Internet Stocks News/Analysis In Brief (AMZN, BUN, DSCM, EBAY, HOLL, NILE, OSTK)

Online sales data for Thanksgiving weekend: comScore reported that online sales rose 22% for Friday. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said that Monday was "the biggest day in our history" (though that doesn't say much, as online sales rise every year). eBags said sales were up 67% year over year. Joann.com, the online arm of the arts-and-crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores Inc., says sales rose 80%. Online bookseller Alibris said order volume was up 60% over Thanksgiving weekend. (Data from the WSJ; paid sub req'd.)

AMZN, BUN, DSCM, EBAY, HOLL, NILE, OSTK: The Motley Fool's Rick Aristotle Munarriz strikes again. In Merry Dot-Com Christmas Stocks, he argues that recent data suggest that retailers will do well this holiday season, and that since Internet companies have more operating leverage than offline retailers, 'Net stocks are the ones to own. His picks? Amazon, BlueNile, eBay and Overstock; and small caps BabyUniverse, Drugstore.com and Hollywood Media. Perhaps the most useful take-away from the article is a lesson in how to run an Internet content business: content (in this case a couple of stock picks) can be repackaged in numerous forms to maximise page views. The timing of the piece, however, was unfortunate, as retail stocks took a beating yesterday due to worse than expected Thanksgiving sales data. Question: Do any readers have insights into BUN?

NILE: Jeff Matthews amusingly explains why Blue Nile appeals so strongly to men: "Blue Nile... has made a business out of the fact that men hate to go to malls... they hate to look for parking spaces, they hate to walk long distances past kiosks with stupid names, they hate to ask for help from some guy who knows nothing but how much commission he will earn selling this particular ring, they hate that awful fake smile and handshake when they've finally chosen a ring to buy, they hate to wait while the ring is boxed and wrapped, they hate to talk to the lady who takes their credit card and they hate to be smiled at and thanked and wished have a nice day!…because men know deep down in their guts that they are being ripped off at every step of the way."