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Press Release Headlines
2/15/2001
eBay and boats.com to Launch Internet's Largest Auction-Style Boating Marketplace
Agreement Creates New Sales Channels for Marine Industry
MIAMI, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- On the opening day of the 60th Annual Miami
International Boat Show, the world's largest consumer marine exhibition, eBay
and boats.com announced an exclusive alliance to create the largest online
auction-style boating marketplace. The agreement will expand the
opportunities for dealers and marine enthusiasts to buy and sell new and used
boats and other marine products on the Internet.
Individuals can immediately begin to browse on the eBay and boats.com
theme page at http://pages.ebay.com/theme/boating.html , and sellers can begin
to list their boat in the auction-style format by visiting the boats.com
dealer page at www.boats.com/dealers. A separate and fully integrated
boats.com and eBay specialty site will launch this Spring 2001.
"At boats.com, our overall goal has always been to increase opportunity
for the marine industry to sell boats and enhance a boater's purchasing
experience," said Stuart Johnstone, co-founder and chief marketing officer,
boats.com. "The eBay relationship is another example of how we're
accomplishing this goal. Boat dealers and brokers now have another channel to
move their product, and the boating consumer gets the chance to participate in
a dynamic marketplace."
Boats.com is the leader in the marine Internet space and through its
marine websites, it represents more than 1,300 dealers and brokers showcasing
more than $12 billion in pre-owned inventory. Additionally, boats.com
affiliates include 75 leading marine manufacturers with 134 brands and more
than 50 percent of the U.S. market share. This agreement will provide
boats.com and its dealer/broker partners access to eBay's marketplace of
22 million registered users, and it will complement eBay's fast growing
boating community.
"We want to welcome boats.com to the eBay community," said Bob Hebeler,
vice president business category and community development for eBay. "The
eBay community is showing more interest in purchasing boats. Last year, over
$14 million in boats sold through the eBay site. Boats.com will complement
our existing trading environment and allow us to tap into a broader audience
of boat dealers, brokers and buyers."
According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, more than
$25 billion was spent at retail in the U.S. during 2000 for new and used
boats, motors and engines, trailers, accessories, and other associated costs.
More than 73 million Americans participate in recreational boating. Nearly
17 million boats are currently on the waters of the United States, with more
than 50 percent of the boating public using the Internet on a regular basis.
About eBay
eBay ( http://www.ebay.com ) is the world's largest online trading
community. Founded in 1995, eBay created a powerful marketplace for the sale
of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and small
businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items listed on the site
across thousands of categories. eBay enables trade on a local, national and
international basis with local sites in 60 markets in the U.S. and country
specific sites in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and Australia.
With the acquisition of Half.com in July 2000, eBay's community now benefits
from a marketplace combining traditional auction style trading and Half.com's
set-price trading.
About boats.com
Through boats.com, marine dealers and manufacturers can utilize a new
channel of operation and consumer interaction. Boats.com enhances the
capabilities of the boating industry by offering a range of unique products,
online and offline, that will help sell, finance, insure and market all marine
product lines. In addition to boats.com, the company operates other
marine-oriented Web sites including YachtWorld, the world's leading Web
marketplace for brokerage-listed boats.
With an established network of industry alliances -- including the
exclusive endorsements from the industry's two leading associations, the
National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and the Marine Retailers
Association of America (MRAA) -- and an unmatched level of consumer access to
information, boat listings, accessories, and financial and insurance products,
boats.com plays the unique role of integrating and simplifying the demand side
of the marine industry.
CONTACT: media, Ken Grimes of boats.com, 415-947-5015, or
[email protected]; or Jennifer Chu of eBay, 408-558-7432, or [email protected].
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