Priceline.com Auto Services to Expand Reach of New Car Service Through Agreements With Credit Unions
26 September 2000
Priceline.com Auto Services to Expand Reach of New Car Service Through Agreements With Credit Unions
NORWALK, Conn.--Sept. 26, 2000--Announces Agreement With Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union
Priceline.com Auto Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of priceline.com , today announced an agreement with the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU), a $1.4 billion full-service credit union and the tenth largest in the country based on the volume of new car loans issued, that will bring the power of priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(SM) new car buying service within the click of a mouse for PSECU's more than 269,000 members.
Through the agreement, a PSECU member can visit PSECU's Web site (http://www.psecu.com) to obtain a new car loan. The member can then click the priceline.com logo on the site to go directly to priceline.com, where they can name their own price for the exact new car or truck they want.
The agreement with PSECU is the result of a new initiative by Priceline.com Auto Services to expand the reach of its new car buying service by tapping into the member base of credit unions nationwide. There are more than 10,000 credit unions in the United States representing more than 80 million members. Earlier this month, priceline.com announced a similar alliance with Kraft Foods FCU.
"We're pleased to officially launch this initiative by announcing our agreement with PSECU, which is not only one of the nation's largest credit unions, but is also one of the most progressive," said Maryann Keller, President of Priceline.com Automotive Services. "Credit union members are a great fit for our new car service. They're motivated buyers and they're approved for their car loans by the time they come to priceline.com's Web site. By working with credit unions, we can reach our target audience before they buy their cars."
"Priceline.com Auto Service's new car buying service is a great addition to the Internet services we offer our members. It compliments our Auto Buying Center, NetLoan Lending Center and Rebate Center," said William Zysk, PSECU's Vice President of Credit Services. "Now a member can apply for an auto loan on our Web site, get a 30-second response, and then go directly to priceline.com to get a great deal on a new car by naming their own price. All this without leaving home - it's arm-chair shopping.
The new service works as follows:
| - | A member can log on to the PSECU web site at psecu.com and apply for a new vehicle loan. Or, they can call the Credit Union's 24-hour Lending Service and get an answer within 24 hours. |
| - | Once approved, the member simply visits the PSECU's Web page and clicks on the priceline.com icon. |
| - | At priceline.com, the member chooses the exact car or truck they want, along with the desired options and colors. Then they name their own price and specify the counties they are willing to go to in order to take delivery of their new vehicle. |
| - | Without identifying the potential buyer, priceline.com shares the purchase offer with all factorized dealerships in the specified counties. Any dealer with that exact car can accept the offer on the spot. Or, dealers can reply to priceline.com with a counter-offer. |
| - | Once the price is agreed upon, the dealership gets the member's name. The member then goes to the dealership and purchases the vehicle at the agreed-upon price. |
| - | PSECU is offering its members who use their PSECU-issued Visa cards rebates on the $50 fee that Priceline.com Auto Services charges on successful delivery of cars. |
PSECU is a $1.4 B full-service, non-profit credit union serving over 264,000 members. Headquartered in Harrisburg, PSECU serves employees of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, employees, faculty, staff, students and alumni of universities within the State System of Higher Education and Harrisburg Area Community College, employees of approved local governments and school districts, approved employee groups and family members of all these groups. For additional information about PSECU and its services visit its web site at www.psecu.com
About priceline.com
Priceline.com is the Name Your Own Price sm Internet pricing system that provides services across four broad product categories: a travel service that offers leisure airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars; a personal finance service that offers home mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans through an independent licensee; an automotive service that offers new cars; and a telecommunications service that offers long distance calling services. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including Priceline WebHouse Club, Inc., which offers a Name Your Own Price service for groceries and gasoline, pricelinemortgage, Priceline Perfect YardSale, Inc., a local-market, consumer-to-consumer selling service, and certain international licensees.
In these arrangements, priceline.com generally receives royalties for licensing its intellectual property. Priceline.com also holds securities carrying the right to purchase a significant equity stake in the licensees under certain conditions. Unless those rights are exercised, the results of licensee operations will not be included in priceline.com's financial statements.
For press information, contact:
Brian Ek at priceline.com 203-299-8167 (brian.ek@priceline.com) Mike Darcy at priceline.com 203-299-8168 (mike.darcy@priceline.com) Joan Mallgrave at PSECU 717-777-2260 (jmallgra@psecu.com)
Priceline. com information about forward looking-statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "does not currently expect," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: inability to successfully expand the Company's business model both horizontally and geographically; management of the Company's rapid growth; adverse changes in the Company's relationships with airlines and other product and service providers; systems-related failures; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property rights; the effects of increased competition; losses by the Company and its licensees; legal and regulatory risks and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. For a detailed discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's most recent Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.