Welcome to ThePit.com, the only marketplace that allows you to speculate and/or invest in the top stars & prospects best rookie cards with the option of taking possession or leaving them in your account to trade virtually…just like the stock market. However, instead of shares of companies you're buying and selling Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, LeBron James & Brett Favre.    Read More  |   Sign-up Free

thePit.com Press Releases

December 6, 2001 -- thePit.com and Beckett.com Team Up to Offer Live Daily Price Guide

Beckett.com and thePit.com Team Up to Offer Daily Sports Card Pricing

DALLAS, TX - - (December 6, 2001) - -Beckett.com the leading online destination for sports collectors and the premier publisher of monthly collectibles magazines, has teamed up with thePit.com, the world's first online sports card "stock market," to launch Beckett Daily Trader, a daily electronic graded card price guide. The first issue is available Monday, December 10, 2001.

The revolutionary electronic magazine provides daily trading data and prices from the previous day's activity on thePit.com's sports card exchange. Beckett Daily Trader is the first price guide in which the prices reflect actual values for which the user can buy and sell graded sports cards. Collectors can download and save or print out each daily issue directly from the Beckett.com web site. A month's subscription to Beckett Daily Trader costs $4.99.

"Sports card collectors want the most reliable pricing information in a timely fashion. Beckett is known for providing that and more," said Mark Harwell, President of Beckett.com. "Just as thePit.com exchange is a pioneering concept in our industry, Beckett Daily Trader is truly a pioneering price guide. Now, collectors buying and selling on thePit.com exchange can find valuable, in-depth pricing charts all in one place. And it's updated daily, allowing them to make informed and timely transactions while building their graded card portfolios."

"ThePit.com is extremely excited to join forces with Beckett, the most widely accepted pricing authority in the sports card industry," said thePit.com Founder/CEO Marc Lore. "We believe our live dynamic prices that fluctuate with supply and demand will help make Beckett Daily Trader the most up-to-date and accurate pricing guide for over 1,500 of the most actively traded graded cards in the industry. In addition, we will be adding hundreds of additional Beckett Grading Services graded cards during the week of December 10, which will only enhance the value to our readers."

About thePit.com

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Topps, thePit.com, based in White Plains, NY, is the first-ever online collectibles "stock market" where investors and collectors can buy and sell listed, investment-grade collectibles instantly and reliably pursuant to bid/ask prices set by market forces.

thePit.com's technology, design and content resemble that of an online broker, featuring a real-time ticker, various "Dow Jones" type indices, historical price graphs, breaking industry news, and customized personal portfolios. In short, thePit.com promises to transform the way investors collect and collectors invest.

Launched in October 2000 as a stock market for sports cards, thePit.com features six days of live trading, with the market open Sunday through Friday, from noon to 10:00 p.m. EST.

About Beckett.com

In 22 years of business, Beckett has built a solid reputation as the clear-cut leader in sports card pricing. Founded by Dr. James Beckett, the company operates the leading online destination for sports collectors and is the premier publisher of monthly collectibles magazines.

Beckett.com's online sports collectibles marketplace currently features more than 4.5 million sports collectible items - more than eBay, Yahoo! And Amazon.com combined. Beckett also operates Beckett Grading Services and Beckett Vintage Grading, leading third-party professional sports card grading services.

Whatever a sports collector might need in the way of hobby information, services and related products, Beckett is dedicated to providing. Beckett's mission is to provide these with the highest of integrity in order to facilitate trade in the sports collectibles industry.

May 19, 2001 -- thePit.com To Add 100,000 Sports Cards

New Pit2 Exchange to Include Vintage and BGS issues

White Plains, NY - - (May 18, 2001) - - thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the first-ever online "stock market" for sports trading cards, will increase their current card listings from 600 to over 100,000 on Sunday, May 20, it was announced today.

The additional cards will be listed in a new Pit2 Exchange, still found on www.thepit.com. thePit2 will list virtually every graded card in the sports card market, including vintage issues dating back to 1909 T206 issues and cards graded by Beckett grading services (“BGS").

