Cityspree is driving us all crazy

[PrncsNYC]

If this needs to be moved...feel free


Well I just thought I would let you all know that I just tried calling Hotel Huntington Beach here in ORange CA to make my reservation and they said that they were no longer accepting reservations from Ciryspree certificates and that Cityspree themselves, Chris Hunt, had told them that Cityspree has gone bankrupt.

I know there have been lots of rumours and differnt stories floating around...just thought I would add to the pot.

I would say this has been the most dissapointing deal for me... ((((

[LDeas]

I was just reading this on another board and thought I'd post it here. I have 4 certificates that I just received last week. I hope we still get to use them... Here's the story:

Bankruptcy protection will allow Cityspree to reorganize
BY TODD MCADAM
Business Writer


VESTAL -- Cityspree Inc., an online auction house founded by Binghamton native Anne Stanton, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Stanton announced Friday.
The Manhattan-based company has its back office and warehouse in the Triple Cities. The company used to employ 285 people around the country, including 40 in Vestal. But it laid off about 200 of those people in January and early February after a planned-on round of venture capital was put on hold. It now has 18 people in Vestal.

The cost-savings effort has kept Cityspree cash-flow positive, so it's not a matter of losing money, just of not having enough

That's why Stanton said the company is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which will allow it to reorganize as it pays its creditors and seeks a merger with another company. The filing allows the company to continue operation, so customers can still use the services.

"Our restructuring plan is one that should enable us to pay our creditors in full over time, and it involves anywhere from zero to $1 million in new invested capital," Stanton said. "We have several parties interested in funding Cityspree, ranging from a small VC (venture capital firm) in the Silicon Valley area to a group in south Florida."

Stanton expects the restructuring to take three to four months, during which it will continue to seek a merger.

Cityspree is unique among dot-coms, Stanton said, because it doesn't follow the traditional business model. The typical model is an online business that sells goods with little or no profit, and hopes to make up the difference in advertising sales for the site.

"Fortunately, unlike many dot-coms, we have real revenues from our auctions that don't rely on the traditional advertising dollars," Stanton said.

Cityspree offers two revenue streams. Its online auction house sells coupons for goods and services to businesses in the communities it's located in, and it offers a coupon book similar to the Dine-A-Mate book founded by her father, Raymond Stanton II.

"We are continuing to add merchant value with new merchant modules over the next few months," Anne Stanton said. The company expects to have 78 online markets and 20 offline markets by the end of the year, short of the 140 that Stanton had predicted last year, but far ahead of the 28 markets it was in by mid-February.

[soulwoman1]

I recently contacted my CC company to dispute my CitySpree charges since I had a feeling down the road the resturants would no longer accept them. I'm so glad I did. Others might want ot do the same. At the same time I had called CitySpree several times and no one answered and all I was allowed to do was leave a message. This was not a good sign.

[PrncsNYC]

What really makes me mad is that I bought the hotel room for my 3 year anniversary that is this Tuesday. I told my BF that I had something special planned and now I don't!