CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, Aug. 11, 2000 -- Value America, one of the oldest and best-established dot-com retailers, filed for bankruptcy protection today, fired 185 employees and shut down its online retailing operations.

The company's Web site became unavailable around midday. For awhile, a note was posted that read simply: "Sorry, we are closed." By evening, the site went completely dark.

The company had been struggling to survive for several months. It had earlier cut its retail operations drastically, cutting back to specialize in computers and consumer electronics gear, a hotly competitive market segment with razor-thin margins.

The company said the Chapter 11 filing would give it time to restructure itself as a software company, offering its e-commerce systems to other e-tailers.

The firm's founders had big plans. They talked of becoming "the Wal-Mart of cyberspace," selling everything from toilet paper to computers. But the concept of a giant discount warehouse on the Web failed to take off and traffic never lived up to expectations.

The failed venture was backed by Federal Express founder Frederick Smith and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, among others. It went public in early 1999. Its stock price tripled the first day -- reaching a high of $56 -- but had been on a long, slow slide ever since. It closed today at 72 cents.

The bankruptcy filing is bad news not only for investors but for consumers whose orders had not been filled by the time the doors were shuttered. Those who ordered by credit card should be able to receive a credit without much difficulty but anyone who paid with a debit card, cash or money order will join the firm's many other unsecured creditors, who may eventually receive a small percentage of what they are owed.

Consumers awaiting warranty or rebate claims may also encounter difficulties.

Value America joins Toysmart, Boo.com and Craftshop.com on the scrap heap of the Digital Age, with many more e-commerce sites certain to follow. (See Walking Dead Infest Ecommerce.