Unlike thePit1, which will list the 500 most actively traded, modern-day PSA rookie cards, thePit.com will not hold inventory and make markets on thePit2 Exchange. Instead, users can list their own buy and sell prices. The site will automatically list the best customer prices and will instantly match buyers and sellers. Like thePit1, however, users will still deal directly and only with thePit.com, which will continue to execute all trades, shipments, and payments. Additionally, users will still retain the option to leave cards they purchase from thePit2 in their free account.

“We are extremely excited to now list the likes of Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath, and Wilt Chamberlain on thePit.com," said Marc Lore, CEO of thePit.com. “We are launching the new Pit2 in direct response to overwhelming customer requests who wanted more cards listed on the site. We believe thePit.com is the quickest, safest, and most efficient forum to buy and sell graded sports cards and we want every segment of the market to be able to participate."

Launched in October of 2000, thePit.com has attracted close to 25,000 total account holders and over 175,000 unique visitors and 2 million page views per month. The site settled over $1.47 million in sports card transactions in the month of April. Partnered with industry leaders, PSA and Beckett, thePit.com recently obtained a $1.6 million investment commitment from Topps Company, Inc.

About thePit.com

Based in White Plains, NY, thePit.com (www.thePit.com) is the first-ever online collectibles "Stock market" where investors and collectors can buy and sell listed, investment-grade collectibles instantly and reliably pursuant to bid/ask prices set by market forces. thePit.com’s technology, design and content resemble that of an on-line broker, featuring a real-time ticker, various “Dow Jones" type indices, historical price graphs, breaking industry news, and customized personal portfolios. In short, thePit.com promises to transform the way investors collect and collectors invest. Launched in October 2000 as a stock market for sports cards, thePit.com features six days of live trading, with the market open Sunday through Friday, from noon to 10:00 p.m. EST. More information is available at www.thePit.com.

April 23, 2001 -- thePit.com Obtains Commitment From The Topps Company, Inc.

New York Based Online Sports Card Stock Market to Receive $1.6 Million

White Plains, NY (April 17, 2001) - - The Topps Company, Inc.(NASDAQ: TOPP; www.topps.com), a leading manufacturer of collectible sports and entertainment trading cards has agreed to invest $1.6 million in thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the first-ever online "stock market" for sports trading cards.  The agreement, announced today, will be part of thePit.com's Series B Preferred round of financing.

"It is very exciting to have Topps, a sports card industry leader, as both a strategic partner and an investor in our business," said Marc Lore, CEO of thePit.com.  "On the heels of closing our $4 million Series A round of financing, we are looking forward to Topps' participation in this next Series B round, which will allow thePit.com to further grow our core business by adding thousands of new cards to our exchange," Lore added.  "We are excited about the future - together we are confident that thePit.com will truly become THE destination for avid sports card investors and collectors."

Warren Friss, Co-Director of Topps Internet Group said "We are pleased with the prospect of becoming an early investor in thepit.com.  We believe they have excellent potential for growth.  In addition, this fits nicely with our strategy of using the web to promote our products."

The Topps investment is contingent upon thePit.com raising additional capital in its Series B round.  In exchange for the investment, thePit.com will also provide exclusive promotional and other consideration to Topps.  In addition, a "Topps Emerging Card Index" will be added to thePit.com's website and will feature the cards of the most promising future stars from the four major sports.

About thePit.com

Based in White Plains, NY, thePit.com (www.thePit.com) is the first-ever online collectibles "stock market" where investors and collectors can buy and sell listed, investment-grade collectibles instantly and reliably pursuant to bid/ask prices set by market forces.  thePit.com's technology, design and content resemble that of an on-line broker, featuring a real-time ticker, various "Dow Jones" type indices, historical price graphs, breaking industry news, and customized personal portfolios.  In short, thePit.com promised to transform the way investors collect and collectors invest.  Launched in October 2000 as a stock market for sports cards, thePit.com features six days of live trading, with the market opening at noon and closing at 8:00 p.m.  EST.  More information is available at www.thePit.com.

