Internet merchandise auctioneer Onsale Inc reported third quarter results on the money, which in it case means bleeding red ink. The Menlo park, California-based company reported net losses of $3.3m, or 17 cents per share on revenues up 130.3% on the year at $57.8m. The losses are down from the second quarter’s $4.0m and revenues rose 14% sequentially. During the quarter the company handed over its person-to-person auction business to Yahoo! Inc for an unspecified sum, but it continues to provide the back-end to what is now Yahoo Auctions. That service goes head-to-head with recent IPO star eBay Inc. The Onsale Japan KK joint venture with Softbank Inc was incorporated in the quarter and the company recognized a $200,000 loss as its share of the start-up costs. Onsale said it had 822,000 registered users as of September 390, a 23% increase from the previous quarter and 350,000 orders were placed. For the nine months Onsale saw net losses of$11.5m, including a $789,000 charge for merchandise-related reserves, up from $800,000 in 1997, on revenues up 130.0% at $172.1m. The company also says it has reclassified credit card fees from cost of goods sold to selling and marketing expenses, which it claims is more in line with its competitors. They represent about 2.6% of revenues. Cash stood at $30.1m on September 30.
