just let the banks make a quick buck.

 

In
addition, the government suspended mark-to-market valuation of the
toxic assets held by the giant banks, and is allowing the banks to value
the assets at whatever price they desire. This constitutes a huge
giveaway to the big banks.

 

As one writer notes:


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off
Esta semana en la tarjeta de crédito <b> Noticias </ b> - MoneyBuilder - sentido de lo que <b> Siempre ...</ b> por LowCards.com más de ocho millones de personas abandonan la tarjeta de crédito utilizar más de ocho millones de consumidores dejaron de usar las tarjetas de crédito durante el año pasado, según un nuevo estudio de TransUnion. El uso de propósito general ...

El hielo del Mar Noticias <b> </ b> # 31 | Watts Up With That 38 Respuestas a las noticias del hielo marino # 31?. beesaman dice: 5 de diciembre de 2010 a las 18:38. Hice un comentario sobre esto un poco hace un tiempo también! Extraño que ha cogido el gráfico de arriba, ya que algunos NSIDC gente empezó a hablar de ella, o más bien, extraño que el hielo se ha ...

Habitaciones Lujiazui: <b> Noticias </ b> &amp; puntos de vista sobre las existencias de China (06 de diciembre <b> ...</ b> Inversores y comerciantes en el principal distrito financiero de China se trata de la siguiente antes del inicio del día de hoy el comercio: Con las expectativas sobre la inflación y la política monetaria cada vez más claro, los inversores están tomando las señales desde el extranjero ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Once a week, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they’re doing to grow.

Consumer electronics search engine and review site Retrevo had the best traffic day in its four-year history on Monday. But unlike Cyber Mondays of the past, site visitors who were browsing the site’s comprehensive reviews also had the option to buy electronics without leaving the Retrevo site.

In the past two months, the company has been dipping its toes into e-commerce — an industry that it plans to dive into fully next year. The site’s long-time sources of revenue have been advertising and cost-per-click fees it collects by referring its users to electronic retailer sites. Since launching e-commerce components, such as its daily deals, it has more than doubled its monthly revenue.

To complement the new strategy, the company is launching a new search engine today that allows consumers to search accessories, the major portion of its product offerings, by entering a specific electronic device they wish to accessorize.

Taking this leap into e-commerce was something of a risk for CEO Vipin Jain. E-commerce is a decidedly different industry than review indexing, and there was a question of whether readers who trusted the site for information would also trust the site with their money (the answer thus far appears to be that they will).

class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable recently chatted with Jain about making the transition that he says is likely to triple annual revenue.

Building a Strong Frame

Retrevo built a 6-million-unique-users-per-month user base for its search and review engine before it decided to start selling products itself. And although selling electronics is turning out to be much more profitable than recommending them, the four years that it spent refining this system were an important component in building the site’s e-commerce success.

For one thing, customers already trust the site. “We probably would not have had this much success with e-commerce if we had not gone through building the trust with the information and reviews and recommendations first,” Jain says. “I think that where we are and where we think the company is going to be, I think that is a result of having that belief in the recommendation and the advice we are giving them. It is easier for them to open their wallets and give us money to buy products.”

It’s also unlikely that consumers would choose to buy from the site if it were just another Amazon-like retailer. The comprehensive reviews, which make it easy for people without a lot of technical knowledge to pick out a product, is the reason that people will continue to visit the site. And, as Jain sees it, the commerce component is a way of completing this easy-to-navigate experience. Instead of sending customers to a third-party site that might be confusing, users can easily complete their checkout where they started their search.

Changing Course

Earlier this year, when Retrevo started planning for the switch, the staff didn’t have any delusions about what a drastic change the company would be making. Retrevo sought new talent from online retailers like Newegg.com and eBay to help its team think in e-commerce terms.

“We were the king of the hill in our old world (CE reviews and recommendations),” Jain says. “E-commerce is full of potholes, and we are going against big guys such as Amazon. Amazon can be very aggressive when it comes to pricing for items that they want to move.”

Instead of competing with Amazon down to pennies, Retrevo’s advantage needs to come from helping customers buy the best products for their needs and get the most out of them. The accessory search engine that launches today, for instance, helps customers find the right accessories based on what devices they have. If the accessory doesn’t work with the device, the company will accept the return with no questions asked.

It would seem that selling and recommending devices on the same site might be a conflict of interest, but Vain insists that it is no more so than when the review site has hosted advertisers like Sony in the past.

