In fact, before this credit mess really hit the fan, BIG was one of the best-performing stocks for the year. BIG makes money by selling excess inventory from other stores. It negotiates great prices and passes along the discounts to the consumer.

It is a really simple model that is especially effective in challenging economic conditions. Of course, with the market trading for an outcome similar to the Great Depression, even good stories like BIG get lost in the shuffle.

Also lost in the shuffle is a Big Lots kind of story that is playing out on the Internet.

Like the brick-and-mortar retail players, the Internet firms that deal with the consumer have not been spared from the challenges in the economy. Internet retail stocks have been suffering in tandem with the store-based sellers and, in some cases, faring even worse.

That seems to be the case with Big Lots' online sister, Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK). Founded in the middle of the dot-com boom, circa 1997, OSTK is the Internet version of Big Lots.

The company is a closeout retailer of everything from DVD players to books and magazines. The idea for OSTK is that they could do better than a Big Lots by avoiding rents to display and sell its goods.

That makes sense to me, but as you know, nothing is that easy on the Internet.

OSTK has had a troubled life, and profits have been elusive. Unlike Big Lots, OSTK is losing a significant amount of money this year.

That explains why the stock is down, but what about looking forward from here. Is there a good reason to buy OSTK now?

News that sales surged on the so-called "Cyber Monday" might be the trigger for big gains in OSTK. If Big Lots can make a go of it in the brick-and-mortar world, OSTK should be doing the same.

At $10 per share, OSTK is well off its 52-week high of approximately $30.

Navellier's PortfolioGrader Pro, which offers free ratings for nearly 5,000 Wall Street stocks, rates OSTK a B or buy.

I concur!

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to NavellierGrowth.com.