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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Bid.com International (BIDS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Muwamba who wrote (14611)	3/30/1999 8:54:00 AM
From: waldo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37507

From the Toronto Star: >>Last week, speculation grew over eBay's possible acquisition of Bid.Com International Inc. - a Mississauga-based Internet auction company. The rumours have been denied.<< Amazon taps Internet gavel Retailer will add auction business By Vinay Menon Toronto Star Business Reporter The world's largest online retailer is adding an auction business to corral more customers and tap into a lucrative stream of electronic commerce. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. - which sells books, videos, CDs and games on the Internet - yesterday announced plans to build an auction service that will compete with eBay Inc., the leading online auctioneer. The service starts today. ''We have a vision to be the leading destination for E-commerce, where people can find . . . whatever they want to buy on the Net,'' Curry said. Amazon boasts a choice of nearly five million products. Since its inception in 1995, more than eight million people worldwide have purchased something from the company. The announcement boosted Amazon's stock price, which closed up $10.56 (U.S.) yesterday to $149.63 on the Nasdaq. When the auction system is completed, Amazon visitors will be able to buy and sell virtually any product over the Internet. Some offerings slated for auction are a signed picture of Albert Einstein and a 1968 Corvette. ''(Amazon) has the most customers of virtually any site on the Internet, so to get customers interested in participating in auctions makes a lot of sense,'' said Michael LeCony, an analyst with Security Capital Trading in New York. The U.S. E-commerce market grew to $13 billion (U.S.) last year, more than six times analysts' estimates. Auction companies earn revenues through listing fees and commissions on sales. And because they do not handle inventories, overhead and other costs remain lower. As a result, the online auction business has greater profit margins than pure Internet retailing. Amazon hopes the auction business will increase the amount of time a visitor stays on their Web site. Analysts say visitors stay with eBay 10 times longer than Amazon. ''This won't have any effect on eBay, which is effectively the world's yard sale,'' Le Cony said. Last week, speculation grew over eBay's possible acquisition of Bid.Com International Inc. - a Mississauga-based Internet auction company. The rumours have been denied. thestar.com W