According to its operators, Re-code.com was intended partly as a joke, but also to make a statement against corporate fraud and deception.
It singled out Wal-Mart, which boasted revenues last year of $246.5 billion, as a prime target, citing what it saw as the real reasons behind the world's largest retailer's low prices, such as its alleged anti-union stance and bully-tactics for competing with small retailers.
Following legal threats, the unnamed operators decided to pull the plug. But while they say they are out of the barcode business, they claim victory as a result of the media coverage for their cause.
See: www.re-code.com