• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

3

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

3

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

Discount sites duke it out: Overstock sues NoMoreRack over competitive advertising

By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 10, 2014, 5:58 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

FORTUNE — NoMoreRack, a fast-growing discount e-commerce startup, has a way with words that its competitors don’t appreciate.

Take the word “rack.” As NoMoreRack began racking up profits after it launched in 2010, brick-and-mortar competitor Nordstrom (JWN) sued the startup for riding the coattails of its Nordstrom Rack brand. It had a point: Nordstrom’s sub-brand has been around since the 1970s, and the company operates 141 Rack stores that sell deeply discounted inventory. Meanwhile, NoMoreRack is no tiny, no-name startup that raised $52 million in venture capital and took in $350 million in revenue last year.

The basis of the Nordstrom lawsuit, filed in October 2012, was the word “rack.” Five months later, a judge denied preliminary injunction on Nordstrom’s case, saying that the word “rack” was not grounds for a trademark suit.

Now, Overstock.com (OSTK) is going after NoMoreRack for the same reason: trademark infringement. Overstock, a discount web retailer founded in 1999, noticed that NoMoreRack was heavily featuring the word “overstock” in its online ads. From the lawsuit:

At least as early as February 2012, NoMoreRack began promoting its discounted consumer goods through Internet-based advertisements that featured the term “OVERSTOCK” prominently at the top of the advertisements, using a font nearly identical to that used by Overstock, with phrases such as “OVERSTOCK CLEARANCE” and “Overstock iPads.”

Overstock claims the ads use an identical font and color scheme as its own, and that they are targeting customers who had previously visited Overstock.com.

MORE: For digital native PopSugar, an old-school advertising strategy

Digital advertising is competitive, particularly for e-commerce sites. Buying Google search terms for a competitor’s name is fairly commonplace and accepted. For example, if you had a daily deals site in 2010, you might buy search ads for the term “Groupon” so that your name would appear at the top of the sponsored results when anyone searches for that popular deals site. What’s not commonplace and accepted is deception, where the ad itself says “Groupon” even if clicking on it takes you to some other daily deals site. Overstock accuses NoMoreRack of the latter, and a basic search of the term “overstock” reveals that that’s the case.

From the lawsuit:

Plaintiff’s and Nomorerack’s services are highly similar and move through comparable or identical channels of trade to similar or identical classes of consumers. Indeed, Defendant, upon information and belief, is taking unfair advantage of the market and customers cultivated and properly serviced by Overstock.

Given the font and logo claims, the lawsuit may have a better chance than Nordstrom’s lawsuit. However, the ads in question are clearly labeled with NoMoreRack’s logo at the bottom.

NoMoreRack isn’t so worried. CEO Deepak Agarwal said, “We are confident that this lawsuit is frivolous and reflects the growing competitive threat from NoMoreRack.” Agarwal argues the lawsuit did not raise valid issues about trademark infringement, denying the accusation that its ads look like those used by Overstock. “The term ‘overstock’ is common English, and we use it at times to accurately describe surplus products we are selling at deep discount on our site,” Agarwal said. He pointed out that Overstock’s CEO has a history of lawsuits. In 2012, the company sued Goldman Sachs for short-selling its stock and lost. 

MORE: Sears Chicago flagship to close

Still, the lawsuit isn’t NoMoreRack’s only problem.

As Overstock’s complaint happily points out, NoMoreRack has some very unhappy customers. NoMoreRack has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau of New York, where it is headquartered, and the company has received almost 1,400 complaints from customers in the last 12 months regarding defective products, poor quality items, and incorrect orders. According to the bureau, NoMoreRack “failed to provide a sufficient explanation of how the company intends to correct the issues they have been experiencing.” Disgruntled NoMoreRack customers are even organizing on Facebook.

About the Author
By Erin Griffith
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Citi, Ford, and Experian share their strategies for scaling AI agents
C-SuiteBrainstorm Tech
Citi, Ford, and Experian share their strategies for scaling AI agents
By Alexei OreskovicJune 16, 2026
8 hours ago
Vietnam has to find $200 billion to fund its ambitious growth agenda. Techcombank’s CEO thinks that has to come from overseas
BankingAsia Agenda
Vietnam has to find $200 billion to fund its ambitious growth agenda. Techcombank’s CEO thinks that has to come from overseas
By Angelica AngJune 16, 2026
10 hours ago
Vessels lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's coast.
Energyoil and gas
Filling up your car won’t feel normal until next summer, S&P says
By Tristan BoveJune 16, 2026
10 hours ago
A man sits at a red checkerboard table with a Tiffany-style Pizza Hut lamp hanging above him.
RetailFood and drink
Pizza Hut is getting the private equity treatment in a $2.7 billion deal as its owner offloads the brand that defined 1990s dining nostalgia
By Sasha RogelbergJune 16, 2026
11 hours ago
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei speaking into a microphone.
NewslettersEye on AI
Decision on Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos models means the U.S. has a licensing regime for frontier AI—it just doesn’t want to admit it
By Jeremy KahnJune 16, 2026
11 hours ago
Exclusive: PayPal winds down venture arm as fintech giant restructures under new CEO
Startups & VenturePayPal Holdings
Exclusive: PayPal winds down venture arm as fintech giant restructures under new CEO
By Ben WeissJune 16, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
18 hours ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AI
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 16, 2026
17 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.