Equipp.com and the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association to Offer Industry's First National Equipment Trade-In System.

Business/Technology Editors

LOS ANGELES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2000

Alliance Makes Trading in a Machine Tool as Easy as

Trading in a Car -- And Delivers the "Blue Book" to

Provide Current Market Pricing Information

Equipp.com, the first full-service online machine tool auction marketplace, today announced it has entered into an e-commerce agreement with the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA), a trade association dedicated to advancing the marketing of machine tools in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, Equipp.com and AMTDA will offer a Machine Tool Trade-in System and a Value-Added Services program to AMTDA's members and their customers, using Equipp.com's online auction site. In addition, Equipp.com and AMTDA will deliver the first used machine tool market pricing index for the machine tool industry.

Currently, when a machine tool buyer wants to trade-in a machine as part of a new machine purchase deal, the resale of the trade-in is often left to the customer or salesperson. As a result, they usually work with local used equipment dealers and remarket the equipment locally. This process is slow, cumbersome and local markets do not always offer competitive pricing. Without an organized national remarketing system or current used machine tool valuation data, customer acquisition of new equipment can be extended or completely halted.

Equipp.com will also implement an exclusive AMTDA/Equipp.com Value-Added Services program that will provide an opportunity for AMTDA members to offer services to both AMTDA and Equipp.com customers. This program is designed to provide customers with the services they need to prepare new and used machine tools for immediate use. AMTDA members will register their specialized services, regions and brands serviced. These services will include installations, inspections, appraisals, process turnkeys and machine repairs.

"The AMTDA agreement with Equipp.com provides our distributor members with an excellent resource to become an integral partner to customers, improving their ability to trade-in or sell used machines," said Ralph J. Nappi, president of the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association. "The bottom-line benefit to both parties is the ability to more readily facilitate the acquisition of new productivity and capacity enhancing equipment. AMTDA members also become more entrenched in their relationships with customers through the ability to provide value-added services beyond the sale of new equipment."

"Our e-commerce agreement with AMTDA to offer an equipment trade-in and value-added services system enables AMTDA Distributors, for the first time, an opportunity to proactively participate in sales deals involving trade-ins. AMTDA and Equipp.com will also provide the other key parts for successful trade-in deals, current used equipment market pricing and service," said Don Firm, executive vice president, business development for Equipp.com. "Using the power of the Internet, Equipp.com creates national and international market demands for used and surplus machine tools. To address these growing needs Equipp.com and AMTDA will develop an active, organized system to access remarketed machine tools to globally expand distribution opportunities."

Equipp.com and AMTDA's goal is to make trading in a machine tool as simple as trading in a family car. Equipp.com and the AMTDA are developing the first ever e-book pricing index for machine tools, similar to a "Blue Book" for cars. This information will be developed through an ongoing record of transactions. This will enable machine shops and dealers to track pricing on equipment and better establish the value of the trade-in.

AMTDA and Equipp.com's system provides the opportunity to resolve these issues and enables AMTDA distributors to structure trade-in deals quickly and confidently. The distributors and customers will be able to complete trade-in deals in a few days because they will have access to a national resale program. With AMTDA and Equipp.com's joint equipment trade-in system, buyers and sellers have several transaction options including:

--Quick Trade -- Equipp.com will establish a registered list of used equipment buyers including AMTDA members and pre-qualified buyers that will receive information on specific potential trade-in machines from AMTDA members. The AMTDA member will forward information on the potential trade-in through Equipp.com for presentation to the registered list of buyers. The machine buyers will have 48 hours to place bids for immediate purchase of the trade-in machine. The highest bid for each transaction will be presented to the AMTDA member and customer, and they can finalize their negotiations for the new machine and the trade-in deal knowing they have a firm bid for the trade-in.

--Distributor Takes Title -- When the AMTDA distributor decides to accept the customer's equipment out right as part of the trade-in deal, the distributor can present the equipment for sale on Equipp.com either at a fixed price or by auction. After the machine is sold, Equipp.com Escrow will transfer the funds from the buyer directly to the distributor. This process is geared toward the distributor who wants to improve the value of the trade-in by a level of refurbishment.

--Customer Retains Title -- When the customer and AMTDA distributor agree they will sell the trade-in through Equipp.com either at a fixed price or by auction, they will sign a joint listing agreement and Equipp.com will sell the trade-in. The sales value of this trade-in will be credited toward the purchase of the new machine tool and Equipp.com Escrow will transfer the funds from the trade-in buyer to the joint parties. This process will remove all the risk for the distributor and allow the customer to retain all of the accounting advantages of a trade-in deal.

About AMTDA

Founded in 1925, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association is a trade association dedicated to advancing the marketing of machine tools in the United States. The 500+ machine tool distributor and marketing associate members represent the latest in manufacturing technology and machine tools in the international marketplace. These companies encompass over 80 percent of all distribution sales in the United States and serve as a vital link between builders and end-users of machine tools and related products. AMTDA offers a variety of programs and services to assist its members including educational workshops, certification for machine tool sales engineers, marketing data information, regional machine tool shows, as well as networking opportunities with other machine tool distributors and builders. For more information please call 301.738.1200 or visit http://www.amtda.org.

About Equipp.com

Equipp.com, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is a worldwide, business-to-business new and used manufacturing equipment online auction offering. Equipp.com offers buyers, sellers and users an array of services including escrow, financing, machine inspection, appraisals, freight, rigging and machine service. For additional information, please call 858.638.0026 or visit http://www.equipp.com.