About Topps

Topps is an international marketer of entertainment products, principally collectible trading cards, candy and sticker/album collections.  Topps plans to launch it's own on-line initiative, "etopps", a trading card available only on the internet during the second half of the 2001 baseball season.  For more information, visit www.topps.com.

The Topps Company was founded in 1938 as Topps Chewing Gum, and in its early years produced a popular penny "Topps Gum" from a factory in Brooklyn, N.Y.  After World War II, the company developed Bazooka Bubble Gum, and in 1951 added trading cards to its product line.  Baseball cards appeared in 1951 and quickly became a vital part of pop culture, a tradition that continues to this day, and includes football (both American and European) and basketball, in addition to entertainment cards, stickers and albums, and specialty publications.  Topps maintains offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Brazil, and Argentina, in addition to the U.S.

Topps also manufactures the popular lollipop brands Baby Bottle Pop, Ring Pop and , Push Pop and other novelty candy and gum products.  Now headquartered in New York City, the company has worldwide distribution, annual revenues in FY2001 of $439,000,000, and employs over 420 people worldwide.

March 28, 2001 -- thePit.com Closes Series A Preferred Round of Financing

New York Based Online Sports Card Stock Market Raises $4 Million

White Plains, N.Y.  March 28, 2001 thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the first-ever sports card stock market, announced today that it has recently closed its Series A Preferred round of financing.  The Company raised approximately $4 million from a number of prominent angel investors, including Marty Zweig, author of Winning on Wall Street, Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Lab and author of Being Digital, Robert Fiondella, CEO/Chairman of Fortune 500 company, Phoenix Home Life Insurance Co., and Garnett Keith, former Chief Investment Officer and Vice Chairman of The Prudential Insurance Company of America.

The latest round of financing follows on the heels of the announcement of the appointment of Robert G. Wilson as vice chairman of the board and Executive Vice President for Finance at thePit.com.  Wilson, a former partner at Goldman Sachs and Co. and the former chairman and CEO of LendingTree.com, will be responsible for advising thePit.com on its next round of funding.  In its first five months of operations as a market maker for sports cards, the Company has over 17,000 account holders.  In the most recent month of March, the Company has projected to generate more than 7,000 transactions with a value of over $1.25 million.

"In today's problematic Internet market, we are pleased that we were able to close this latest round of funding and secure the backing of some of the nation's most distinguished entrepreneurs," said Marc Lore, CEO of thePit.com.  "With the recent addition of industry veteran Bob Wilson to our staff, we hope to build on our recent success and entrench thePit.com as one of the country's leading and most exciting Internet sites for trading collectibles."

Through this latest round of funding, thePit.com was able to build a sophisticated and fully integrated website replete with advanced market making capabilities, trade settlement procedures, news wire facilities, and customer service operations.

About thePit.com

Based in White Plains, NY, thePit.com (www.thePit.com) is the first-ever online collectibles "stock market" where investors and collectors can buy and sell listed, investment-grade collectibles instantly and reliably pursuant to bid/ask prices set by market forces.  thePit.com's technology, design and content resemble that of an on-line broker, featuring a real-time ticker, various "Dow Jones" type indices, historical price graphs, breaking industry news, and customized personal portfolios.  In short, thePit.com promises to transform the way investors collect and collectors invest.  Launched in October 2000 as a stock market for sports cards, thePit.com features six days of live trading, with the market opening at noon and closing at 10:00 p.m.  EST.  More information is available at www.thePit.com.

March 8, 2001 -- thePit.com Attracts Top Senior Management

An Industry-Leading Entrepenuer, Robert G. Wilson, Named Vice Chairman Of The Board And Executive Vice President

WHITE PLAINS, NY -- March 8, 2001 -- thePit.com, the first-ever online stock market dealing in collectibles, today announced the appointment of Robert G. Wilson, as vice chairman of the board and Executive Vice President for Finance.  Wilson, a former partner at Goldman Sachs and Co., is the former chairman and CEO of LendingTree.com, and a founder and former Chairman of Quoteship.com.  At thePit.com, Wilson will direct the company's short and long-term financial affairs and advise on business matters.

