Mpire and eBay Launch Bonds’ 715 Home Run Ball Auction on eBay

Wednesday, July 24, 2006

Mpire and eBay Launch Bonds’ 715 Home Run Ball Auction on eBay

Special Site Enables Fans to Place Bids, Browse Memorabilia and Interact with Famous Auction Expected to Fetch Between $300,000-500,000

WHAT:

Mpire, the only online shopping service that shows users the true market value of used and hard-to-find items, has teamed with eBay to launch and track the much anticipated auction of San Francisco Giant Barry Bond’s 715th home run ball. The historic home run baseball auction is live on eBay at http://www.ebay.com/715 starting at 3 p.m. ET today. The ball has a starting price of $10,000 and runs for 10 days, ending Thursday, Aug. 3 at 3 p.m. ET. It has an undisclosed reserve price, which is a minimum price the seller will accept.

Now live at www.ebay.com/715, the site will provide sports fans a chance to place bids and see real time statistics as the historic ball is auctioned off. The interactive site also provides a chance to:

• Access historical pricing information to track the worth of other baseball memorabilia
• A viewer sound off page for anyone to share their opinion and discuss the auction activity as it’s happening
• View a short animation to see how the ball was caught by Andrew Morbitzer, play an interactive game called “Catch Barry’s Home Run Ball”, and view highlight clips courtesy of ESPN 360
• Use Mpire’s shopping service to browse for their favorite sports teams memorabilia and determine if the price is a steal or a strike-out

WHY:

Mpire has used its online sales data technology to create the “715 Home Run” site for eBay so the world can watch the activities unfold as bidders decide just how much Bond’s famous baseball is worth, and easily purchase other memorabilia items using Mpire’s shopping service.

Editor’s Note: For historical trends and pricing information on other sports-related collectibles selling online – such as signed baseballs, team baseballs, rookie cards and more – Mpire is available to provide this data along with the latest Bonds ball activity.

WHEN:

The “715 Home Run Ball” site is LIVE now and counting down to the auction

WHERE:

On the Web at http://www.ebay.com/715

WHO

Dave Cotter, co-founder/Chief Marketing Officer of Mpire, is available today through the auction’s end to provide real-time data and running commentary on how Bond’s famous baseball is scoring with bidders, and how these compare to famous counterparts. To obtain up-to-the-minute and/or additional comparison statistics, or to schedule an interview, please contact Kim Blakeley at 206.550.6564.