Mercata Offers PowerBuy Deal of the Century On Buick Centurys; Buick Becomes First Car Manufacturer to Offer Online Group Discounts
4 October 2000
Mercata Offers PowerBuy Deal of the Century On Buick Centurys; Buick Becomes First Car Manufacturer to Offer Online Group Discounts
BELLEVUE, Wash. & DETROIT--Oct. 4, 2000-- Mercata(TM)(http://www.mercata.com), the leading provider of Internet-based group buying services, and Buick today announced that they will offer the "PowerBuy(TM) Deal of the Century" on the new Buick Centurys, allowing consumers to band together for increased savings.In this first-ever online group buying partnership involving a vehicle manufacturer, Buick will use Mercata's proprietary technology and services to offer manufacturer's rebate certificates in a PowerBuy group buying format. Customers will have the opportunity to name the amount of the rebate they desire, and the value of the rebate certificate will increase as the buying group grows.
National in scope, the first "PowerBuy Deal of the Century" will launch on Oct. 19 and will last for approximately one week. The "PowerBuy Deal of the Century" will be accessible from both the Mercata (www.mercata.com) and Buick (www.buick.com) Web sites.
"As the very first site to offer consumers from across the country the chance to pool their purchasing power to get a better buy on automobiles, we are thrilled to offer this unique experience in partnership with Buick," said Tom Van Horn, Mercata's founder, president and CEO. "We are making this tremendous offer in response to the many customer requests for PowerBuy group purchases on vehicles, and we are very pleased to launch this effort with a `luxury car for everyone' -- the Buick Century."
The "PowerBuy Deal of the Century" is different from Mercata's usual PowerBuy offers. Instead of driving the product price down, consumers will band together to increase the value of special vehicle rebates for future purchases on Buick Centurys. For a $50 payment, consumers will receive a rebate certificate whose face value will grow larger as the buying group grows.
The rebates, which start at $200 and increase as more consumers join the buying group, can then be applied toward the purchase of Buick Centurys at local dealers across the nation. Buick Century is one of the top 10 selling mid-sized cars on the market today.
In addition, Mercata will add an extra incentive by offering a 100 Mercata$ New Shopper Award, applicable to future purchases at Mercata.com, to all new Mercata shoppers who participate in the unique PowerBuy offer.
"Buick is committed to reaching today's online shopper and to providing value to our customers and volume to our local dealerships," said Roger Adams, general manager at Buick. "Mercata is the leader in online group buying, and they can provide us with a unique and economical method of delivering a great deal to online shoppers while supporting our local dealer network."
About Mercata
Mercata, Inc. is a leading provider of Internet-based group buying services. Using its PowerBuy(TM) group purchases and We-Commerce(TM) technology, it provides partners with hosted group buying services through Mercata's We-Commerce(TM) Network (http://www.we-commerce.com). As Network partners, manufacturer, retailer, portal, and community Web sites offer merchandise for sale using Mercata's patented and patent-pending business methods and technology. Mercata's online retail store (http://www.mercata.com) allows individual customers to purchase high-quality, brand-name merchandise in a group-buying format. PowerBuy group purchases and the We-Commerce Network are powered by Mercata's proprietary business methods and technology. Founded in September 1998, Mercata(TM) is a privately held company with funding from Vulcan Ventures Inc., Highland Capital Partners, Global Retail Partners, Europ@web, Amerindo and other investors.
About Buick Century
Buick, a division of General Motors, has been an Internet leader among automotive marketers. Among Internet "firsts" for Buick's Web efforts:
| -- | Launching the 1997 1/2 Regal online. |
| -- | Offering a $500 purchase incentive in connection with GM's Internet marketing program, GM BuyPower. |
| -- | Making a gift certificate available for redemption at Amazon.com for test driving any new Buick. |
| -- | Holding a promotion -- titled "Click to Win" -- that offered up to 45 new Buicks over a 45-day period for consumers who printed out game pieces from buick.com and matched key words at local dealerships to determine prizes. |
Buick's Century -- which took over as Buick's leading seller in 1999 -- is billed as "A Luxury Car for Everyone." Century offers the comfort, room and amenities expected in a luxurious family at an affordable price. Standard features include traction control, dual-zone ComforTemp climate control, remote keyless entry, daytime running lamps and power windows, door locks and remote trunk release.
"Mercata," the Mercata logo, "We-Commerce," the We-Commerce Network logo, "PowerBuy," "Share the Power," "Buying Power to the People," the Power Swirl design and "The Power of We" are trademarks of Mercata, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.