"Bob helped build two leading Internet companies from scratch.  One is already public and the other is growing rapidly.  His business sense and knowledge of the Internet sector will be of immense help to us," said Marc Lore, thePit.com founder and CEO.  "He has an extremely impressive background and reputation and we're very excited that Bob will be joining thePit.com team."

"thePit.com is an innovative and exciting company with tremendous potential.  Its unique business model gives the company a distinct first-mover advantage in the collectibles marketplace.  I'm looking forward to working with them and helping them achieve success," commented Mr. Wilson.

Wilson was formerly the chairman and CEO of LendingTree.com, as well as a founder and former Chairman of QuoteShip.com (recently sold to Logistics.com) and remains a consultant to both companies.  Currently, he also is a director of the Phoenix Life Insurance Company, and MetalSmart.com.  He spent most of his career with Goldman Sachs & Co.  as a general partner for 17 years, president of Goldman Sachs International for 3 years and a limited partner for 9 years.  He received his bachelor's degree from Haverford College and his M.B.A.  from Columbia University Business School in New York City.

About thePit.com

Based in White Plains, NY, thePit.com is the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.  Launched in October 2000, thePit.com features six days of live trading, with the market opening at noon and closing at 10:00 p.m.  Partnered with two industry leaders, Beckett (the premier publisher of monthly collectibles magazines) and Professional Sports Authenticator (a division of the publicly traded Collectors Universe), thePit.com eliminates the increasing fraud, frustration and unreliability of the Internet auctions.  thePit.com is a privately held company backed by such noted investors as Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

January 15, 2001 -- thePit.com Announces Agreement With Yahoo!

Yahoo!  Auctions To Feature thePit.com Sports Card Stock Market and Market Reports Updated Every Twenty Minutes

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.  -- Jan.  15, 2001 --- ThePit.com (http://www.thepit.com), the world's first online sports card stock market, today announced an agreement with Yahoo!  Inc., a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, to feature thePit.com's sports card stock market on Yahoo! Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com).

Under the agreement, thePit.com's market report and trading services, which allow consumers to trade sports cards as they would trade stock—instantly, continuously, with live prices, are integrated into Yahoo!  Auctions' sports cards and memorabilia category, as well as sub-category pages, such as baseball, basketball, football and hockey.  ThePit.com's market report provides updates every 20 minutes to sports card bidders and sellers, highlighting four cards that have gained or lost that day.

"This agreement with Yahoo!  Auctions gives us an excellent opportunity to increase our reach and introduce ourselves to a broader audience," said Marc Lore, founder and chief executive officer, thePit.com.  "Yahoo!  Auctions consumers can now benefit from the unique opportunity we provide to invest in professional athletes through sports trading cards."

"We are pleased to be working with thePit.com to offer Yahoo!  Auctions consumers access to sports card market reports," said Rich Godwin, senior brand manager, Yahoo!  Auctions.  "This agreement supports Yahoo!  Auctions' strategy of providing not only quality auctions listings, but offering consumers a wide selection of products and sellers."

As a leading globally-branded online auction service, Yahoo!  Auctions in 16 countries and 11 languages, giving consumers access to the unique and antique through its ever-expanding world of collectibles.  Launched in September of 1998, Yahoo!  Auctions offers more than three million items to choose from in categories including coins, autos and sports memorabilia, as well as extraordinary items found through unique charity, featured and merchant auctions.  With the support of Yahoo!'s global community of users and comprehensive tools, Yahoo!  Auctions' consumers can bid and sell with confidence as part of Yahoo!'s audience of 166 million consumers worldwide.

About thePit.com

ThePit.com, launched Oct.  10, 2000 and based in White Plains, N.Y., is one of the world's first and only online sports card stock markets, as well as one of the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical assets -- sports trading cards.  Users can buy and sell the industry's hottest sports trading cards exactly like stocks -- instantaneously and reliably -- and at fluctuating prices set by market forces.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

In just three months since its launch, thePit.com has reached an agreement with Yahoo!  Inc.  to provide content to Yahoo!  Auctions, partnered with two industry leaders, Beckett.com and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a division of the publicly traded Collectors Universe, added a sixth day of live trading, and has increased its catalog of cards close to fivefold with the addition of thePit2 supplementary market.

thePit.com is a privately held company backed by such noted investors as Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

December 14, 2000 -- thePit.com to Launch thePit2

Supplementary Market to List 400 Additional Cards

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.  (December 14, 2000) --- thePit.com, the world's first online sports card stock market, will dramatically increase the number of cards available for trading tomorrow (December 15) with the debut of its new supplementary exchange -- thePit2.

