Yahoo! Launches Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program

Leading Enabler of Web Commerce Introduces Program to Protect Purchases Made on Yahoo! Auctions and Yahoo! Shopping

Yahoo! Shopping Unveils New Merchant Rating System

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Oct. 16, 2000 -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading enabler of commerce transactions on the Web, today launched the Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program, an initiative that protects purchases made on Yahoo!® Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com), the fastest growing, globally-branded free auction site on the Internet, and Yahoo! Shopping (http://shopping.yahoo.com), the No. 1 online portal shopping destination (Nielsen//NetRatings, Aug. 2000). The Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program was developed in an on-going effort to give consumers increased trust and confidence when making online purchases. The program is backed by insurance obtained from Lloyd's of London, one of the industry's premier insurance carriers.

Yahoo! also announced a consumer-ranked merchant rating system for Yahoo! Shopping, which gives Yahoo! shoppers the ability to easily find retailers with great customer service. This is the largest merchant ratings program on the Internet as it provides ratings for each of Yahoo! Shopping's thousands of merchants.
"As a leading enabler of commerce on the Web, it is Yahoo!'s goal to provide consumers with a trusted place to shop on the Internet. Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program is yet another layer of protection we are offering consumers shopping within the Yahoo! network," said Tim Brady, senior vice president, Network Services, Yahoo! Inc. "This program and the new merchant rating system help ensure consumers' confidence in transacting online and reinforce trust in the Yahoo! brand."

Over the past year, Yahoo!'s commerce services have grown significantly, with Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions transactions increasing 300 percent and 400 percent respectively since September 1999. During the first nine months of 2000, Yahoo! directly enabled more than $3 billion in online transactions on its commerce platform.

Greater Protection on Yahoo! Auctions
While the majority of transactions on Yahoo! Auctions are trouble-free, the Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program includes all auctions that commence after the program launch and whose closing price is above $25 and below $10,000. Consumers will receive either standard protection, which protects winning bidders for up to $250 with a $25 deduction, or premium protection, which protects winning bidders for up to $3,000 with a $25 deduction. Bidders qualify for premium protection if the bidder and seller use Yahoo! PayDirect (http://paydirect.yahoo.com), Yahoo!'s person-to-person payment system, to pay for the entire transaction.

The program protects all bidders on an item received from a closed auction that was between $25 and $10,000 and is either paid for and not received or materially different than what is described by the seller. The program will not provide protection on items that violate Yahoo!'s Terms of Service, and if either the bidder or the seller has a negative rating, the bidder will not be eligible for protection under the program.

The launch of the Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program follows a number of enhancements to Yahoo! Auctions services. In September, Yahoo! Auctions reached three million simultaneous daily auctions worldwide and added mandatory credit card verification for all Yahoo! Auctions bidders. Yahoo! Auctions continues to develop opportunities to reward its sellers for great customer service and strong sell-through, including growing its Featured Seller Program, which provides prominent placement and branding for sellers who have a strong user rating and supply quality merchandise and a consistent inventory.

Increase Your Shopping Confidence
Through the Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program, every Yahoo! shopper is protected free of charge for the full value of any item purchased from Yahoo! Shopping merchants, up to $750. Protection up to $1,000 is available to consumers using their Yahoo! Wallet (http://wallet.yahoo.com), a service that allows consumers to store their billing and shipping information for use at more than 12,000 online retailers.

The full terms and conditions of the Yahoo! Buyer Protection Program are outlined under shopping resources on the front page of Yahoo! Shopping or directly at http://shopping.yahoo.com/static/buyerprotect.html. The program provides an added layer of protection for shoppers who qualify, giving them greater confidence while shopping online.

Yahoo! Shopping also unveiled its new customer satisfaction merchant rating system, which allows consumers to rate each Yahoo! Shopping merchant based on quality of service. The program offers a simple, five-star rating system so consumers can judge which Yahoo! Shopping merchants offer great customer service. Retailer with ratings below two stars will be placed in one of Yahoo!'s merchant improvement plans, which will help them identify and resolve customer service issues. If merchants fail to improve their rating, their store may be removed from Yahoo! Shopping.

A Comprehensive Commerce Platform
Yahoo! Shopping, recently ranked the No. 1 portal shopping site on the Web by Nielsen//NetRatings, and Yahoo! Auctions, the fastest growing, globally-branded free auction site on the Internet, are part of Yahoo!'s comprehensive suite of commerce services, which also includes Yahoo! Store, Yahoo! Classifieds and Yahoo! Travel. Yahoo! Shopping is the only place consumers need to go to find, compare and buy almost anything online. Consumers can shop for items from thousands of merchants in 20 retail categories. Yahoo! Shopping also has convenient features, such as Yahoo! Wallet and Express Checkout, that make online shopping fast and easy. Yahoo! Auctions operates in 16 countries and 11 languages, giving consumers access to the unique and antique through its ever-expanding world of collectables. Launched in September of 1998, Yahoo! Auctions offers more than three million items in categories that include coins, autos and sports memorabilia, as well as extraordinary items found through unique charity, featured and merchant auctions.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a global Internet communications, commerce and media company
that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 166 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach, and is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet. The company also provides online business services designed to enhance the Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients, including audio and video streaming, store hosting and management, and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 24 World properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada and the United States, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.