• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 8, 2008

During a focus group of mothers, an Overstock.com executive rose to ask a question and not before he finished introducing himself, panelist Donna Eckstein shot back: "Love your company."

"The deals are getting even better," Allen Dickson responded quickly to laughter. Overstock's director of email marketing and pesonalization, Dickson's question was about organizing inboxes.

More love for Overstock came later in the panel when one mother cited word-of-mouth as still having a huge influence on her.

"I'm going to check Overstock.com because Donna said it's good," she said.

Dickson said Overstock sends out about three to four email messages a week.

Separately, more than one mother cited Costco as a marketer whose emails they appreciate receiving.