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Prodigy and BuyerWeb Partner to Match Buyers With Sellers
Prodigy is First Isp to Offer Simple, Convenient Referral Service
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2000--Consumers tired of searching the Internet for that hard-to-find item just met their "matchmakers": Prodigy and BuyerWeb.
Today, Prodigy Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGY) and BuyerWeb, Inc. are giving Prodigy members a convenient new way to buy what they want online. Members simply specify the item or service they want and the BuyerWeb service puts buyers together with sellers. Within 48 hours the member will receive replies from merchants who sell the item.
The Prodigy/BuyerWeb service is free to Prodigy members.
Additionally, the alliance will allow Prodigy Biz small business customers to obtain highly qualified leads through BuyerWeb's referral service. Once a consumer or business fills out a request form, BuyerWeb sends an e-mail to relevant sellers notifying them that a buyer is interested in their product or service.
The Prodigy Biz business can then choose to send a personalized e-mail reply directly to the buyer to bid on their inquiry.
"In one fell swoop, Prodigy is bringing new convenience to our members and qualified leads to businesses," said Prodigy President & COO David Trachtenberg. "This alliance uses the power of custom matching to streamline the Internet purchase process. Best of all, this service has broad applications across both our small business and consumer divisions."
Prodigy members can choose from dozens of category request forms representing thousands of products - such as auto parts and accessories, wines, cigars, antiques and collectibles, and even sports memorabilia. Additionally, BuyerWeb and Prodigy will quickly be rolling out several hundred more category forms representing thousands more hard-to-find products and services.
After providing a brief description and naming a price range, BuyerWeb takes the information and sends it to suitable merchants using its referral technology.
"Prodigy is a vital and fast-growing partner that offers a solid Internet service and a highly involved member base," said Teymour Farman-Farmaian, president and CEO of BuyerWeb, Inc. "Not only will BuyerWeb help Prodigy members locate harder-to-find products online, it will also provide an essential sales tool for the thousands of ProdigyBiz businesses - especially those that offer personal and professional services whom, in the past, have had difficulty reaching their target customers."
How It Works:
-- Consumers and businesses looking for hard-to-find products and
services fill out simple request forms. -- At no charge, requests are sent anonymously to relevant sellers
notifying them that a potential buyer is looker for an item or
service. -- Qualified sellers then pay a small fee to reply to the buyer with
information and pricing on the item or service being sought. To
safeguard against an individual getting barraged with too many
sales pitches, only a limited number of sellers are able to
purchase the lead and reply to the potential buyer.
"What's great about the system is it's easy and consumer-friendly," Trachtenberg added. "The customer decides what he needs, then merchants send e-mail directly to the customer or through BuyerWeb as a third-party."
About BuyerWeb, Inc.:
BuyerWeb is the leading provider of private-labeled "request-for-proposal," or buyer referral, technology on the Internet. At BuyerWeb powered sites, buyers specify the products or services they need. These targeted requests are then sent to relevant businesses that pay a small fee to reply.
As part of the solution, a common BuyerWeb Network connects partner sites, enabling buyers from one partner to get quotes from businesses associated with others. By unifying all participants on one network, buyers and sellers get better service while partners make exponentially higher revenues.
BuyerWeb, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in New York, NY. The company's technology is patent pending.
About Prodigy Communications Corporation:
Prodigy Communications Corporation is a leading Internet service provider delivering fast and reliable Internet access and user-friendly Internet-based products, services and information resources.
Prodigy utilizes a nationwide network covering more than 750 cities in all 50 states allowing 85% of the United States population to access Prodigy's Internet services with a local telephone call. Prodigy tailors its services and technology to three fast-growing Internet markets: consumers, small business owners and the U.S. Hispanic population.
Prodigy Biz Corporation, the third largest small business Web hosting company in the U.S., offers a powerful suite of specially-designed Internet products and services for small businesses. Prodigy En Espanol, the first-ever, fully-bilingual Internet service, is a 100% Spanish-language Internet service created for the nation's Spanish speaking population.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are the expected benefits from the agreement with BuyerWeb, Inc. or its early termination, intense competition in the Company's industry, subscriber turnover, disruption in the Company's network services or in other services provided by third parties, as well as the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Contact:
Prodigy, White Plain
Mary Matalobos, 914/448-2113
or
BuyerWeb
James Teiser, 212/732-8050 x526
or
Garfield Group for BuyerWeb
Kate Hegedus, 609/396-0946 x45
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