uBid Reports Increase in Site Usage During Busiest Shopping Weekend of the Year;

Achieves 3 Million Registered User Milestone Earlier this Month

 

uBid Offers the Season’s Hottest High-Tech Holiday Gifts, Including Microsoft’s Xbox, Nintendo’s GameCube, Sony Playstation2, Recordable DVD Players, Digital Cameras and More!

 

CHICAGO, IL – November 27, 2001 – uBid.com, a leading retail auction and e-commerce marketplace and majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGI), today announced a significant increase in site usage during the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend1, with site traffic up more than 22 percent and bids up more than 56 percent compared to the same holiday shopping weekend last year.  The company, which hit its 3 millionth registered user earlier this month, also showed an increase of more than 15 percent in items purchased, as well as reported that credit card registrations were up 68 percent as compared to the same weekend last year.

 

This holiday season, uBid is a source for the latest and greatest in high-tech gadgets and gizmos, including Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony Playstation2, recordable DVD players, digital cameras, flat-screen TVs, brand name laptops and computers including Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Sony, NEC, IBM, and more. 

 

“According to the International Mass Retailers Association (IMRA), consumer electronics has been the third most popular gift category for the last five holiday seasons and they see that trend continuing this year,” said Tim Takesue, acting Chief Executive Officer for uBid. "Our ability to provide a combination of options for cost-conscious consumers looking for bargains, as well as manufacturers looking to turn inventory, provides a win-win experience for everyone this holiday selling season.”

 

In addition to practical stocking-stuffers, uBid also has unique holiday gift ideas available exclusively for uBid users. Through its first-ever Celebrity Suit Auction, uBid is allowing consumers to bid on clothing items worn by celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres’ swan suit as seen at the 53rd Annual Emmy Awards.  All proceeds from these auction items will benefit The Women’s Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that has helped more than 100,000 low-income women transition from welfare to work. 

 

When shopping at uBid this holiday season, consumers can select from a variety of new and refurbished brand-name merchandise with bids starting at $9, as well as make extra cash by selling items online with absolutely no listing fee through uBid’s Consumer Exchange. And, to make holiday shopping even easier, uBid will launch its “Gift-O-Matic” feature later this month, designed to help holiday shoppers find the perfect gifts for family and friends based on their personalities. 

 

About uBid

uBid, a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc., is a leading retail auction and e-commerce marketplace that offers consumers and businesses three ways to buy and sell. The company’s Internet auctions feature a rotating selection of more than 12,000 products daily in 16 different product categories, providing consumers and small to mid-sized businesses with the opportunity to purchase a wide range of brand name merchandise, often at greatly reduced prices, through live-action bidding. Product categories include computers; computer peripherals; computer components; home office; housewares; sports and hobbies; jewelry and gifts; accessories; off-lease computers; consumer electronics; digital cameras and video; apparel and linens; home improvement; travel and events; collectibles; and everything else.  In addition to uBid’s own auction listings or uBid Direct, uBid features uBid Preferred Partner auctions in which consumers will find products listed by uBid-approved businesses and backed by uBid or brand warranties.  Users can also buy or sell products through uBid’s Consumer Exchange, in which consumers list their items for auction with no listing fee.

 

 

With more than 3 million registered users, uBid is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality auction experience on the Internet and offers supplier warranties on most consumer products. uBid also meets Better Business Bureau Online standards, which gives customers the confidence and security to bid safely online. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ubid.com.

 

uBid and uBid.com are trademarks of uBid, Inc.  All other products and services mentioned may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

 

This release contains forward-looking statements which address a variety of subjects including, for example, the expected ability of uBid to auction products.  The following important factors and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: uBid’s success depends on the continued and increased acceptance of its website and the Internet as a medium; consumer preferences for the products offered by uBid may change rapidly; uBid’s technologies may not successfully interoperate with those of third parties; and increased competition and technological changes in the markets in which uBid competes. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to CMGI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including CMGI's most recent Annual Report  on Form 10-K.

 

1 Post Thanksgiving holiday weekend - Friday, November 23 – Sunday, November 25, 2001

 

CONTACT:

Denise Mancini

Manager, Public Relations

773-272-4562

denisem@ubid.com