When thePit.com's opening bell rings this Friday at 12 noon ET, visitors will be able to trade an additional 400 cards, a fivefold increase over the number of cards currently available on the site.

thePit2 will operate very similarly to the site's main stock market, thePitExchange, with users always able to buy or sell all listed sports cards instantly and continuously.  thePitExchange will continue to feature the single most actively traded sports card of a particular athlete, while thePit2 will list multiple cards and/or grades of each player.

thePit2 is devised in direct response to customer suggestions and surveys to expand the scope of thePit.com's card offerings.

"The addition of thePit2 brings us one step further to our ultimate goal of creating a one-stop market for all sports cards," said thePit.com CEO/Founder Marc Lore.  "We think investors, collectors, dealers and sports fans alike will be excited by these additional offerings."

About thePit.com

thePit.com, launched October 10, 2000 and based in White Plains, N.Y., is the world's first and only online sports card stock market, as well as the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical assets -- sports trading cards.  Users can buy and sell the industry's hottest sports trading cards exactly like stocks -- instantaneously, reliably and profitably -- and at fluctuating prices set by market forces.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

In just two months since its launch, thePit.com has partnered with two industry leaders, Beckett.com and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a division of the publicly traded Collectors Universe, added a sixth day of live trading, and has now increased its catalog of cards close to fivefold with the addition of thePit2.

thePit.com is a privately held company backed by such noted investors as Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

December 7, 2000 -- Jamison Breaks thePit.com IntraDay Market Record

His Rookie Trading Card Surges A Whopping 93 Percent In One Day

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.  (December 7, 2000) --- The rookie trading card of Golden State Warriors forward Antawn Jamison has established a market record for intraday movement today on thePit.com, the world's first and only real online sports stock market.

Jamison's card, a 1998-99 SP Authentic, began trading today at $89.  By midday, he surged 93.3 percent to $172.  This advance comes on the heels of his 51-point effort in last night's 125-122 OT win over the Lakers, his second straight 51-point output.

Jamison joined thePit.com Exchange November 22 at $78, and the value of his card has now more than doubled (120 percent) to its current $172 level.

"There's certainly a lot of room for growth on his card," said Rob Veres of Burbank (Calif.) Sportscards, a 20-year industry expert.  "It helps that he turned in such a performance against the Lakers.  But the fact of the matter is there are not a lot of those cards on the marketplace, they're just not out there.  There is definitely opportunity for further growth."

About thePit.com

thePit.com, launched October 10, 2000 and based in White Plains, N.Y., is the world's first real online sports stock market, as well as the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.  Users can buy and sell the industry's hottest sports trading cards EXACTLY like stocks -- INSTANTANEOUSLY, RELIABLY & PROFITABLY -- and at fluctuating prices set by market forces.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

thePit.com is a privately-held company backed by such noted investors as Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

November 20, 2000 -- thePit.com to Add Five WNBA Stars to Exchange

The First Female Athletes To Join The World's First Real Online Sports Stock Market

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (November 20, 2000) --- thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the world's first real online sports stock market, will add the first female sports trading cards to its Exchange this Sunday, Nov. 26 with the addition of five WNBA standouts:

• Cynthia Cooper -- Houston Comets
• Chamique Holdsclaw -- Washington Mystics
• Lisa Leslie -- Los Angeles Sparks
• Sheryl Swoopes -- Houston Comets
• Natalie Williams -- Utah Starzz

The quintet joins 83 male athletes from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and golf (Tiger Woods) on thePit.com Exchange, where users can invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.

"Like all the other cards on our Exchange, there's a great deal of value and interest in these WNBA cards," said Marc Lore, Founder/CEO of thePit.com.

