How would I describe the Sumo Omni?
It’s a large (4.5 by 5.5 feet) nylon sack filled with what feels like bean bag material that can be molded into different configurations. You can lay on it flat, fold it into a futon-like position, squish it into typical beanbag chair formation, etc. See for yourself at the website. If you can get past the cheesy, soft-core pornish image of a model giving a “come hither” look while suggestively straddling the Omni on the home page, the pictures are instructive on how to use the thing.

So, what did I think of it?
It really is surprisingly comfortable. I was a bit hesitant at first, as the rip- and stain-resistant fabric didn’t initially strike me as luxurious. But once I sat on it, I was hooked. Although you can make it into a variety of shapes, we seem to like it as is, laying it flat and lounging in front of the TV. The kids treat it as a big toy, alternatively jumping on and climbing all over it. In fact, I set my toddler on it, and turned around a few minutes later to find her asleep. While I would not recommend this as a kid bed for safety reasons, this just goes to show how comfortable it is. It’s large enough for more than one person to enjoy, but can be transformed into an individual seat. It’s perfect for a family/TV room, apartment, teen bedroom, etc. In theory it would be perfect for a dorm room, but since most dorm rooms are slightly smaller than the average closet, the Omni might be too big for it. The shear size of the thing could be a drawback for those with limited space. Also, the $129 price tag may scare some away. However, after a cursory look online for similar items, I was surprised that this price is actually cheaper than comparable items. For example, I saw some “extra large” bean bag cushions advertised for more than $200.

The bottom line is that I would highly recommend the Sumo Omni, although I must warn you that it promotes extreme laziness and lack of productivity. Not necesarily a bad thing for value investors waiting for a fat pitch.

Contest
If the Sumo Omni sounds like the thing for you, I’m actually giving one away for free.  The generous folks at Sumo Lounge International offered me the opportunity to give away one free Sumo Omni to a reader of Fat Pitch Financials. You can win your very own Sumo Omni by leaving a comment below that discusses your favorite place to relax and your preferred Sumo Omni color.  Be sure your comment includes a valid email address and the word “relax” so I can ensure that your comment doesn’t get screened out by my spam filter.  This free Sumo Omni prize can only be shipped to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. I will select one random comment on Sunday, November 11th at 5:00 PM. Your odds of winning will be determined by the number of entries I receive. Good luck.

I wonder if today’s free access has anything to do with the debut of the Fox Business Network yesterday. Nah, I’m sure it is just a coincidence. ;-)

If you like what you see today at WSJ.com, consider signing up for an online or home delivery subscription by clicking here.

Free access sounds like a fat pitch to me… Maybe it will even help me find some fat pitch opportunities this week.

I like the online version because you can search through all the back issues.  I plan on switching over to the online version in the future.  It will cut down on the paper clutter in my house and I’ll be able to take it with me on my PocketPC if I save the pages as Word documents from Internet Explorer.

I have been reducing the number of paid subscription I get since I haven’t been able to keep up with all of my reading.  I discovered that I haven’t been reading enough annual reports since I’ve been bogged down on my subscriptions.  However, Barron’s comes only once a week and many of the articles are of high value so I plan on keeping a Barron’s subscription.  Enjoy the free week, you might learn something valuable.

Pandora allows you to create custom stations based on the music style of an artist or even a single song.  Pandora uses a massive database called the Music Genome that characterizes each song based on music “genes” that include hundreds of musical attributes.

I’ve discovered some great new music using this service based on some of my old favorites.  It is really easy to get started using Pandora.  There is nothing to download or configure. It all runs in your browser window and it sounds great.

Last.fm is somewhat similar to Pandora, but it uses community generated “tags” to characterize music.  After signing up for this service, you are required to download the Last.fm player to listen to custom radio stations.  There is also a plugin called the Audioscrobbler to help track every song you listen to and help build your music profile. This sounded a bit intrusive to me, so I haven’t installed the plugin yet.

I found Last.fm a bit more challenging to get started using.  There are a lot of feature and options revolving around the community aspect of this site.  You can keep a music journal and read artist profiles for example.  You need to click the Radio button to get a custom station up and running.  I clicked on the “classic rock” tag and the first song that came at me was a rap song.  I guess the downfall of having a community driven music labeling system is that differences of opinion can muddy the database.  However, after building my own custom station based on my favorite artists, I’ve had a much more pleasant experience.  You can check out my Last.fm profile to see what I’ve been listening to recently.

Enjoy the weekend!

After the news of a pregnancy hits home, most people’s financial concerns focus on saving for college, a bigger car, nursery furniture, and the all-important diaper fund.  However, there is a hidden and more immediate cost to pregnancy:  maternity clothes.  After sweats and weekend lounge wear no longer cut it, most women venture to the mall or online in search of more comfortable and stylish attire, only to be faced with enormous sticker shock.  Although maternity wear has vastly improved in variety and availability in the past 10 years, the price of decent-looking outfits reflect this niche industry.  Even popular discount stores offering regular jeans in the $30 range charge more than double for the same style in maternity sizes.  Short of making friends with another parent of the same size (and decent taste), most women have no option but to suck it up and pay $$$ for clothes that would get limited use.  During my own pregnancy, however, I discovered another option:  eBay (EBAY). 

