Consumers no longer can name their own price for groceries and gasoline.

Priceline.com's WebHouse Club on Thursday announced it is ceasing operations because it lacks the capital to achieve profitability. Consumers have until midnight Friday to pick up items and fill their gas tanks before their Priceline cards are deactivated. If they don't, they will receive refunds.

Launched in September 1999 by Priceline.com founder Jay S. Walker, WebHouse was a private company that licensed the "Name Your Own Price" system. But it was closely aligned with the publicly traded Priceline.com, sharing a Web site and pitchman William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame.

Adding to Priceline's woes, the company also announced Thursday that its Perfect Yardsale licensee, which sold used household goods, is closing.

The demise of the two licensees will have a minor financial impact on Priceline, which received $4.3 million in reimbursement for services and $361,000 in royalties from them in the second quarter. The Norwalk, Conn.-based company lost $1.63 million, excluding warrant costs and payroll options, during that period.

On Thursday, investors bailed out of Priceline.com stock, which closed at $5.81, down 38 percent. This follows a 42 percent drop after a revenue shortfall warning last week. In April 1999, a month after the stock began trading publicly, it reached its high of $162.

"Clearly there are a lot of people who have just given up," said David Zale, analyst with Manhattan-based Sands Brothers & Co., who downgraded the company to "neutral" from "buy."

Still, analysts say Priceline can survive this turmoil. The company, which allows consumers to bid on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental and new cars, long-distance phone service and home financing, has plenty of cash and is nearing profitability.

More than 2 million people used WebHouse, which allowed them to shop at 7,200 supermarkets and more than 6,000 gas stations nationwide. The move stunned analysts, who noted that WebHouse launched its gasoline service only two months ago. WebHouse's private standing concealed the difficulty of launching new services.

Walker, acknowledging WebHouse was more of a gamble, said in a statement: "In scale and scope, the WebHouse Club was a business opportunity with great potential but with real risks." The firm burned through private investors' cash, creating a national network of retail gas and grocery stores, and luring the participation of packaged good manufacturers and third-party marketing partners, he said.

A hint of its troubles came in mid-September when WebHouse laid off 40 employees--9 percent of its staff--and 100 consultants.

Now that WebHouse has failed, analysts are questioning Priceline's ability to expand in the short term. "Wall Street and consumers used WebHouse as a poster child for Priceline's success," said Timothy Fogarty, research analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco.

But several industry observers say Priceline can prove a success. Its new services take a much shorter time to recoup their operating costs.

And people have flocked to Priceline's site. The company has sold 5 million airline tickets since it was launched in April 1998. Priceline expects to show operating earnings next year, proving its model does work, analysts said.