“I think we have established over the years that Retrevo is a trusted place and the reviews and recommendations that we give you have not been influenced by any business model or revenue model,” he says.

Because being a reliable source of decision-making information about products is the key to its e-commerce strategy, it seems like much of Retrevo’s success or failure will depend on whether this statement holds true.

Image courtesy of class='blippr-nobr'>Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr, Chuck “Caveman” Coker, Dean Terry

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

For more Startups coverage:

    class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Startupsclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Startups channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad
"The
main problem that Goldman raises is a question of size: 'too big to
fail.' In some markets, they have a significant fraction of trades. Why
is that important? They trade both on their proprietary desk and on
behalf of customers. When you do that and you have a significant
fraction of all trades, you have a lot of information."

Further,
he says, "That raises the potential of conflicts of interest, problems
of front-running, using that inside information for your proprietary
desk. And that's why the Volcker report came out and said that we need
to restrict the kinds of activity that these large institutions have.
If you're going to trade on behalf of others, if you're going to be a
commercial bank, you can't engage in certain kinds of risk-taking
behavior."

The giants (especially Goldman Sachs) have also used high-frequency program trading which not only distorted the markets
- making up more than 70% of stock trades - but which also let the
program trading giants take a sneak peak at what the real (aka “human”)
traders are buying and selling, and then trade on the insider
information. See this, this, this, this and this. (This is frontrunning,
which is illegal; but it is a lot bigger than garden variety
frontrunning, because the program traders are not only trading based on
inside knowledge of what their own clients are doing, they are also
trading based on knowledge of what all other traders are doing).

 

Goldman also admitted
that its proprietary trading program can "manipulate the markets in
unfair ways". The giant banks have also allegedly used their Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group (CRMPG) to exchange secret information and formulate coordinated mutually beneficial actions, all with the government's blessings.

 

In addition, the giants receive many billions in subsidies
by receiving government guarantees that they are "too big to fail",
ensuring that they have to pay lower interest rates to attract
depositors.

 

Derivatives

 

The government's failure to
rein in derivatives or break up the giant banks also constitute
enormous subsidies, as it allows the giants to make huge sums by
keeping the true price points of their derivatives secret. See this and this.

 

Toxic Assets

 

The PPIP program - which was supposed to reduce the toxic assets held by banks - actually increased them, and just let the banks make a quick buck.

 

In
addition, the government suspended mark-to-market valuation of the
toxic assets held by the giant banks, and is allowing the banks to value
the assets at whatever price they desire. This constitutes a huge
giveaway to the big banks.

 

As one writer notes:


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This Week in Credit Card <b>News</b> - MoneyBuilder - making sense of <b>...</b>

Provided by LowCards.com More Than Eight Million People Drop Out of Credit Card Use More than eight million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year, according to a new study by TransUnion. The use of general purpose ...

Sea Ice <b>News</b> #31 | Watts Up With That?

38 Responses to Sea Ice News #31. beesaman says: December 5, 2010 at 6:38 pm. I commented on this a bit a while back too! Odd how the NSIDC graph has caught up since some folk started talking about it, or rather, odd how the ice has ...

Lujiazui Breakfast: <b>News</b> &amp; Views About China Stocks (Dec. 6 <b>...</b>

Investors and traders in China's main financial district are talking about the following before the start of trade today: With expectations about inflation and monetary policy becoming clearer, investors are taking cues from overseas ...


bench craft company rip off

This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Once a week, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they’re doing to grow.

Consumer electronics search engine and review site Retrevo had the best traffic day in its four-year history on Monday. But unlike Cyber Mondays of the past, site visitors who were browsing the site’s comprehensive reviews also had the option to buy electronics without leaving the Retrevo site.

In the past two months, the company has been dipping its toes into e-commerce — an industry that it plans to dive into fully next year. The site’s long-time sources of revenue have been advertising and cost-per-click fees it collects by referring its users to electronic retailer sites. Since launching e-commerce components, such as its daily deals, it has more than doubled its monthly revenue.

To complement the new strategy, the company is launching a new search engine today that allows consumers to search accessories, the major portion of its product offerings, by entering a specific electronic device they wish to accessorize.

Taking this leap into e-commerce was something of a risk for CEO Vipin Jain. E-commerce is a decidedly different industry than review indexing, and there was a question of whether readers who trusted the site for information would also trust the site with their money (the answer thus far appears to be that they will).

class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable recently chatted with Jain about making the transition that he says is likely to triple annual revenue.

