Pricefalls

Pricefalls originated in June 2008 after Elliot Moskow became dissatisfied with the economics and risks of selling on eBay. While trying to sell jewelry acquired through police auctions, Moskow encountered a fraudulent PayPal payment confirmation and incurred listing-related losses. The episode prompted him to consider a marketplace with a different relationship between sellers, buyers, and pricing. While at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Moskow studied the Dutch auction concept and its use in the tulip industry. He looked for people who could help build a web-based implementation and connected with Bates alumni Peter Schaefer and Chad Casey, founders of the small web-media business Lautus Design. The early company operated from an apartment near the college. It moved to Las Vegas in January 2009, before launching a public beta in September of that year. The original Pricefalls model was based on a declining price. A seller established a ceiling, a floor, and a sales duration. The item began at the ceiling and decreased at a constant rate until it was purchased or the floor period ended. Sellers could also include a “Catch It Before It Falls” period, allowing buyers to purchase at the initial price before the scheduled decline. Consumers could buy immediately at the current price or place an “If It Hits” bid that would trigger a purchase if the item reached the selected amount. Multiple-quantity listings could continue declining as units were sold. The service subsequently introduced fixed-price listings, allowing merchants to use Pricefalls as a more conventional e-commerce channel as well as an auction marketplace. Its seller workflow included category selection, product titles and descriptions, brand and condition information, image uploads, payment settings, return policies, and optional promotional exposure. Payments were routed through gateways including PayPal and Authorize.net. Pricefalls generated revenue primarily through commissions on completed sales, with rates structured across product-price bands. The business was aimed at small and medium-sized merchants that wanted access to a broader online audience without relying exclusively on established auction platforms. Its stated differentiation centered on customer service and commitment to participating sellers. The marketplace expanded steadily after its public beta and was reported to have more than 800 active businesses and over three million unique items by April 2018. By early 2019, reference material described more than 15 million product listings and thousands of participating sellers. In 2017, Pricefalls broadened its business through PFTech, a SaaS division focused on marketplace infrastructure and product-information management. This move gave the company a business-to-business technology dimension in addition to its retail marketplace. In 2019, Loblaw Companies Limited acquired Pricefalls. The supplied references do not provide the deal terms, leadership changes, or detailed integration plan, and they do not clearly establish whether the original marketplace remained active under the Pricefalls name. Accordingly, the brand's current status cannot be confirmed from the available material.

• 2019

  Acquisition by Loblaw

  [1]Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org

  Loblaw Companies Limited acquires Pricefalls.

• 2018

  Marketplace passes three million unique items

  [1]Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports more than 800 active businesses listing over three million unique items by April.

• 2017

  PFTech launches

  [1]Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org

  Pricefalls expands into SaaS products for marketplace operations and product-information management through PFTech.

• 2009

  Relocation to Las Vegas and public beta

  [1]Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates to Las Vegas in January and announces its public beta in September after obtaining seed funding from private investors.

• 2008

  Pricefalls is founded

  [1]Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org

  Elliot Moskow develops the marketplace concept and establishes Pricefalls in Lewiston, Maine, with Peter Schaefer and Chad Casey involved in the technical development.

A seller-focused alternative to conventional online auction marketplaces, combining falling-price auctions with fixed-price commerce and later SaaS infrastructure.

• Online marketplace · 2009

  Pricefalls Marketplace

  The company's core consumer marketplace allowed businesses to list merchandise for sale to a broader audience. It supported both declining-price auctions and fixed-price listings, with seller-controlled descriptions, images, payment methods, return policies, and listing durations.

• Auction-commerce feature · 2009

  Falling-price auctions

  Pricefalls' signature format began at a seller-defined price ceiling and reduced the price over time toward a floor. Buyers could purchase at the current price or establish an automatic “If It Hits” bid, while sellers could use a preliminary period that held the item at the ceiling.

• SaaS marketplace infrastructure · 2017

  PFTech

  Introduced in 2017, PFTech extended Pricefalls into business software. The division offered infrastructure for marketplace operations and product-information management, although the available sources do not document its product modules, customer base, or post-acquisition status in detail.

• 2019

  Sell the company to LoblawM&A

  Background

  By early 2019, Pricefalls had reportedly reached millions of listings and thousands of participating sellers.

  Action taken

  Loblaw Companies Limited acquired Pricefalls.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition changed Pricefalls' ownership, but the available reference does not specify the integration arrangements, transaction value, or whether the standalone brand continued.

  Source

• 2017

  Expand into marketplace softwareStrategy

  Background

  Pricefalls sought to extend its business beyond a consumer-facing marketplace and serve companies needing commerce infrastructure.

  Action taken

  The company created PFTech, a SaaS division providing marketplace and product-information-management infrastructure.

  Aftermath

  The available sources confirm the expansion but do not document its commercial scale or later product direction.

  Source

• 2009

  Launch a falling-price marketplaceStrategy

  Background

  The company was conceived as an alternative to the eBay selling experience after its founder encountered payment fraud and listing-related losses.

  Action taken

  Pricefalls built a marketplace centered on Dutch-style falling-price auctions, supported by direct purchase and automatic bid mechanisms.

  Aftermath

  The platform later added fixed-price listings while retaining the declining-price auction as its defining feature.

  Source

1. 1Pricefallsen.wikipedia.org