UBid

uBid.com
IndustryOnline auction
Online marketplace
Founded1997; 29 years ago (1997)
FounderGregory Knox Jones
Defunct2022; 4 years ago (2022)
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, USA

uBid.com was a website featuring an online auction and online marketplace for consumer products.

History

In 1997, uBid.com was founded by Gregory Knox Jones as a subsidiary of Creative Computers, Inc., which also operated PC Mall.

In December 1998, during the dot-com bubble, the company became a public company via an initial public offering. After pricing at $15/share, the stock price reached $67 per share on its first day of trading, a market capitalization of over $1.8 billion.

Creative Computers completed the corporate spin-off of the company in May 1999.

In 2000, CMGI acquired uBid for $407 million in stock.

In June 2001, the company reached an agreement to feature its listings on Yahoo! Auctions. In December 2001, the company reached an agreement with Microsoft to feature its listings on MSN.

In November 2002, the company laid off 52 employees. It laid off 86 workers in December 2002.

In 2003, CMGI sold uBid to Takumi Interactive, owned by Tom Petters and Petters Group Worldwide.

In 2006, the company acquired the assets of Bidville.com. It was shut down in 2008.

The company changed its name to Enable Holdings. In 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy.

In October 2018, the company merged with Incumaker and in February 2019, the company changed its name to uBid Holdings, Inc. In December 2020, the company was renamed RDE, Inc. after acquiring Restaurant.com.

The ubid.com website was shut down in 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Creative Computers Scraps Stores in Favor of Internet". Los Angeles Business Journal. February 13, 2000.
  2. ↑ "Shares of uBid More Than Triple In Latest Successful Internet IPO". The Wall Street Journal. December 4, 1998.
  3. ↑ "Investors Bid Up uBid". CBS News. December 3, 1998.
  4. ↑ "2HRS2GO: Strange reaction to Creative's uBid spinoff". CNET. May 19, 1999.
  5. ↑ "CMGI Agrees to Buy uBid In $407 Million Stock Deal". The Wall Street Journal. February 10, 2000.
  6. ↑ "uBid to sell on Yahoo! Auctions". American City Business Journals. June 20, 2001.
  7. ↑ Kane, Margaret (December 4, 2001). "Microsoft picks up new .Net partner". CNET.
  8. ↑ "STATE OF ILLINOIS MONTHLY WARN ACTIVITY LISTING" (PDF). November 2002.
  9. ↑ "CMGI's uBid Internet auction business fires 86". Providence Business News. December 18, 2002.
  10. ↑ Brown, Rodney (March 31, 2003). "CMGI sells uBid to Minnesota company". American City Business Journals.
  11. ↑ "uBid.com Holdings, Inc. Acquires Auction Assets of Bidville, Inc" (Press release). Globe Newswire. July 27, 2006.
  12. ↑ Evans, Katie (June 5, 2008). "uBid.com to shut down consumer-to-consumer auction site Bidville.com". Digital Commerce 360.
  13. ↑ "Form 10-K Annual Report". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  14. ↑ "Owens v. Enable Holdings et al, No. 1:2011cv01703 - Document 55 (N.D. Ill. 2012)" – via Justia.
  15. ↑ "uBid Holdings Changed Name to RDE, Inc. to Better Reflect its Focus" (Press release). December 8, 2020 – via Yahoo Finance.
  16. ↑ Jones, Gregory Knox (September 8, 2025). "The Future of Online Marketplaces: Insights from the Evolution of uBid.com".