Building a Strong Frame

Retrevo built a 6-million-unique-users-per-month user base for its search and review engine before it decided to start selling products itself. And although selling electronics is turning out to be much more profitable than recommending them, the four years that it spent refining this system were an important component in building the site’s e-commerce success.

For one thing, customers already trust the site. “We probably would not have had this much success with e-commerce if we had not gone through building the trust with the information and reviews and recommendations first,” Jain says. “I think that where we are and where we think the company is going to be, I think that is a result of having that belief in the recommendation and the advice we are giving them. It is easier for them to open their wallets and give us money to buy products.”

It’s also unlikely that consumers would choose to buy from the site if it were just another Amazon-like retailer. The comprehensive reviews, which make it easy for people without a lot of technical knowledge to pick out a product, is the reason that people will continue to visit the site. And, as Jain sees it, the commerce component is a way of completing this easy-to-navigate experience. Instead of sending customers to a third-party site that might be confusing, users can easily complete their checkout where they started their search.

Changing Course

Earlier this year, when Retrevo started planning for the switch, the staff didn’t have any delusions about what a drastic change the company would be making. Retrevo sought new talent from online retailers like Newegg.com and eBay to help its team think in e-commerce terms.

“We were the king of the hill in our old world (CE reviews and recommendations),” Jain says. “E-commerce is full of potholes, and we are going against big guys such as Amazon. Amazon can be very aggressive when it comes to pricing for items that they want to move.”

Instead of competing with Amazon down to pennies, Retrevo’s advantage needs to come from helping customers buy the best products for their needs and get the most out of them. The accessory search engine that launches today, for instance, helps customers find the right accessories based on what devices they have. If the accessory doesn’t work with the device, the company will accept the return with no questions asked.

It would seem that selling and recommending devices on the same site might be a conflict of interest, but Vain insists that it is no more so than when the review site has hosted advertisers like Sony in the past.

“I think we have established over the years that Retrevo is a trusted place and the reviews and recommendations that we give you have not been influenced by any business model or revenue model,” he says.

Because being a reliable source of decision-making information about products is the key to its e-commerce strategy, it seems like much of Retrevo’s success or failure will depend on whether this statement holds true.

Image courtesy of class='blippr-nobr'>Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr, Chuck “Caveman” Coker, Dean Terry

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

For more Startups coverage:

    class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Startupsclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Startups channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad
"The
main problem that Goldman raises is a question of size: 'too big to
fail.' In some markets, they have a significant fraction of trades. Why
is that important? They trade both on their proprietary desk and on
behalf of customers. When you do that and you have a significant
fraction of all trades, you have a lot of information."

Further,
he says, "That raises the potential of conflicts of interest, problems
of front-running, using that inside information for your proprietary
desk. And that's why the Volcker report came out and said that we need
to restrict the kinds of activity that these large institutions have.
If you're going to trade on behalf of others, if you're going to be a
commercial bank, you can't engage in certain kinds of risk-taking
behavior."

The giants (especially Goldman Sachs) have also used high-frequency program trading which not only distorted the markets
- making up more than 70% of stock trades - but which also let the
program trading giants take a sneak peak at what the real (aka “human”)
traders are buying and selling, and then trade on the insider
information. See this, this, this, this and this. (This is frontrunning,
which is illegal; but it is a lot bigger than garden variety
frontrunning, because the program traders are not only trading based on
inside knowledge of what their own clients are doing, they are also
trading based on knowledge of what all other traders are doing).

 

Goldman also admitted
that its proprietary trading program can "manipulate the markets in
unfair ways". The giant banks have also allegedly used their Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group (CRMPG) to exchange secret information and formulate coordinated mutually beneficial actions, all with the government's blessings.

 

In addition, the giants receive many billions in subsidies
by receiving government guarantees that they are "too big to fail",
ensuring that they have to pay lower interest rates to attract
depositors.

 

Derivatives

 

The government's failure to
rein in derivatives or break up the giant banks also constitute
enormous subsidies, as it allows the giants to make huge sums by
keeping the true price points of their derivatives secret. See this and this.

 

Toxic Assets

 

The PPIP program - which was supposed to reduce the toxic assets held by banks - actually increased them, and just let the banks make a quick buck.

 

In
addition, the government suspended mark-to-market valuation of the
toxic assets held by the giant banks, and is allowing the banks to value
the assets at whatever price they desire. This constitutes a huge
giveaway to the big banks.

 

As one writer notes:


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