2nd
Largest Online Auction Site Shows 30 Percent Jump in Registrations and 45
Percent Increase in Credit Card Registrations Versus Comparable Period Last
Year and Solid Momentum Growth in Consumer-to-Consumer Auctions
CHICAGO, IL – January 2, 2002 – uBid.com, a leading retail auction and e-commerce marketplace and majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGI), today announced key results of the 2001 holiday shopping season1 pointing to solid year-over-year growth. Highlights of the 2001 holiday shopping season include: a 30 percent jump in user registrations; a 45 percent increase in credit card registrations; a 68 percent increase in page views, and a 34 percent increase in bids received – all versus same period last year.
This holiday shopping season, uBid continued to expand its inventory with more than 34 million items available on the site for auction, an increase of 465 percent compared to the same period last year. The company also reported nearly one million new consumer-to-consumer items posted daily during the 2001 holiday shopping season.
uBid
pointed to its expanded relationship with Microsoft properties as a major
source of new growth. Under a new
agreement, uBid became the premier provider of content and products for the MSN
Auctions Channel and expanded its
relationship with MSN’s eShop Merchant Program, to include a permanent anchor
position in computing, electronics, travel, sports and outdoors, home and
garden and collectibles.
“MSN proved to be a significant contributor to the gains over this period as its highly qualified user audience was exposed to uBid in more ways than ever,” said Tim Takesue, acting CEO of uBid.
Since expanding its relationship with MSN, uBid saw nearly an 80 percent increase in registrations from the MSN site as compared to the previous month. Beginning later this month, Microsoft’s small and medium sized business portal, bCentral, will integrate its auction service into uBid. This will allow uBid to build upon its already growing Consumer Exchange marketplace by enabling users to launch auctions into uBid via bCentral’s Commerce Manager.
The company indicated that some of its strongest performers during the 2001 holiday shopping season included Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony Playstation2, recordable DVD players, mega pixel digital cameras, flat screen monitors and brand name laptops and computers including Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Sony, NEC, IBM, and more.
“We worked hard to create the best possible shopping
experience this holiday season,” said Takesue. “Our ability to provide a
combination of options for cost-conscious consumers looking for bargains, as
well as manufacturers looking to turn inventory, proved to be a win-win for
everyone. ”
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 and the expected benefits of the
agreement between uBid and Microsoft.
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 Microsoft or other
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 Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q.
1 Holiday Shopping Season - Friday, November 23 – Monday, December 24,
2001
CONTACT:
Denise Mancini
Manager, Public Relations
773-272-4562