Fab.com fascinates me on multiple levels (aside from remembering when I knew Bradford Shellhammer as just another blogger in Baltimore). I was a member of the original Fabulis.com, though every effort they made to monetize the service felt slightly scuzzy to me. When I learned about the "pivot" from a gay social network to a daily deals design store, I thought they were crazy. But their success shows why something that seems completely illogical to your existing users can sometimes be the key to saving the company. I never once paid for anything on the original Fabulis, but have bought a ton of stuff on the new
Fab.com and have been happy with every purchase.