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Non-Tech : Home Depot (HD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Gebing who wrote (836)	11/12/1999 5:59:00 PM
From: Sarkie	Respond to of 1169

HOME DEPOT GIFT CARDS IS COMPANY'S FIRST PRODUCT OFFERING ONLINE ATLANTA, Nov 12, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Home Depot(R) (NYSE: HD), the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced the availability of Home Depot Gift Cards at its Web site (www.homedepot.com ). "Extending the sale of Home Depot Gift Cards to the Internet provides customers the convenience of purchasing these popular gift items from their own computer," said Ellen Dracos, Home Depot's director of homedepot.com. "Today's product launch online is an important next step as we prepare to launch sales of products on the Internet next year." Purchase Home Depot Gift Cards Online The credit card-sized gift cards - which can be purchased in amounts of $10, $25, $50 or $100 - can be redeemed at any Home Depot, EXPO Design Center(R) or Villager's Hardware stores(SM) in the United States. homedepot.com provides customers with an easy step-by-step process to order multiple Home Depot Gift Cards in a single transaction. Customers simply enter the number of gift cards and dollar amount for each recipient, as well as shipping information and a personalized message for each package. To complete each order, customers are required to enter their credit card number on Home Depot's secure servers, which use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to receive the information by encryption. Customers have the option to have the gift card package shipped to the recipient's home or business address via US Postal Service, United Parcel Service (UPS) ground, UPS 2-day or UPS next day service. The recipient will receive the gift card(s) and a personalized message in an 8-1/2" by 11" carrier. "Home Depot Gift Cards make perfect holiday gifts, particularly for the do-it-yourselfer who might prefer to select the merchandise at the store," said Dracos. "We anticipate the availability of gift cards online will greatly expand the popularity of this item during the upcoming holiday season." Coinciding with the gift card launch is the introduction of 24/7 customer service, including the new I-Help feature at homedepot.com. I-Help provides gift card buyers with a 24-hour, real-time forum to receive instant help from a Home Depot associate regarding gift card ordering. Gift card buyers who access the I-Help function submit a question; within seconds an associate will provide the visitor with the necessary information to complete his or her gift card purchase. "Home Depot takes personalized customer service to new levels through the I-Help feature," said Dracos. "Now gift card buyers can ask Home Depot associates specific questions around-the-clock, any day of the week to make their gift card purchase quick, secure and easy." Home Depot also expanded its e-mail and phone service hours to 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Nov. 5. I-Help will be available throughout the site in early 2000. About homedepot.com Home Depot's Web site at www.homedepot.com extends the company's quality customer service from the stores to the Internet by providing customers with more than 150 Project How-To's, a personalized Home Team home page and various project calculators. Founded in 1978, in Atlanta, Ga., The Home Depot currently operates more than 888 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Chile. The company reported net sales for fiscal 1998 of $30.2 billion and employs more than 190,000 people. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (HD) and is listed in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. SOURCE The Home Depot