uBid CEO Robert H. Tomlinson, Jr., will not be renewing his employment agreement that terminates on December 29, 2007, he told the Board of Directors on March 26, 2007. Tomlinson will remain in his current position until a new CEO for the online auction site has been selected, at which time he will serve uBid in an advisory role during the transition through December 31, 2007. He plans to move from Chicago back to New Jersey where his family still resides and from where he had been commuting for the past 5 years.

In February, uBid.com Holdings Inc. had elected Steven Sjoblad as an additional director and elected him to serve as Chairman of the Board. Sjoblad said, "On behalf of uBid's employees, customers and shareholders, I want to thank Bob for his many contributions to the organization. We regret that Bob has decided to leave uBid but certainly understand his desire to spend more time with his family. Bob's leadership, energy and relentless focus on improving the company's operations have helped us execute on our commitments, enabling us to achieve increased customer satisfaction and improved financial performance." He told AuctionBytes the Board was not under the gun to find a replacement, saying "We can be orderly about it."

uBid also had some turnover in the Board earlier in the month. Stuart Romenesko and Paul Traub resigned from the Board on March 7, and after accepting these resignations, the remaining members of the Board of Directors elected Mary Jeffries, President & COO of Petters Group Worldwide, LLC and David Baer, Chief Legal Officer of Petters Group Worldwide to fill the vacant seats. Petters Group Worldwide is uBid.com Holdings Inc's largest stockholder. Sjoblad said the two directors had represented Petters' interests, and since one was leaving Petters, "it was a good time to readjust the Board."

Mary Jeffries will lead a succession committee of the Board and plans to be actively involved in the search for a new Chief Executive Officer of uBid. The company plans to continue with its previously announced strategic initiatives for fiscal year 2007.

According to the press release, "Mr. Tomlinson's decision to not renew his contract is not related to a disagreement with the Board and there is no matter relating to his pending resignation that will need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the company."

In related news, uBid announced on Tuesday that it has approved its 2,500th seller into the uBid Certified Merchant program.

uBid.com President Timothy Takesue said, "This is an important milestone for uBid as we continue to enable only approved Merchants to sell on the uBid.com platform. We continue to search for the best possible product offerings and sellers across the more than 200 product categories that we serve. In our pursuit to provide trust and security for both buyers and sellers alike, we only certify approximately 33% of all applicants that apply to sell on uBid. Although the screening process may not allow the uBid marketplace to grow as fast as open online marketplaces, the result is a marketplace that all participants can trust. It is our belief that if continued to be managed properly, over time uBid.com could be one of the Internet's most diverse and thriving marketplaces leading to further opportunities for the Company."

Chairman of the Board Sjoblad said he sees many opportunities with uBid's business model, including expanding the Certified Merchant program and expanding categories. "We feel very bullish" going forward.

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