Auction Universe Extends Bid$afe-TM, Its Innovative Security and Money Back Guarantee Feature, to All Members At No Charge.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1999--Auction Universe (www.auctionuniverse.com), the pioneer in providing secure online auctions, today announced that it has extended its security and money-back guarantee feature, Bid$afe(tm), to all members at no charge, to ensure that everyone who buys and sells on the site is protected from fraud. With this move, Auction Universe will now offer two levels of this groundbreaking program: Bid$afe and Bid$afe Gold. Auction Universe buyers will now have the ability to use Bid$afe's credit card payment service free for all Bid$afe purchases.

Online auctions have been growing in popularity, with hundreds of thousands of people going online daily to buy and sell items at sites including OnSale (Nasdaq:ONSL), eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) and Yahoo! Auctions (Nasdaq:YHOO). Recent incidents of fraud that have plagued many auction sites and caused several government agencies to begin investigations have not affected the Auction Universe site, due in a large part to the introduction of Bid$afe in September 1998.

"We realized at an early stage in our development that the online auction format had the potential for widespread fraud," said Larry Schwartz, president and general manager of Auction Universe. "Bid$afe has helped keep Auction Universe virtually fraud-free. Because of the wide range of merchandise available on the site, we will now offer two Bid$afe programs and are able to give protection to all users who become members."

Bid$afe

The heart of the free Bid$afe program is Auction Universe's role as a secure intermediary. All payments for Bid$afe auction items go through Auction Universe, which charges the buyer's credit card and holds the funds until participants are satisfied with the exchange. Buyers no longer need to reveal checking account numbers or other private financial information directly to an unknown seller; and sellers don't need to wait for checks to clear. And Auction Universe has established a process for handling returns and resolving any issues. This service will now be available to members at no charge.

Bid$afe Gold

Bid$afe Gold is available for a $19.95 annual fee for buyers and sellers. It includes the security of a transaction intermediary as well as primary insurance that covers merchandise at any price point and is underwritten by Pacific Insurance Company, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hartford Insurance Group and administered by Collectibles Insurance Agency. This unique policy, with $3,000 worth of primary coverage, is available exclusively to Bid$afe Gold members and covers all Auction Universe purchases and shipments, as well as collectibles property already owned by Bid$afe Gold members. Additional insurance coverage is also available for Bid$afe Gold members at specially negotiated rates for items above $3,000. No other auction site has an insurance plan this comprehensive. Sellers of merchandise on Auction Universe who would like to list a Bid$afe auction must be Bid$afe Gold members.

"I use Bid$afe for all of my Auction Universe transactions because it gives credibility to both the buyers and the sellers and I know that the sale will go through properly," said Stephanie Winters of Georgia, an Auction Universe member who sells dozens of items online each month. "It's tremendously easy to do the sale with Bid$afe and it's going to be fantastic to open it up to more Auction Universe members. I've gotten burned on other sites and I know that won't happen with Bid$afe."

"Bid$afe is one of the reasons that Auction Universe is known as the site where quality traders go to buy and sell," added Schwartz. "We've been able to attract top sellers to the site because they know that transactions will be completed without hassle and buyers know they will receive the merchandise that they have purchased."

About Auction Universe

Auction Universe is a buying and selling network comprising www.auctionuniverse.com and a network of locally branded Websites of over 600 affiliated media companies. It uniquely provides consumers with a secure, information-rich, and entertaining buying experience. Auction Universe is a pioneer in developing e-commerce solutions for major media companies. It has introduced leading edge technology, different pricing models (online auctions as well as fixed pricing) and groundbreaking consumer protection programs, including Bid$afe(tm), which is the first online insurance program to provide a money-back guarantee on all transactions. Auction Universe provides buyers with extensive information from many of America's leading specialty and collectibles experts. It is the only online marketplace with over 6,000 collecting categories. Auction Universe has operations in the US and UK.

Auction Universe is a Classified Ventures, L.L.C company. Based in Chicago, Classified Ventures was formed by eight leading media companies - Central Newspapers, Inc., Gannett Co., Inc., Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Company, The New York Times Company, The Times Mirror Company, Tribune Company and the Washington Post Company. It provides national and locally branded online services for e-commerce opportunities in the classified advertising marketplace that build upon the capabilities and local expertise of its national affiliate network. In addition to Auction Universe, Classified Ventures operates the national Apartments.com web site (www.apartments.com), the cars.com web site (www.cars.com), and NewHomeNetwork.com web site (www.newhomenetwork.com).