About thePit.com

thePit.com, based in White Plains, N.Y., is the world's first real online sports stock market, as well as the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

Launched October 10, 2000, thePit.com recently added a sixth day of live trading, and has partnered with two industry leaders, Beckett.com and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a division of the publicly traded Collectors Universe.

Eliminating the increasing fraud, frustration and unreliability of the Internet auction, thePit.com creates a dependable marketplace with the same features as the popular online stock market trading sites -- immediate execution, live fluctuating prices, sports brokerage accounts, indices and news updated throughout the day.  thePit.com is backed by investors Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

November 2, 2000 -- thePit.com and Beckett.com Announce Partnership

The World's First Real Online Sports Stock Market Joins Forces With Sports Collectibles Leader

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (November 2, 2000) --- thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the world's first real online sports stock market launched October 10, has announced a partnership with Beckett.com (www.beckett.com), the leading online destination for sports collectible enthusiasts and the premier publisher of monthly collectibles magazines.

Highlights of the two year deal include Beckett.com's agreement to display thePit.com's scrolling electronic price ticker on the bottom of its home web page (www.beckett.com), along with advertising considerations in Beckett.com monthly publications.  Also, both thePit.com and Beckett.com will maintain a page about the other company on their respective web sites, with persistent direct links on the left navigation bar to be visible on every page of each site.

"Beckett.com has long been the rock of the sports collectibles industry, and I've always admired the integrity of their operation," said Marc Lore, Founder/CEO of thePit.com.  "This partnership exposes us to the core of the market, and we couldn't be more excited to partner with Beckett.com in reaching this audience."

"We are very appreciative of the opportunity to establish this co-branding relationship," said Mark Harwell, President of Beckett.com.  "thePit.com enters our industry with an innovative concept and some of the finest minds in commodities trading and sports collectibles involved.  They are positioned to do new and exciting things for the hobby.  And we are in favor of anything that benefits the sports collectibles hobby."

About thePit.com

thePit.com, launched October 10, 2000 and based in White Plains, N.Y., is the world's first real online sports stock market, as well as the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

Eliminating the increasing fraud, frustration and unreliability of the Internet auction, thePit.com creates a dependable marketplace with the same features as the popular online stock market trading sites -- immediate execution, live fluctuating prices, sports brokerage accounts, indices and news updated throughout the day.  thePit.com is backed by such investors as Marty Zweig, Nicholas Negroponte, Robert Fiondella, Garnett Keith, Jeff Parker, Thomas Grant and Bill Sahlman, among others.

About Beckett.com

Founded in 1984 by Dr. James Beckett and based in Dallas, Beckett.com operates the leading online destination for sports collectible enthusiasts and is the premier publisher of monthly collectibles magazines.  Its seven monthly magazines boast an effective readership of 1.63 million per month. The Beckett.com website (www.beckett.com) includes over 700,000 registered members and attracts monthly averages of nine million page views and 550,000 unique visitors.  Its online Marketplace currently includes more than two million items -- more than eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon.com combined. Beckett.com also operates Beckett Grading Services, a third-party professional sports card grading service.

October 17, 2000 -- thePit.com Partners With Collectors Universe/PSA

The World's First Real Online Sports Stock Market Joins Forces With Collectibles Leader

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (October 17, 2000) --- thePit.com (www.thePit.com), the world's first real online sports stock market launched October 10, has announced a partnership with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), the largest division of the publicly traded Collectors Universe, Inc. (www.collectors.com; NASDAQ: CLCT).

Highlights of the 18 month deal include PSA's agreement to display thePit.com's scrolling electronic price ticker on the bottom of its home web page (www.psacard.com), and also to promote thePit.com via every shipment of its graded cards and at every show where it exhibits.  In exchange, thePit.com has agreed that it will make a market only in sports cards authenticated and graded by PSA, and that it will also host a page on its site, providing thePit.com clients with the means to submit their cards to PSA for grading and authentication.

