uBid Redesigns Web Site Integrating All Product Listings
and Adding New Features to Optimize Online Auctioning
CHICAGO, IL –
June 19, 2001 – uBid, a leading retail auction and e-commerce marketplace
recently named an “E-Business Industry Leader” in the InternetWeek 100, today
announced the launch of a redesigned site that includes new features and
functionalities designed to increase the benefits of online buying and
selling. The redesigned site enables
users to access a broader selection of items, while providing sellers with
additional avenues for reaching potential buyers.
The site
redesign, based on feedback from its registered user base, merges product
listings from its core site (uBid Direct), uBid Preferred Partners (formally
Vendor Exchange), and Consumer Exchange. The combination of these auction
channels gives uBid the ability to meet the needs of small to mid-sized
businesses, large manufacturers, as well as its registered user customer base,
by offering three easy buying and selling solutions:
·
uBid Direct – offers uBid
users access to brand name products from leading manufacturers, while enabling
manufacturers to introduce hot new items and move large volumes of overstock or
discontinued inventory quickly and efficiently. These products are typically shipped from uBid’s warehouse and
backed by 24-hour customer care and manufacturer/distributor warranties.
·
uBid Preferred
Partners –
formerly called Vendor Exchange, provides small to mid-sized businesses with
the potential to sell directly to uBid’s registered user base. When purchasing from a uBid Preferred
Partner, consumers are able to take advantage of uBid’s customer care and brand
warranties.
·
Consumer
Exchange –
enables uBid users to become both buyers and sellers. Registered users can post products in this marketplace with no
listing fee. Consumer Exchange sellers
list their items directly, and assume responsibility for all aspects of their
auction listings.
“We’re
always looking for ways to provide our customers with a faster, more efficient
online experience and are happy to offer these new features,” said Greg Jones,
president and chief executive officer of uBid.
“The redesigned site provides additional options for buyers and sellers
and is designed for a variety of users, ranging from the major manufacturer
looking to move large volumes of inventory, to the consumer looking for a
bargain or seeking a convenient way to sell personal items. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer
solutions that meet the diverse needs of these buyers and sellers.”
The
feedback was obtained from focus groups conducted in January 2001. The focus
groups consisted of users who purchased items from uBid in the last year and
were designed to gather insight on what they would like to see changed or improved
on uBid. Participants were asked to view variations of the site and asked which
features they preferred as compared to the current site design. In addition to the combination of product
listings from its product channels, top requests included prominently featuring
the coolest auctions on the site, additional pictures and product categories,
as well as showcasing the hottest deals. uBid responded with the following new
features:
·
Bidder’s Best – spotlights
uBid’s most unique live auctions and best bargains. In the past year, such
auctions have included a trip for two to play in the NFL Golf Classic, a trip
to the Maui Music Festival and the first-ever "Today Builds a House,” a
newly built 2,902 square foot, fully furnished home featured on the Today Show.
·
New Product
Categories
– four new product categories, including Home Office, Housewares, The Accessory
Store, and Collectibles, providing users with a total of 16 product categories.
·
Hottest Deals – a new
listing of the lowest bids across all uBid product categories, providing users
with a better monitoring tool to track potential opportunities.
·
Add-on
Products
– a listing of compatible products at fixed prices that complement items
available for auction (such as a keyboard for a desktop computer).
·
New Product
Category Photographs – six new pictures featuring top products on uBid’s
homepage providing users with a preview of the hottest items available for
auction within each category.
The
current Bidder’s Best auction features a Paul
Stanley Millennium edition Washburn guitar. The rhinestone-encrusted guitar, donned with Swarovski Austrian
crystal, is a limited-edition series in which only 100 guitars were specially
made. The winning bidder will receive the guitar in a luggage-quality case with
crushed velvet interior, Stanley’s signature strap, strings and pick, as well
as a personally autographed photo.
Upcoming Bidder’s Best items include an
NFL Golf Classic autographed banner,
featuring signatures from NFL stars and Senior PGA Tour professionals who
participated in the NFL Golf Classic event.
uBid will donate all proceeds from this auction to the NFL Golf Classic
tournament’s official charity, Tomorrow Children’s Fund, a nonprofit
organization developed by parents of children with cancer and serious blood
disorders. In addition, uBid will
feature additional unique travel packages to the MLB All-Star Weekend, NCAA
Final Four, Rose Bowl and the Super Bowl.
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
2 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
functionality and benefits of the enhancements to the uBid website and 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
CONTACT:
Denise
Mancini
Manager,
Public Relations
773-272-4562