UBid
Encyclopedia
uBid.com manages an online auction and shopping website
that offers both goods sold directly by the company and items sold by pre-approved uBid Certified Merchants.
. The site offers both products sold through uBid.com and products offered by other established businesses through the uBid Certified Merchant Program. The site specializes in new, refurbished and overstock consumer electronics
such as computers and cellular phones, but has recently expanded to offer other services such as travel packages and jewelry. uBid'com's sister website RedTag.com offers a single, new Deal of the Day each day, representing the lowest web posted price available.
CMGI
acquired the company from its founders in 2000 for $407 million. The company is still memorialized at the home of the New England Patriots
, formerly CMGI Field, now Gillette Stadium
, with the "uBid.com Entrance."
In 2003, CMGI sold uBid to Takumi Interactive, a holding company formed to manage its purchase by Thomas Petters and the Petters Group of Minnetonka, Minnesota. In Petters' recent criminal trial on numerous Federal charges, Petters testified that uBid was profitable, which was untrue.
In September 2007, Jeff Hoffman, a founder of Priceline
, joined the company as its CEO. Mr. Hoffman restructured the company into several units, and focused it on the liquidation of excess inventory. Mr. Hoffman obtained the domain name
redtag.com from Petters, and created a fixed-price liquidation site by that name. He also instituted liquidation sales at specific temporary sites, bulk excess inventory liquidations via Dibu Trading Corporation, and "Commerce Innovations," a company that sold auctioning technology. Mr. Hoffman spent a large amount of capital the company held in reserve on these efforts, while drastically scaling back its marketing and advertising efforts.
Mr. Hoffman also closed the company's auction subsidiary, bidville.com, in 2008.
After Mr. Petters' arrest, uBid laid off a large portion of its workforce in an effort to contain costs. Management announced 12 layoffs, but the truth was 31% of its workforce or between 22-28 employees.
Subsequently, On December 2, 2008, the company received financing from Robert T. Geras, on terms that essentially gave Mr. Geras and his wife warrants for a controlling interest, in exchange for a loan of approximately $1.5 million. In 2009, Mr. Geras resigned his position on the company's board of directors.
On December 22, 2009, Mr. Hoffman resigned from the company. uBid co-founder Timothy E. Takesue was named interim CEO.
On March 1, 2010, Patrick L. Neville, a corporate turnaround specialist, became the company's CEO.
On 11/16/2011 uBid's Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation was suspended due to failure to respond to one or more customer complaints filed with the BBB and unresolved complaint(s). The matter will be reviewed by the BBB's Board of Directors at its next meeting. SOURCE: http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/auctioneers/sunrise-bidders-in-itasca-il-9002499#
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that offers both goods sold directly by the company and items sold by pre-approved uBid Certified Merchants.
Overview
uBid.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunrise Bidders, Inc., was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Itasca, IllinoisItasca, Illinois
Itasca is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,302 at the 2000 census.In 2009, BusinessWeek rated Itasca as the 'Best Affordable Suburb' in the state of Illinois...
. The site offers both products sold through uBid.com and products offered by other established businesses through the uBid Certified Merchant Program. The site specializes in new, refurbished and overstock consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
such as computers and cellular phones, but has recently expanded to offer other services such as travel packages and jewelry. uBid'com's sister website RedTag.com offers a single, new Deal of the Day each day, representing the lowest web posted price available.
History
The company has been acquired and divested multiple times.CMGI
CMGI
ModusLink Global Solutions, formerly CMGI Inc., is an American technology and venture capital company, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company supplies a range of internet and communications services, mostly to computer companies, its biggest customer being Hewlett-Packard Company...
acquired the company from its founders in 2000 for $407 million. The company is still memorialized at the home of the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, formerly CMGI Field, now Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...
, with the "uBid.com Entrance."
In 2003, CMGI sold uBid to Takumi Interactive, a holding company formed to manage its purchase by Thomas Petters and the Petters Group of Minnetonka, Minnesota. In Petters' recent criminal trial on numerous Federal charges, Petters testified that uBid was profitable, which was untrue.
In September 2007, Jeff Hoffman, a founder of Priceline
Priceline
Priceline may refer to:*Priceline.com, a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays*Priceline , a chain of health and beauty retail stores in Australia...
, joined the company as its CEO. Mr. Hoffman restructured the company into several units, and focused it on the liquidation of excess inventory. Mr. Hoffman obtained the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
redtag.com from Petters, and created a fixed-price liquidation site by that name. He also instituted liquidation sales at specific temporary sites, bulk excess inventory liquidations via Dibu Trading Corporation, and "Commerce Innovations," a company that sold auctioning technology. Mr. Hoffman spent a large amount of capital the company held in reserve on these efforts, while drastically scaling back its marketing and advertising efforts.
Mr. Hoffman also closed the company's auction subsidiary, bidville.com, in 2008.
After Mr. Petters' arrest, uBid laid off a large portion of its workforce in an effort to contain costs. Management announced 12 layoffs, but the truth was 31% of its workforce or between 22-28 employees.
Subsequently, On December 2, 2008, the company received financing from Robert T. Geras, on terms that essentially gave Mr. Geras and his wife warrants for a controlling interest, in exchange for a loan of approximately $1.5 million. In 2009, Mr. Geras resigned his position on the company's board of directors.
On December 22, 2009, Mr. Hoffman resigned from the company. uBid co-founder Timothy E. Takesue was named interim CEO.
On March 1, 2010, Patrick L. Neville, a corporate turnaround specialist, became the company's CEO.
2010 bankruptcy and acquisition
In September of 2010, a group of unsecured creditors forced Enable Holdings, uBid's former holding company, into bankruptcy. On October 8, 2010, Sunrise Bidders purchased uBid and other assets at a court-authorized auction, and appointed Mr. Scott Koerner as the company's president.uBid v. GoDaddy
In 2009, uBid commenced a lawsuit against GoDaddy, in Federal Court in Chicago, accusing the company of profiting off of domain names that were similar to its trademarked names. uBid accuses Godaddy of unlawfully profiting by placing paid advertisements into parking pages, and splitting revenues with its customers, who uBid alleges to be cybersquatters. The lawsuit was originally dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction, but that decision was reversed by the Seventh Circuit in a landmark case. The case was pending before U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras, but was dismissedby agreement on October 17, 2011, having apparently been settled.uBid Certified Merchant Program
In order to maintain a trusted trading environment, uBid only allows established businesses who have been pre-approved to sell products on its site. Merchants wishing to be approved must provide tax and credit information as well as trade and bank references to prove their credibility. Once approved, Certified Merchants are allowed to sell their products on the site, however all payments and customer service inquiries are made directly through uBid in order to maintain consumer trust and provide the best possible post-sale service. Due to this system, Certified Merchants do not have any direct interaction with customers except for questions asked about products through the uBid site, nor do they see customers' credit card information.Other
uBid.com announced in February 2011 the formation of uBid.com Business, which is the company's B2B arm, providing revenue from SMB, government, education and other business customers.On 11/16/2011 uBid's Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation was suspended due to failure to respond to one or more customer complaints filed with the BBB and unresolved complaint(s). The matter will be reviewed by the BBB's Board of Directors at its next meeting. SOURCE: http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/auctioneers/sunrise-bidders-in-itasca-il-9002499#