"This partnership gives thePit.com enormous credibility and market reach in the early stages of our launch," said thePit.com Founder/CEO Marc Lore.  "Collectors Universe is the world's leading grading service of collectibles, and we're the world's first online stock market for collectibles.  It's a great fit, and we look for this to be a long lasting relationship."

"I'm very intrigued by thePit.com trading model," said David Hall, Chairman & CEO of Collectors Universe.  "They definitely have a chance to take the sports card market to a new level.  We're flattered they have chosen our company to be one of their launch partners.  And personally, I'm looking forward to opening an account and trading myself."

About Collectors Universe/PSA

Collectors Universe, founded in 1986 and located in Newport Beach, Calif., is the world's leading provider of grading and authentication services to the collectibles markets and one of the world's leading multi-market, multi-venue (Internet, telephone, and live) collectibles commerce providers.  It markets its online services through its award-winning website -- www.collectors.com (which currently attracts over seven million page views and 543,000 unique visitors monthly) -- and has co-branded sites with eBay, Yahoo! and other online collectors communities.

PSA is the world's largest sports card grading and authentication service, currently accepting over 300,000 trading cards per month for grading (compared with just 10,000 per month two years ago).  PSA is the most widely accepted grading standard in the sports card market, and also maintains co-branded grading and authentication sites with eBay, Yahoo! and other online commerce and content sites.  The first card ever graded by PSA was the famous T206 Honus Wagner card which recently sold for $1.1 million.

PSA's website, www.psacard.com, is the most frequently visited section of the Collectors Universe, Inc. web site with monthly averages of 400,000 page views and 140,000 unique users.

Collectors Universe also deals in the grading and authentication of stamps, coins and rare records -- the types of high-end collectibles thePit.com plans to eventually list on its exchange.  The company also authenticates sports memorabilia, including Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, Hank Aaron's 715th home run ball and bat, and the floor of Michael Jordan's last-ever shot.  To date, Collectors Universe has graded and authenticated 8.5 million coins, sports cards, stamps and autographs with a total declared value of over $9 billion dollars.

About thePit.com

thePit.com, launched October 10, 2000, and based in White Plains, N.Y., is the world's first real online sports stock market, as well as the first-ever stock market dealing in high-end collectibles.

Phase 1 of thePit.com allows users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.  Future phases call for thePit.com to expand into other high-end collectibles, such as coins, stamps and rare wines.

thePit.com creates a dependable marketplace with the same features as the popular online stock market trading sites, while eliminating the increasing fraud, frustration and unreliability of the Internet auction.  Seasoned Wall Street traders, armed with inventory, always list both a buy and sell price for every card on thePit.com.  This guarantees users the ability to trade the industry's hottest and most valuable sports trading cards exactly like stocks -- instantaneously, reliably and profitably -- and at fluctuating prices set by market forces through a single, trusted medium.

August 22, 2000 -- thePit.com To Launch in October

The World's First Live Online Sports Stock Market

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (August 23, 2000) --- Beginning October 2000, thePit.com (www.thepit.com) will merge two of America's favorite passions -- sports and stocks -- and launch the world's first live online "sports stock market."  Not a fantasy league, thePit.com will permit users to invest in professional athletes through actual physical commodities -- sports trading cards.

The card industry has evolved from an adolescent hobby of the 1950's into a largely commoditized, active, multi-billion dollar market.  thePit.com will make a market in which card prices fluctuate according to a player's performance on the field, and sports knowledge is the key to making money.

Sports cards are the most actively traded collectible on Internet auctions.  The recent emergence of third party card grading services has created the perfect commodity.  thePit.com's business model states that all commodities, whether securities, bonds, or sports trading cards, should trade in what is universally recognized as the most efficient forum of exchange -- the stock market.

Members of thePit.com will be able to buy and sell the industry's hottest sports trading cards exactly like stocks -- instantaneously, reliably and profitably -- and at fluctuating prices set by market forces through a single, trusted medium.  Eventually, other "investment type" collectibles will be available on thePit.com.

