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

To: wpckr who wrote (24056)	4/22/1999 8:30:00 AM
From: Ian A.	Respond to of 37507

Attention Business Editors: Internet's First Live Streaming Video Auction To Be Held By Bid.Com And American Interactive Media Auction Will Utilize Bid.Com's Patented Declining-Price (Dutch) Auction Format And Feature ComedyNet Host Lewis Black and RealNetwork Broadcasting TORONTO and NEW YORK, April 22 /CNW/ - Bid.Com International Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDS, TSE: BII) and American Interactive Media, Inc., (OTC: AIME) today jointly announced that they will hold the Internet's first live streaming video and audio auction, broadcast by RealNetworks' (Nasdaq: RNWK) Real Broadcast Network in RealAudio and RealVideo. The one-hour webcast will run Tuesday, April 27, 1999 at 10:00 p.m. EST (9:00 Central, 8:00 Mountain and 7:00 Pacific). Consumers can participate in the live auction by visiting www.bid.com or linking through AIME's www.comedynet.com. This auction is the first programming event to spring from the two companies' joint venture agreement signed in January, 1999. In working together to create this breakthrough interactive shopping experience, Bid.Com contributed its proprietary declining-price (Dutch) auction format and technology and AIME contributed its creative, marketing and production capabilities. Bid.Com's patented Dutch auction format increases value and fun for buyers by reducing prices from a set starting price until the lot of goods is completely sold out. Viewers will have the opportunity to bid on a hockey jersey autographed by Wayne Gretzky, baseballs signed by Roger Clemens, Tag Hauer watches, Hewlett-Packard computer monitors and other items. In another Internet first, the auction will be hosted by veteran comedian Lewis Black, who is regularly seen on AIME's ComedyNet, the Internet's only 24-hour comedy channel. Mr. Black has headlined top comedy clubs for 20 years and appeared in Mad About You and Homicide on television, and in Hannah and Her Sisters and Jacob's Ladder on film. He has also written and produced dozens of theatrical plays. Paul Godin, Chairman and CEO of Bid.Com, said, ''We are excited to be able to combine our entertaining auction format and technology with the humor of Lewis Black and the production and interactive experience of American Interactive Media to create this Internet auction first. We look forward to working with our joint venture partner, American Interactive Media, to develop the next generation of shopping channels, provide technical improvements to enhance consumer's auction experience, and explore the potential to create programs for cable, satellite and broadcast television.'' Mark Graff, President and CEO of American Interactive Media, said, ''Bid.Com has e-commerce technology that is truly unique on the Internet -- the ability to give customers lower and lower prices as the auction moves forward. The fun and excitement increase by adding the creative talent and rich video programming skills we bring to all our networks. We look forward to producing more live video auctions for Bid.Com in the future.'' Ian Freed, general manager of RealNetworks, Inc., said ''By providing live streaming RealVideo and RealAudio as part of the online auction, consumers will enjoy a greatly enhanced experience. RBN was specifically designed to provide a high quality viewing and listening experience to large audiences over the Internet.'' Bid.Com, founded in 1995, is one of the Internet's leading on-line auction sales organizations, with offices in Toronto and Tampa, Florida. The company offers a compelling, entertaining and cost-effective method of selling a wide array of goods and services over electronic distribution channels. Bid.Com is strategically positioned to leverage its business-to-consumer technological leadership by offering the pre-eminent on-line auction platform for co-ventures into business-to-business markets, licensing custom branded E-commerce solutions and for distribution through broandband/cable media. The company's shares have traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange since February 1998 and were recently listed on the Nasdaq National Market. American Interactive Media, Inc. headquartered in New York City (http://www.aime-inc.com), is creating original, branded entertainment programming that can be distributed over many platforms, including the Internet, cable and satellite television, and radio. Bid.Com and American Interactive Media notify readers that this news release may include comments that do not refer strictly to historical results or actions and may be deemed to be forward-looking within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including successful development and implementation of technology, acceptance of each company's products and services, competitive factors, news products and technological changes, and other such risks as each company may identify and discuss from time to time, including those risks disclosed in Bid.Com's Amended Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, there is no certainty that the companies' respective plans will be achieved. /Website: aime-inc.com /Website: bid.com -0- 04/22/1999 For further information: Paul Godin, President & CEO, (905) 672-7467 x226, or Jeff Lymburner, President, 888-750-7467, both of Bid.Com; or General, Alison Ziegler, Investors, Elisa Mailman, or Media, Claudine Cornelis, all of the Financial Relations Board, (212) 661-8030, for Bid.Com; or Mark Graff, President & CEO of American Interactive Media, Inc., (212) 539-0700; or Investors, Lisa LaMagna of LaMagna Communications, Inc., (516) 668-4979, or Media, Wayne Rosso of Richard Lewis Associates, (757) 422-4722, both for American Interactive Media, Inc.

