FatWallet was a

comparison shopping website A comparison shopping website, sometimes called a price comparison website, price analysis tool, comparison shopping agent, shopbot, aggregator or comparison shopping engine, is a vertical search engine that shoppers use to filter and compare pr ...

, centering on a set of forums that allowed users to publish deals and rebate offers on products and services, with computer-related products and electronics most prominent in the listings. It was headquartered in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

, and ceased operation on October 9, 2017.

Products and services

Coupons and Cash Back

FatWallet featured a "

Coupons In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in ...

" section where users could find discounts from online retailers. Before being acquired, FatWallet also featured its own " Cash Back" rebate shopping section, in which members received back a percentage of purchases made through referral links to partnered retailers. FatWallet has since ended the cash back program and now directs its members to the program offered by Rakuten.

Forums

FatWallet users posted the sale prices of major retailers, often before they were officially released in retailers' advertisements, which involved the site in a legal dispute in 2002 involving Black Friday advertisements. Several retailers, including

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

and Staples, have served FatWallet with "take-down" notices pursuant to the

Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...

, claiming that their sale prices were

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed and must be removed from the FatWallet site. In addition, Wal-Mart served FatWallet with a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

to reveal the identity of the users who had posted Wal-Mart's prices, but the demand was later dropped. Although FatWallet initially complied with the take-down notices due to the fear of liability, within two weeks it reposted the prices and argued that the prices were facts rather than expression, and therefore not subject to copyright. FatWallet filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against three of the retailers, seeking damages for knowing assertion of invalid copyright claims and a

declaratory judgment A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal ma ...

that the take-down provisions of the DMCA were

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

. The case, ''FatWallet, Inc. v. Best Buy Enterprise Services, Inc.'', was dismissed. The court ruled that FatWallet lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

to sue for any harm done to its users for having their postings temporarily removed, and FatWallet did not assert any injury to itself that the court found cognizable. Since its launch, FatWallet has expanded its forums to include discussion on other financial topics such as investments, banking and credit cards. The Finance forum has been mentioned in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' referencing personal finance topics including on credit cards and

401K In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined contribution, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodic employee contributions come d ...

investment tips. FatWallet launched "Best Deals" in 2009 (initially called "Today's Top Deals"), which features researched deals found on the internet by staff and members. Best Deals also features an "Expert Picks" section where staff research bigger ticket retail products like laptops, computers and HDTVs for the best value for the price, and post their endorsements each week.

Relocation

Between March and April 2011, FatWallet moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, from Rockton, Illinois, in order to avoid termination of

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

contracts with online retailers such as

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

, which provide about 30% of the company's revenue. An Illinois law passed in March 2011 in anticipation of passage of the U.S.

Main Street Fairness Act The Main Street Fairness Act (H.R. 5660) was a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives to "promote simplification and fairness in the administration and collection of sales and use taxes, and for other purposes." Specifically, ...

, required online retailers with Illinois affiliates to collect and remit sales taxes to the state.

Acquisitions

FatWallet was sold to

Ebates Rakuten Rewards ( ), formerly known as Ebates, is a cash-back and shopping rewards company. Its revenue comes from affiliate network links. Members of the site click through affiliate links before shopping at a retailer's site. History Rakuten ...

(now

Rakuten Rewards Rakuten Rewards ( ), formerly known as Ebates, is a cash-back and shopping rewards company. Its revenue comes from affiliate network links. Members of the site click through affiliate links before shopping at a retailer's site. History Rakuten ...

) in 2011, at the same time as AnyCoupons, and later merged with Ebates to form a new company called Performance Marketing Brands. Former owner and founder Tim Storm stayed on as a strategic adviser for the new company. FatWallet's parent company, Ebates (now

) was sold to

Rakuten is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around the online retail marketplace Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing Fintech, digital content and communi ...

, as announced September 9, 2014. FatWallet was wholly sold during the transaction.

Shutdown

On September 20, 2017, Tim Storm posted on his Facebook page the following: Shortly thereafter, a FatWallet employee confirmed that FatWallet's owner, Rakuten, would be shutting down the website, but was unable to provide further details. On September 22, 2017, FatWallet General Manager Ryan Washatka officially confirmed the site would be shutting down, although the timeline was yet to be determined. On October 9, 2017, at approximately 4:00 p.m. EST, the site went offline and began redirecting to Ebates.com.

Awards

FatWallet was twice named one of the "50 Best Places To Work in America" by the Best Places To Work Institute and ''Entrepreneur'' magazine. It was ranked at #20 on the list for best small businesses in 2010, and #13 in 2011. Founder Tim Storm was also named as one of four finalists for Entrepreneur of 2010 by Entrepreneur.com.Online Discount Coupons in Switzerland
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References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.fatwallet.com/ Online retailers of the United States Defunct American websites Internet properties established in 1999 Internet properties disestablished in 2017 Credit Reward websites 1999 establishments in Wisconsin