NEWS
Sales OnLine Direct Hosts Largest
Sports Auction to Hit the Web
BALTIMORE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25,
1999--Sales OnLine Direct, Inc. (OTC BB: PAID - news)
announced today that a New York Yankees road jersey, worn
by the late Joe DiMaggio, headlines the list of items that will be auctioned next month at the largest two-day auction to ever take place over the Internet.
The ''Yankee Clipper's'' 1947-flannel jersey will carry a minimum bid of $25,000. It was worn in a year when the DiMaggio-led Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series, and will be sold to the highest bidder at the two-day event, to be held April 29-30 at www.auctioninc.com.
Mastro Fine Sports Auctions, the nation's leading auctioneers of sports memorabilia, are sponsoring this auction. Mastro chose Sales Online Direct to host the site due to its state of the art technology
and strong reputation.
Among the nearly 1,200 items to be auctioned, 40 are currently available for preview at the site. Items will be added daily. Items include:
-- A Honus Wagner ''Sweet Caporal'' baseball card from 1909, arguably the most sought-after card in the hobby. Wagner demanded that the cigarette company that issued the card withdraw it from the market, because he did not smoke, thereby insuring its rarity;
-- Michael Jordan's Photo Drivers License; -- The bat Mark McGwire used to crack his first major league home
run in 1985;
-- Weeb Ewbank's estate including Super Bowl III trophy and play book, and;
-- An autographed home run ball and bat from Babe Ruth (auctioned separately).
People who want to bid on the items will register with Mastro prior to the beginning of the auction,and will place their bids by phone. They will be able to see the high bid at any given point during the
auction, simply by accessing www.auctioninc.com.
''The future of auctions is moving online, allowing more people to take part. Since there has never been an online auction of this magnitude before, we wanted to make the process easy for our
customers, both current and prospective, by integrating our current systems,'' said Bill Mastro. ''It gives people the opportunity to bid on things they've always treasured. They can follow the action
right on their computer.''
Mastro Fine Sports conducted the largest sports auction ever held in November 1998, which exceeded $5.4 million. The April offering is estimated to reach four to five million dollars. Principals
at Mastro include Bill Mastro, who has been in the sports memorabilia business for 30 years and conducted Sotheby's sports auctions from 1991 to 1994, and Don Flanagan, who conducted Christie's sports auctions from 1993 to 1997 and is the sole authenticator and appraiser for the MCI National Sports Gallery in Washington, D.C.
In 1995, Mr. Flanagan was chosen to appraise the famous Barry Halper collection. In 1998, Mastro Fine Sports realized over $13 million in sales and has recently created Mastro West to conduct two sports auctions this year as well from its west-coast offices.
The catalog and auction registration is available through the website. The bidding will take place during the three-week period proceeding the closing dates. Current bids may be viewed online, once bidding has begun.
The Technical Face of the Auction
Baltimore-based, Sales online Direct, Inc. is coordinating the technical side of the auction.
''Our personnel have worked for weeks to prepare for the expected influx of web hits. They will be handled by Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) Ultra SPARC servers, running in parallel.
The company is using multiple T-1 lines to respond quickly and smoothly to browser requests.
''We'll be constantly in touch with Mastro during the auction,'' said Marc Stengel, vice president of Sales Online Direct. ''We'll be able to take their latest numbers and post them to the web site, ensuring that everyone who is interested in owning a piece of sports history has the information they need to do so.''
Stengel said he expects more than half a million people to access the www.auctioninc.com web site during the two-day sale. He commented that the companies servers are scalable, and have already
been configured to easily handle the load.
About Sales OnLine Direct
Sales On Line Direct, Inc. is in direct competition with other Internet companies such as eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY - news), uBid Inc. (Nasdaq: UBID - news), Onsale Inc. (Nasdaq: ONSL - news), Excite Auction (Nasdaq: XCIT - news), Shop At Home (Nasdaq: SATH-news) and Yahoo Auction (Nasdaq: YHOO - news).
As a holding company, Sales OnLine Direct includes the following divisions under its corporate umbrella: Auction Inc. division - A public person-to-person trading community that offers sellers a
vehicle for listing items for sale. Buyers can browse for items, which are topically arranged, and bid for them through a fully automated and easy to use online service. The web-site is located at www.auctioninc.com
Rotman Auction division - A full-service consignment auction house, in business for over 20 years. Rotman Auction provides a service to sellers and buyers including live on-line bidding of premier
collectibles, consignment services, authentication of merchandise, digital photography, and the purchase and sale of authentic memorabilia.
Richard Rotman the officer in charge of this division stated ''the success of Rotman Auction has been the authentication of its merchandise and the assurance that the collectibles are genuine. In
addition, we focus on outstanding customer service, attention to detail, and quality care to each collectible.'' Rotman Auction is in competition with other companies such as Sotheby's Holding Inc.
(NYSE: BID - news) The web-site is located at www.rotmanauction.com
World Wide Collectors Digest division (WWCD) - Established in 1994, is a premier e-commerce website for dealers in the collectibles community. WWCD's state-of-the-art software allows clients to create online storefronts, set prices, and sell directly to online shoppers. Included on the site are classifieds, live sports scores, live chats, and a full listing of stadiums and arenas with seating charts,
directions and other pertinent information. It also provides online shoppers with a broad selection of unique collectible merchandise.
''We are please to have consolidated various aspects of the collectibles industry under one umbrella. Now online shoppers and businesses can access all the services and resources they need from one company on the Internet,'' said Marc Stengel, Vice President of Sales Online Direct.
WWCD is in competition with online companies such as Shop At Home (Nasdaq: SATH - news). The web-site is located at www.wwcd.com.
Internet Collectibles Division - This division maintains a substantial inventory of memorabilia of both popular and historical significance.
This release contains forward-looking statements with the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and assumptions, upon which forward-looking statements are based, are reasonable and it can give
no assurance that, such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct.
Contact:
Silesky Marketing
Press Relations
Susan Silesky, 410/356-7900
or
Sales OnLine
Investor Relations:
Penny LaFortune, 508/753-0945
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