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The Tech Archived · VIDEO ESSAY

What Happened to Pets.com? The $156 Million Dot-Com Disaster

Pets.com became one of the most famous failures of the dot-com bubble. Backed by Amazon, armed with a hugely popular sock puppet mascot and millions in investor funding, it seemed destined to revolutionise online pet shopping. But just nine months after going public in February 2000, Pets.com shut down. So what actually went wrong? This documentary explores the rise and fall of Pets.com, from its expensive Super Bowl advertising and disastrous shipping economics to its mounting losses and desperate search for new funding. Discover why one of the internet's most infamous failures collapsed just as its business model was beginning to improve.

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About this video

Pets.com became one of the most famous failures of the dot-com bubble. Backed by Amazon, armed with a hugely popular sock puppet mascot and millions in investor funding, it seemed destined to revolutionise online pet shopping.

But just nine months after going public in February 2000, Pets.com shut down.

So what actually went wrong?

This documentary explores the rise and fall of Pets.com, from its expensive Super Bowl advertising and disastrous shipping economics to its mounting losses and desperate search for new funding.

Discover why one of the internet's most infamous failures collapsed just as its business model was beginning to improve.

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