To: wpckr who wrote (24056)	4/22/1999 8:31:00 AM
From: srmen	Respond to of 37507

INTERNETS FIRST LIVE STREAMING AUCTION. BIDS LIVE COMEDIAN GRETZKY JERSEY ETC ETC

To: wpckr who wrote (24056)	4/22/1999 8:40:00 AM
From: Chuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37507

NEWS!!!! newswire.ca Let the games begin.

To: wpckr who wrote (24056)	4/22/1999 8:54:00 AM
From: blankmind	Respond to of 37507

must read article from wsj Dow Jones Newswires -- April 21, 1999 Cda's Net Darling Bid.Com Gets Dose Of Realism On Wall St. By Scott Adams TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Canadian online auction company Bid.Com International Inc. (BIDS) hopes to ride the wave of Wall Street's dot.com euphoria with its listing on the Nasdaq exchange. But it has gotten off to an inauspicious start, as the company's shares have tumbled since the company started Nasdaq trading Tuesday. The stock is down 3 3/16 to 9 5/8 Wednesday, after having lost 3 13/16 Tuesday. As one of Canada's few pure-play Internet stocks, Bid.com has benefited from the Internet mania which has whipped investors into a frenzy reminiscent of the gold rush days. It has been one of the hottest stocks in Canada for the past six months, rising as high as 32.05 in Toronto on April 9, from a 52-week low of 0.56 last October. Like many other Internet stocks, the company hasn't posted a profit yet. The company, which changed its name from Internet Liquidators International Inc. last year, buys products from manufacturers and distributors and resells them through online auctions on its Web site. It competes with U.S. companies such as UBid Inc. (UBID) and Onsale Inc. (ONSL). In an effort to boost market share, Bid.Com last year sold many of its goods below cost, meaning it sold the products at less than what it paid for them. Other comparable U.S. Internet auction companies sometimes sell goods below cost, but not as frequently as Bid.Com. Bid.Com wants to be "cash flow positive in 1999" and that means it will wind down this discount practice, president Jeff Lymburner told Dow Jones. The company hopes to do this while increasing revenue to about C$50 million in 1999, Lymburner said, adding that the company has numerous plans to diversify its revenue. Last year, the company's main goal was to increase traffic to its Web site "and certain expenditures made sense," Lymburner said. "We think we've reached the critical mass where we don't have to make some of those same expenditures (as last year) so I think that we will see a very measurable move towards improved margins (this year)." In 1998, Bid.Com had revenue of US$13.1 million, or C$20.1 million, up 600% from the prior year. The company incurred direct expenses of C$19.4 million, for a gross profit of C$728,000. But that gross profit excludes some expenses. By definition, gross profit is net sales less the cost of goods sold; it's also called gross margin. However, Bid.Com has an atypical way of accounting for some of its losses and expenses. The company's financial reports show that it places the loss for goods sold below cost under its advertising and promotion expenses category. According to Bid.Com's 1998 financial report, it cost the company C$3.52 million to sell goods at below cost last year. This figure is included in advertising and promotion expenses of C$12.6 million. If Bid.Com had included the losses on those goods sold under its gross margin heading, gross profit would have been negative by about C$2.8 million in 1998. In comparison, competitors Onsale and UBid include in their gross margin those goods that they sell at below costs. In 1998, uBid had revenue of US$48.2 million and a positive gross margin of US$4 million. Onsale reported gross merchandise sales of US$234.4 million and a gross profit of US$22 million in 1998. Bid.Com's Lymburner said the company's accounting has been approved the company's auditors Deloitte & Touche LLP and it complies with