Cyberian Outpost Inc., Kent, CT, an Internet seller of computer hardware, software and peripherals, effectively doubled its customer base by acquiring the 160,000-name customer list of the Internet Shopping Network’s computer superstore.
In addition to selling its superstore list, ISN, a unit of USA Networks Interactive Co., agreed to maintain a direct link from the store’s home page that will redirect shoppers to Cyberian’s site, www.outpost.com, for the next four months. For an additional eight months, ISN will redirect other URLs — such as pages that customers have bookmarked from deeper within the superstore — to Cyberian’s home page.
A Cyberian spokesman declined to specify how much the company paid for the superstore customer list, saying only that the names are valuable to Cyberian because they “match the exact type of customers that we are interested in attracting.”
ISN, which in 1994 opened the world’s first online store, will remain active on the Web by running an online auction site, www.firstauction.com, that sells home and leisure products, jewelry, consumer electronics and computers.
Separately, Cyberian announced that it has added more than 5,000 members to its affiliate network in the last six months. Launched in December 1997, the network is composed of other Web sites that display banner ads and direct links to Cyberian’s store.
Cyberian tracks traffic that enters from affiliated sites and pays affiliates a 3 percent cash commission on any sales they generate. The affiliated sites, which have the alternative of receiving the commission as a store credit, include discussion groups and other pages related to computer products and technology.
