America Online and eBay Announce Strategic Marketing Alliance
eBay Becomes the Preferred Person-to-Person Online Trading Community on AOL, AOL.COM, CompuServe, Netscape's Netcenter, ICQ and Digital City.
Co-Branded Sites To Be Created Incorporating eBay Features, Listings and Content and AOL Content and Community Features
Dulles, VA and San Jose, CA, March 25, 1999—America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and eBay Inc., the largest online person-to-person trading community, today announced a four-year strategic alliance that will expand person-to-person commerce and community-building on AOL and its family of brands. This agreement expands the Companies' existing strategic relationship.
The agreement gives eBay prominent presence across the domestic and international AOL family of brands, including AOL, AOL.COM, CompuServe, Netscape's Netcenter, ICQ and Digital City, and eBay will pay AOL $75 million over the term of the agreement. In addition, AOL is entitled to all advertising revenues generated by the co-branded sites and may act as the exclusive third-party advertising sales force for advertising sold on eBay's website, www.ebay.com.
Under the agreement, America Online and eBay will create customized and co-branded sites for America Online's multiple brands. These sites will include comprehensive listings, feedback and ratings, message boards and select content from eBay. With nearly 50 million auctions completed since September 1995, eBay offers AOL members the most robust and easy-to-use person-to-person trading experience anywhere online or on the Internet.
AOL will promote eBay to its member community of over 16 million members. eBay will promote AOL as its preferred Internet online service, and as future enhancements, eBay will enable its users to download ICQ on its site www.ebay.com, as well as integrate AOL's "My News" feature into its "My eBay" feature.
As a part of the agreement, the companies will work together to facilitate eBay's expansion into international markets. AOL will also help launch eBay's expansion into regional markets through the promotion of eBay on Digital City.
Bob Pittman, President and Chief Operating Officer of America Online, Inc., said: "This agreement is great for AOL members and users of our family of brands because it further expands their already dynamic online community, giving them easier access to the largest person-to-person trading community in cyberspace. Not only does this make AOL even more valuable to their everyday lives, it makes AOL's many brands even more accessible to eBay's more than 2.1 million registered users, one of the most active communities anywhere in cyberspace."
"AOL is a leader in creating and managing online communities, and eBay is in a key position to reach a much broader network of Internet users through AOL. By providing AOL users with quicker and more convenient ways to conduct person-to-person trading on eBay, we are continuing to set the standard as the leading personal e-commerce destination," said Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay. "This alliance not only provides us significant customer acquisition opportunities, it serves as an important brand investment."
eBay brings to the alliance its powerful business model of person-to-person online trading, the largest marketplace of buyers and sellers online with more than 2.1 million registered users (as of December 31, 1998), and the third busiest site on the Internet in terms of total usage minutes, according to the Media Metrix February 1999 Web report.
"eBay will provide AOL users a customized 'eBay at AOL' experience, including content, special features and access to special promotional auctions," said Steve Westly, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at eBay. "On eBay, users will be able to access certain AOL community tools, such as ICQ, a communications portal with 30 million registrants worldwide."
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 16 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
About eBay
eBay (www.ebay.com), the world's personal trading community (tm), pioneered person-to-person online trading. Founded in 1995, eBay has developed an efficient and entertaining trading site in an auction format on the Web that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. eBay has more than 2.1 million registered users. Currently, there are more than 1.8 million items listed for sale. More than 250,000 new items are added daily, in more than 1,000 categories, including: antiques; books, movies, and music; coins and stamps; collectibles; computers; dolls and figures; jewelry and gemstones; photo and electronics; pottery and glass; sports memorabilia; and toys.
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