OT Excite@Home and Billpoint Make Online Buying and Selling Easy in Excite Classifieds and Auctions
Billpoint's comprehensive e-commerce service provides a method for online payment between individuals on Excite Classifieds and Auctions
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1999-- Excite@Home (Nasdaq:ATHM - news) and Billpoint today announced that Excite Classifieds and Auctions users will now be able to use Billpoint's person-to-person payment service to securely buy and sell in the computers, general merchandise and collectibles categories using their credit cards.
Billpoint's suite of payment processing and reporting services will enable individual sellers on Excite to accept credit card payments easily and safely over the Internet without incurring the costly set up fees normally associated with credit card processing systems.
''As the leading provider of classifieds, and with a growing base of auction users, Excite provides a convenient and user-friendly marketplace for our users to conduct person-to-person e-commerce,'' said Andy Halliday, VP of Commerce. ''By integrating the Billpoint service, we now offer an integrated, safe, easy-to-use method of payment for private party Web transactions.''
Excite buyers will be able to purchase items with a credit card and buy with confidence from individuals online when both buyer and seller use the Billpoint service.
''We expect Billpoint to make e-commerce transactions between individuals as easy as buying from an established online store,'' said Hope Chen, chief operating officer and co-president of Billpoint. ''By working with Excite@Home, Billpoint will offer Excite's classifieds and auctions users an easy and hassle-free way to buy and sell from each other online.''
When an Excite classifieds or auctions user places an item for sale in the computers, general merchandise or collectibles area, they will be given the option of accepting credit card payments right from their classified or auction listing. When a seller chooses to use the Billpoint service, a 'Buy Now with Billpoint' button will appear on their classified ad or as a link in the email that goes out at the end of their auction. When a buyer clicks on the button or link and enters their credit card information, Billpoint verifies the availability of the buyer's funds and notifies the seller that it is OK to ship the item. For buyers, payment now becomes an integral part of the overall online transaction.
With Excite's leadership in the online classifieds space and a growing presence in auctions along with Billpoint's innovative payment processing and reporting services, these two companies hope to make person-to-person e-commerce an even safer, more convenient and satisfying experience for online consumers.
About Excite@Home
Excite@Home (Nasdaq:ATHM - news) is a global media company based in Redwood City, Calif. Through the company's narrowband portal, Excite (www.excite.com), and broadband services, @Home and @Work, the company uniquely offers consumers content and interactive services across both narrowband and broadband, and advertisers highly targeted marketing solutions across all platforms of delivery. Leveraging the high-speed, always-on attributes of cable, Excite@Home empowers unique multimedia applications that go beyond current Web experiences. The company will combine the Excite brand - one of the best known names on the Internet with 70 percent recognition among Web users - with @Home's broad distribution, a worldwide footprint of 65 million cable homes, to deliver on its vision of ''All Band, All Device, All the Time.''
For more investor information about Excite@Home, please call our stockholder services hotline at 1-888-924-9248. Brand recognition statistics quoted are from Frank N. Magid and Associates, Inc. (1/99).
About Billpoint
Billpoint facilitates person-to-person payment services over the Internet. Addressing the growing needs of auctions, classifieds, communities, and personal Web sites, Billpoint turns ordinary individuals into entrepreneurs with a cost-effective end-to-end transaction service for online buyers and sellers. Located in Redwood City, California, Billpoint was founded in 1998 with funding from Sequoia Capital. Billpoint was acquired by eBay in early 1999 and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Additional information on Excite@Home can be found at excitecorp.com
Additional information on Billpoint can be found at billpoint.com.
Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors include the parties' abilities to develop, implement and integrate the payment services described herein, legal and regulatory uncertainty surrounding online payment and credit card processing mechanisms and other factors discussed in the ''forward-looking information'' or ''risk factors'' sections included in the companies' prospectuses, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and annual reports on Form 10-K.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Alexander Ogilvy PR Worldwide for Billpoint
Josh Morgan, 650/566-1200
jmorgan@alexanderogilvy.com
or
Excite
Raphel Finelli, 650/556-3503
rfinelli@excitecorp.com
biz.yahoo.com |
