dollarstore.com and Bidland.com Form Strategic Alliance for Online Market Exchange

Business Wire, April 13, 2000

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000

dollarstore.com, the general merchandise industry's first interactive wholesale and retail resource, Thursday announced a strategic alliance with Bidland.com, the leading auction service provider for businesses, to provide an online market exchange serving the $150 billion general merchandise community.

Through the alliance, visitors can use dollarstore.com as a vehicle to buy and sell their closeout and surplus merchandise through a real-time auction platform that is fast, efficient and easy to use.

"dollarstore.com's goal is to be the resource serving all of the general merchandise industry's needs," said Rex Mehta, founder and president of dollarstore.com. "By forming this strategic alliance with Bidland.com, we are providing a comprehensive industry exchange for the buying and selling of merchandise."

The auction site will streamline the buying and selling process for closeout and surplus merchandise, previously handled by dollarstore.com's customers via telephone and e-mail. The auction alliance with Bidland.com supplements dollarstore.com's interactive wholesale merchandise catalog, retail sales site and store setup consultation services.

For Bidland.com, the alliance with dollarstore.com provides the opportunity to reach an entirely new market with its innovative auction service, which allows users such as dollarstore.com to quickly set up auction services on their Web site.

"We are pleased to be partnering with dollarstore.com, a valued company in a fast-growing market," said Doug Augustine, chief executive officer and president, Bidland.com. "Dollarstore.com's unique use of the Bidland.com technology gives us the opportunity to showcase our cost-efficient, easy-to-use auction services to the business-to-business market."

Industry estimates forecast dollar retail stores domestic sales at $25 billion annually, and $150 billion in national sales for the general merchandise industry.

The announcement of the strategic alliance is part of dollarstore.com's aggressive business development strategy.

In addition to partnering with Bidland.com, dollarstore.com has negotiated strategic alliance agreements with trade industry organizations Association of Surplus Dealers (A.S.D.) and Association Merchandise Dealers (A.M.D.). dollarstore.com has also implemented other improvements, including a 20 percent increase in inventory, enhanced appearance and ease-of-use, and a strategic re-branding of its corporate identity.

About dollarstore.com

Founded by Internet entrepreneur Rex Mehta and wholesale and retail expert Dennis Donsker, dollarstore.com offers a family of five Web sites, each catering to a defined segment of the general merchandise and dollar value market.

dollarstore.com is the first e-commerce business to take the popular bricks-and-mortar dollar store formula interactively, serving the wholesale market of dollar store retailers and offering retail consumers a wide selection of items all priced at $1 per item or per unit.

The dollarstore.com, Inc. corporate offices are located at 4041 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 250, Newport Beach, Calif. 92660. The e-mail address is: contact@dollarstore.com, or visit the Web site at: www.dollarstore.com.

About Bidland.com

Bidland.com offers a low-cost, high branding infrastructure solution for companies of any size to conduct commerce online. Developed for the business-to-business marketplace, Bidland.com delivers sophisticated, hosted auction technology that integrates seamlessly into companies' Web sites, displaying their look, their brand and their unique products.

Bidland.com's easily deployable service requires minimal technical support and allows businesses to build and launch their own branded auctions in under 30 minutes. For more information visit www.bidland.com or call toll free 877/BIDLAND.