"thePit.com is where eBay meets E*Trade," says Founder/CEO Marc Lore, referring to thePit.com's innovative business model.  thePit.com capitalizes on the intersection of two established Internet phenomena -- the meteoric rise of online auctions and the explosion of online discount brokers.  "It will transform the way investors collect and collectors invest," adds Lore.  Most recently the Executive Vice President and Head of the Risk Management Division with Sanwa International Bank, Lore founded thePit.com with childhood friends Vinit Bharara and Lakshman Chandra.

By creating a dependable marketplace with the same features as the online stock market trading sites, thePit.com will eliminate the increasing fraud, frustration and unreliability of the Internet auction.

Key features of thePit.com:

• Liquidity and Immediacy -- thePit.com is a national, professional "market maker" -- not an order matching system.  Seasoned Wall Street traders, armed with inventory, will always list both a buy and sell price for every card on thePit.com.  This guarantees users the ability to trade immediately and continuously, just like the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, or any other stock market.

• Guaranteed Reliability --Every trade is executed solely and directly with thePit.com.  This eliminates the distrust and fraud prevalent with online auctions.

• Accurate Pricing Guide --A properly functioning stock market like thePit.com will always reveal the true market price.  If prices are too low, more users will buy.  If prices are too high, more users will sell.

• Live Pricing Guide --Like the stock market, thePit.com pricing guide could literally fluctuate minute-by-minute.  An athlete's on-the-field performance, among other factors, will affect prices.

• Broker-Type Account Setup --Those trading primarily to invest need not take delivery on their cards.  Members can leave cards in a personal account, free of charge, in order to instantly liquidate.

• Daily Sports Content --thePit.com will feature daily sports content -- live scoreboards, news, statistics and exclusive analysis.  This enables members to track on-field performances when making investment decisions.

• Other Stock Market Features --In addition to the live, minute-by-minute price guide, thePit.com will feature a real-time ticker, various "Dow Jones" type indices, historical price graphs, and more.

Nicholas Negroponte, director of the acclaimed MIT Media Laboratory and author of the best-seller "Being Digital," states "I'm extremely impressed with the business model and plan, both thoroughly researched and understood in terms of managing risk."  The new technology maven adds "thePit.com raises the fundamentally new concept of making markets versus brokering families of common objects.  thePit.com seems utterly unique."  Negroponte is an advisor to thePit.com, as well as an investor.

The Founders

CEO Marc Lore is considered one of the world's foremost financial risk executives.  He previously was the youngest Executive Vice President in the history of Sanwa International Bank, and is founder of the renowned Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), which now numbers more than 14,000 members worldwide.

Vinit Bharara, a Columbia Law School graduate and former Wall Street attorney, serves as Executive Vice President, Business Development & General Counsel, while Lakshman Chandra, formerly Marc's Business Manager at Sanwa International Bank, serves as Executive Vice President, Business Operations.

Powerful Partners

thePit.com boasts an impressive list of advisors and investors.  Marty Zweig, a renowned investment guru and author of the best-seller "Winning on Wall Street," has a personal investment in thePit.com.  Negroponte also has a personal stake in thePit.com, and is one of four principal partners in Protos LLP, an investment fund with interest in thePit.com. 

The other partners in Protos LLP are Jeff Parker, creator of First Call and current CEO of CCBN, Thomas Grant, on the Board of Directors of several corporations, including Wine.com, eCash Technologies, and Headbone Interactive, and Bill Sahlman, distinguished Harvard Business School professor.

Additional investors and active advisors:  Robert Fiondella, Chairman and CEO of Phoenix Home Life Insurance Company (a Fortune 500 company) and one of Connecticut's most well respected and influential leaders, and Garnett Keith, a former worldwide Chief Investment Officer and Vice Chairman of The Prudential Insurance Company of America and currently Chairman and CEO of Seabridge Investment Advisors.

Jerry Goldstein is thePit.com's Non-Executive Board Director.  His 32 years of investment banking experience includes serving as Managing Director and Board Member of both Sanwa International Bank and Kidder, Peabody International Limited, Executive Director and Board Member of Citicorp Investment Bank, and Chairman of the Council of Reporting Dealers, a self-regulatory association of the 113 market makers in international securities.

the photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.