WorthPoint Corporation Announces Plans to Acquire GoAntiques, Inc
Released on: August 21, 2008, 11:01 am
Press Release Author: Steve Johnson
Industry: Internet & Online
Press Release Summary: Newest kid on the block in the online antiques and collectibles industry, Worthpoint to acquire one of the pioneers of the industry, GoAntiques
Press Release Body: ATLANTA, August 20, 2008 -- Atlanta-based WorthPoint (www.worthpoint.com), a Web 2.0-based data and media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles, announced Wednesday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Dublin, Ohio-based GoAntiques (www.goantiques.com), an online network for buying and selling antiques and collectibles.
With 100 million avid collectors around the world and the global collectibles market estimated at $150 billion a year, combining two of the premier Web sites for art, antiques and collectibles was just common sense for Will Seippel, Founder and CEO of WorthPoint Corporation and Jim Kamnikar, President and CEO of GoAntiques, Inc.
Founded in 2007, WorthPoint has quickly become the largest social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles. More than 50,000 people registered as WorthPoint members in the company's first nine months.
WorthPoint offers a rich multimedia experience that helps collectors understand the worth of their items, and it provides expert advice from its team of Worthologists on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles. Members can also share their knowledge and create online collecting communities.
Founded in 1994, by Kathy Kamnikar, as Antique Networking, GoAntiques is the oldest Web antiques-and-collectibles site. It offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries and the world's largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner®. GoAntiques logs nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month and has more than 350,000 registered members.
"GoAntiques is a perfect fit for WorthPoint," WorthPoint CEO Seippel said. "It is the longest-running and most experienced antiques-and-collectibles site on the Internet and has a great staff. Combined, we will have more than 1 million visitors a month to our Web pages.
\"Our acquisition of GoAntiques will accelerate our growth by introducing the antique-dealer community to WorthPoint," said Seippel. "More importantly, it will introduce thousands of antique dealers to the thousands of homeowners who come to the WorthPoint site daily looking to sell some of their possessions."
GoAntiques\' Kathy Kamnikar said she is thrilled to be part of the WorthPoint team. "Fifteen years ago my dream was to serve the antiques market. With Jim as President we've come a long way and now with WorthPoint we can go even further."
GoAntiques Jim Kamnikar said: "This is a good match. WorthPoint will give us the added resources we need to expand our marketplace and provide additional value to our buyers and sellers. The people looking for assistance with estates and collections, who come to our site, will benefit greatly from having access to WorthPoint\'s rapidly expanding team of experts.\"
"WorthPoint represents the future of collecting worldwide, and we are happy to be part of that exciting future.\"
News Contacts:
Will Seippel, Founder and CEO, WorthPoint Corporation will.seippel@worthpoint.com (404) 931-7916
Jim Kamnikar, President and CEO, GoAntiques, Inc. jim@goantiques.com (614) 923-4250
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