Some people are a bit turned off by buying clothes on eBay.  However, keep in mind that maternity clothes are in a different league.  Since most women only resort to maternity clothes in month four of their pregnancies, they use these clothes for approximately 5-6 months only.  Plus, seasons change, so those $80 wool maternity pants might only get a few wearings.  Moreover, many eBay vendors sell brand new items with tags attached.  Some people sell overstock items, while others bought clothes, then realized the hard way that it is entirely possible to outgrow maternity clothes, and thus never used them.  Either way, I discovered you can save a fortune going the eBay route. 

For example, this week alone I saved $172.51 on a total of four purchases.  I based this savings on my final purchase bidding price (shipping not included) versus the stated retail price for the same items.  I omitted shipping costs, as I found that eBay shipping costs for my items were comparable to or less than that charged by online retailers.  I should note that I did not include the tax that online retailers would have charged for these items – a cost you avoid by using eBay.  Thus, in actuality, I saved more than $172.51, but you get the point.  As an example, I purchased a brand new pair of Gap (GPS) maternity pants for $9.99.  The same pants retail for $68.00.  I paid $12.50 for a slightly different style of Gap pants that also ordinarily sell for $68.00.  A third Gap find was a black stretch shirt for $2.99, which retails for $48.00.  Finally, I bought a Motherhood Maternity (MWRK) brand blouse for $5.00, which sells for $18.99.  All in all, a good week. 

As always, if you decide to shop on eBay, make sure to check the seller’s rating and shipping charges.  Then take the money you save and put it into that diaper fund, as you will need it. 

Originally posted on January 7, 2006. 

As I started working my way through Barron’s today, I notice an ad by Morningstar. They are offering 15 free research reports on wide moat stocks that currently have their 5-star rating.  No registration is required.  You just have to visit www.morningstar.com/barrons1. (The link didn’t work in Firefox 1.5 for some reason, but it works in Internet Explorer.) The company research reports include:

1. Abbott Laboritories (ABT)
2. Anheuser-Busch Companies (BUD)
3. Avon Products (AVP)
4. Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B)
5. Cadbury Schweppes PLC ADR (CSG)
6. Coca-Cola (KO)
7. Dell (DELL)
8. Diageo PLC ADR (DEO)
9. Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)
10. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
11. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
12. Microsoft (MSFT)
13. Oracle (ORCL)
14. Wal-Mart (WMT)
15. Washington Post Co (WP)

I already own Microsoft.  Avon, Cadbury Schweppes, Diageo and the Washington Post are companies that I have been interested in researching further. The only companies that look unappealing on this list are Dell and Oracle. I don’t think Dell will have a wide moat for long and Oracle’s management concerns me. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this list.

• Many Markets, Few Values – Jack Ablin explores where some value might be hiding.
• Having the Last Laugh – Jack Willoughby interviews value investor Marty Whitman.

Enjoy the free week of the Journal. Let us know if you find anything good to read.

You can use your free credit reports to make sure there are no errors in your credit history. The credit reports are also an effective tool to monitor your credit activities to make sure that no one has stolen your identity and opened lines of credit in your name.

Take advantage of this free service. I’m sure many of you have had to pay for credit reports in the past. Now you can do it for free!

I decided to do something about it. I called up my local Comcast office. Going though the voice menu, I decided to select the option to remove a service. That resulted in me having to listen to classical music for several minutes.

When a human finally got on the line, I was determined to lower my bill or I was going to cancel my service. After answering a few questions, I was promptly put on hold. The service representative then came back on the line and offered me 12 months of service for $29.95 a month. I took the deal! The representative then tried to sell me a digital cable, which I declined.

The moral of the story is that it can’t hurt to ask for a price cut. I saved a total of $156 with a simple phone call.

Recently, things have started to change. Online advertisement expenditures have been increasing, and it looks like some of those old Golden Age business plans are getting dusted off. Yahoo! Auctions recently announced that it will no longer charge sellers listing fees or closing costs. In addition, I noticed Yahoo! Classifieds, an old favorite of mine before Craig’s List grew, is also providing free listings again. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to revive their markets.

This development will be a direct challenge to Ebay. It currently has a massive competitive advantage with its large network of buyers and sellers, its rating system, and its brand name. Having a large concentrated market of buyers and sellers increases the overall auction experience, since it is most efficient to list items for sale where the most buyers will be looking to bid on items. Sellers with high ratings also face high switching costs, since they have to rebuild their reputation if they move to another auction provider. It will be interesting to see if Yahoo! Auctions will be able to attract enough users to make its auctions worth while.

I don’t think there is an investment opportunity here, but if Yahoo! Auctions gets enough traffic, it might be a money saving opportunity to list your “junk” for free with them. I’ll have to check on how close the closing prices on Yahoo! Auctions compares to those for similar items on Ebay.