NEOPOST BECOMES EXCLUSIVE ELECTRONIC POSTAGE SOLUTION
PROVIDER
TO eBAY AND HALF.COM
Continued Growth of Online Marketplaces
Fuels the Need For Consumer-Friendly Postage Services
Paris, April 17, 2001
Neopost Online, the Internet-based mailing and shipping solutions provider, member of the
Neopost Group, has today been named the exclusive postage provider for eBay and Half.com in
a move to provide the companies’ online sellers with fast and convenient postage solutions.
Under the agreement, eBay, the world’s online marketplace, and eBay subsidiary, Half.com, will
offer their members Neopost Online’s PC-based postage solution, Simply Postage.
“Our agreement with eBay and Half.com reinforces our strategy of targeting mid-volume package shippers,” said
David Crisp, CEO of Neopost Online. “eBay and Half.com are the ideal business communities for Simply
Postage.”
Simply Postage PROmail combines a meter, printer and scale into a small, hand-sized desktop
unit. This device not only saves time, it also factors in weight and class when determining postage
to ensure that users do not overpay for shipping.
As most online mid-volume sellers lack the mailroom facilities of large companies, using Simply
Postage fulfils their need for a convenient, cost-effective way to generate postage for their
shipments. A typical home-based shipper can easily spend at least an hour a week - more than a
full work-week every year - travelling to and from shipping locations and waiting in lines.
"eBay and Half are incredibly vibrant online trading communities and the availability of a convenient postage
service is important to their success," said Jeff Jordan, senior vice president, eBay US "Because Simply
Postage supports all classes of postal service mail, including Media Mail, our relationship with Neopost Online
offers our users -- who spend hundreds of millions of dollars on postage annually -- a value-added solution to help
them ship goods directly from their home or office."
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About eBay and Half.com
EBay is the world’s online marketplace.
Founded in 1995, eBAY created a powerful marketplace for the sale of goods and services by 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 United States and
country-specific sites in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Japan, Korea and Australia.
With the acquisition of Half.com in 2000, eBAY’s community now benefits from a marketplace combining
traditional auction-style trading and Half.com’s set-price trading.
HALF.COM, an eBAY company, is the largest fixed price person-to-person marketplace on the Internet, where
people can easily buy and sell new and previously owned products, combining the bargains of an auction with the
ease of purchasing from a retailer.
Founded in July 1999, the company’s expanding marketplace currently includes books, CDs, movies and video
games. It is one of the most visited shopping sites on the Internet, and through its ever-growing community of
sellers, offers more than ten million items for sale. Half.com can be reached at www.half.com.
About Neopost
NEOPOST is the leading mailing solutions company in Europe and the second largest in the world.
One of the world leaders in PC-based shipping solutions, NEOPOST is also offering, through its Neopost Online
subsidiary and under the Simply Postage and Simply Packages brand, unique e-postage and Internet shipping
services.
Headquartered near Paris, France, the NEOPOST Group has operations in the world’s top mailing markets: United
States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
NEOPOST products are sold in 70 countries.
NEOPOST posted sales for 2000 of Euro 514 million.
NEOPOST is listed on the first market of the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the SBF 120, Next 150 and
MID CAC.
About Simply Postage
While other online postage products offer hardware or software-based solutions, Simply Postage combines the
convenience of a palm-sized hardware unit with the capabilities of computer software. With its integrated postage
meter, scale and printer, Simply Postage empowers small businesses and home offices by enabling them to have the
services of a post office on their desktop.
Simply Postage PROmail allows users to download postage 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The compact, spacesaving unit weighs envelopes and packages up to 4.4 lbs. and will automatically calculate and print exact postage. If a
user sends the same type of mail on a regular basis, for example, a first class letter, the InstaStamp feature enables the
unit to print a certain rate of postage at the touch of a button. Simply Postage doesn’t require address entry or
permanent Internet access - a modem is all that is needed to download postage. Simply Postage prints postage for
any class of mail. It also tracks a user’s postage spending, a feature that is helpful for many small businesses.
For any further information, you can contact:
•
Gaële CHAGNAUD, Investor Relations
Tel: 00 33 1 45 36 31 39
Fax: 00 33 1 45 36 30 30
e-mail: g.chagnaud@neopost.fr
•
Amélie STOBBART, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Tel: 00 33 1 53 32 09 00
Fax: 00 33 1 53 32 82 30
e-mail: astobbart@webershandwick.com
Or visit our Internet web-site: www.neopost.com where you can view the annual report for 1999 (pdf format)
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