Mediabids.com is a new online auction site where users can buy and sell print advertising. Jedd A. Gould, owner of Voice News newspapers in Connecticut, founded Mediabids after recognizing the need to expand the advertising base of his newspaper into outlying communities.

Using the Mediabids web site, advertisers from across the U.S. will find publications that best suit their advertising strategies and budgets. Publications, in turn, will find new advertising sources and sell ad space that might not be sold otherwise.

Robert Cardosa, vice president/advertising director at The Westerly Sun, was among the first to test Mediabids in a Rhode Island pilot program. “Newspapers' traditional revenue streams are not flowing like they once did. To be successful you must aggressively seek to open up new channels of business,” Cardosa said. “Mediabids fits this need. Considering there is no cost to be a member, the ease of administration, no credit concerns (Mediabids pays the bill), plus retaining control of all ad prices, it is a trouble-free program.”

The site works in two ways. Advertisers can create online auctions placing their advertising dollars on the block, seeking bids from specific publications. Or publications may create their own ad-space auctions for an upcoming issue. Businesses interested in purchasing the ad space will submit dollar bids to purchase the ad space.

http://www.mediabids.com