Does anyone remember the Samuel Adams IPO

Boston Beer Co. allowed the little guys in..

[loanuniverse]

I remember that back in 1995 {I think it was 1995} the makers of Samuel Adams went public. The difference from a regular offering was that they set aside a chunk of ipo shares to be distributed amongst their customers. You could buy a six pack and get a coupon that will allow you to buy 33 shares at the IPO price. I think it was limited to the first 10,000 people or something like that.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Google did something like that. Maybe open it to adwords and adsense partners .... and if your site happens to be both then that lucky guy gets twice the shares :D

[Chris_R]

I have heard stuff from time to time like what you mentioned - although I don't recall that specific IPO.

In google's case - I doubt they would do it. To much of a pain and problems with appearances.

It should be easier for everyone to get a piece of the action this time around. Be careful of thinking google ipo = sure cash though.

Don't want any WebmasterWorld member to lose thousands of dollars on the first day.

[Paris]

Hey, I was one of those 10,000! You had to be quick because I recall they had to turn away another 20,000 or so that didn't come in on time.

What was cool about that IPO was that you had to pay $495 for those 33 shares. That was $15 a share. As demand crept up in the institutional market the offering price got upped to $18 BUT either because it would have been a logistical nightmare or because it just wouldn't be the cool thing to do they stuck to the $15 price for those who had gone through the coupon.

I was lucky enough to get out a few months later in the low $20's (I see the stock is at $16 now but it dipped into single digits a few times since then).

Garden Botanika did a similar deal, letting its shoppers in on the IPO (the company went belly up, I believe) -- and MP3.com also let the artists on its site in on the IPO.

I doubt Google would allow AdWords (or AdSense) clients in on the IPO. There is just too much demand to worry about the small fry, but, I'm with you, it would be an awfully cool gesture in empowering the Google fan with the deep pockets of Wall Street.