CLEARWATER, Fla., Jan. 18, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bidville, Inc. (OTCBB: BVLE), an innovative and growing online auction company and an alternative to eBay, has announced today that it recently implemented several unique fraud prevention programs. These new services, provided for free to all members, are aimed at providing increased protection for its members engaged in auction transactions on the Company's Website, Bidville.com (http://www.bidville.com). The programs provide a safe and overall more enjoyable environment for the Company's online membership. Online fraud has plagued the auction industry as a whole, but with Bidville's new fraud prevention programs implemented, fraudulent activity on Bidville has decreased.
The VIP Program (Verification of Identity by Phone) is aimed at protecting Bidville buyers. The program requires, in addition to the normal registration process, that all new U.S. and Canadian sellers be verified via the telephone number provided during registration. Bidville places an automated phone call to the member to verify the seller's identity. Since Beta Testing of VIP program started, over 2,000 Bidville Sellers have been verified by the Program.
The SAFE Program (Sellers Against Fraudulent E-commerce) permits sellers to place restrictions on which members of the Bidville Website community may place bids on their auctions or purchase items for sale in their store. Sellers may place filters on their auctions restricting bidding activity based on feedback ratings, length of registration time, the bidder's geography, and whether a valid credit card has been placed on file with the Company. Sellers may also pre-approve buyers to bid on certain of their listed auctions or store items. To date, over 900 Sellers have updated their SAFE settings on Bidville since the Program began.
In addition to Bidville's improvements to safeguard its users against fraudulent activity, the Company has improved its Website and enhanced its Auction and Storefront platforms over the past few months while expanding its member base. Currently, Bidville is offering free storefronts for all sellers through the end of January and has implemented a conversion feature to facilitate the easy transfer of Sellers' auction listings into the Company's Storefront environment.
About Bidville
Bidville, Inc., a Nevada corporation, was founded in 1999 as an online auction alternative to eBay. The company provides unique user features, such as Storefronts, Watch Lists, Image Gallery, and fixed price listing options. Bidville is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. For further Company and product information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.bidville.com. Additional information, including current financial data, is available in current Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) the Company's financing plans; (ii) trends affecting the Company's financial condition or results of operations; (iii) the Company's growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) the declaration and payment of dividends. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Bidville's business, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, all of which may be obtained through the SEC's website at: http://www.sec.gov; or by accessing Bidville Investor Relations information on the Company's website at: http://www.bidville.com/help/investorrelations.htm; or by directly contacting Bidville's investor relations department via e-mail at: investorrelations@bidville.com .
All information in this release is as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.