U.S. and Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. The company's 1998 financial results were filed with the SEC as of April 15 prior to its listing on Tuesday. Robert Willens, a well-respected tax and accounting analyst with Lehman Brothers, said he can see the theory behind Bid.Com's accounting and that he doesn't believe it is "erroneous." A Nasdaq spokesman said foreign-listed companies must comply with U.S. GAAP before listing on the exchange. Stock Ran Up Prior To Nasdaq Listing Duncan Stewart, a portfolio manager for the Canadian Navigator Technology Fund, said the stock has fallen in the past two days because it should never have reached as high as C$32.50 earlier this month, which gave it a market capitalization of more than C$1.5 billion. The stock ran up prior to its Nasdaq listing on the hope that U.S. investors would bid it up even higher, but just because a Canadian stock lists on the Nasdaq, that doesn't mean it will go higher, he said. He said some investors have also been incorrectly comparing Bid.Com's revenue to eBay Inc.'s (EBAY) revenue. Bid.Com's 1998 revenue of US$13.1 million includes the value of all the goods it sold, or gross merchandise sales. In 1998, eBay had revenue of US$47.4 million, which is the figure that some investors were comparing Bid.Com's revenue with. But eBay's gross merchandise sales were worth US$745.4 million in 1998, or 57 times greater than Bid.Com's sales. eBay differs from Bid.Com in that it doesn't buy the merchandise, it only collects the commissions for providing an auction site for buyers and sellers. It reports its commissions as its revenue. As of the close of Tuesday, eBay had a market capitalization of US$19.6 billion, about 30 times the size of Bid.Com's market cap of about US$650 million at the close Tuesday. In addition, although Bid.Com reported less in gross merchandise sales than Onsale and uBid in 1998, its market capitalization was higher as of the close of Tuesday, even after falling significantly in recent days. As of the close Tuesday, Onsale had a market capitalization of US$469 million, while uBid had a market capitalization of US$404 million. Bid.Com has also found it difficult to attract a loyal institutional following in Canada. Only two research analysts have reports out on the company, its underwriter Yorkton Securities Inc. and Taurus Capital Markets Ltd., which put a "sell" rating on the stock last November. Ian Ainsworth, portfolio manager of the Altamira e-business Fund, isn't a shareholder. "We've looked at the company and we chose to go with models that are more viable," he said, declining to elaborate. However, the company has attracted a loyal following among retail investors, as apparent on Internet chat lines. It has also been promoted on an Internet site called Bidding On Bay Street. Earlier this month, Bid.Com was added to the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index, drawing buying from index funds. Bid.com also has aggressive diversification plans. President Lymburner said the company will be updating its Internet auction site in about a week, specifically its "Dutch Auction" service. Whereas most auctions have rising prices, Dutch Auctions have declining prices. This new Dutch Auction service will have audio and video features, which Lymburner said will be unique to Internet auctions. Bid.Com received a patent last month for its Dutch Auctions "process," which it hopes to license to other parties. Lymburner declined to say how much revenue the company believes it can derive from these licenses, but he said there should be revenue from that this year. Bid.Com hopes also to license its auction technology to other parties, such as newspapers. Bid.Com also has begun to see revenue from advertising on its auction Web site, though Lymburner couldn't provide any specific figures. It also is launching business-to-business auction services. -By Scott Adams; 416-943-7804; scott.adams@dowjones.ca