Artfact.com Announces Dramatic New Services and Improvements

January 7 2004--Artfact, the largest and most complete online database of antiques and art market information, is proud to announce a wide array of new services and subscription options, powered by dramatically improved technology.

These improvements have been made possible by a major new investor, ACK Software, LLC. ACK builds complete software systems that allow auction houses to create, manage, and publish stand-alone auction websites without in-house technical expertise. ACK's direct relationship with the auction market and its technical expertise make it the ideal partner to take Artfact to the next level. The quality of the information provided and the ease-of-use of the site are critical improvements over previous versions and competing online resources.

The Artfact database contains virtually everything that is sold by traditional auction houses including antiques, art, jewelry, and many special interest categories like wine and classic automobiles. The completeness of the Artfact database makes it an ideal tool for identifying, researching, and valuing antiques and art. Artfact is the only information service licensed by auction houses to aggregate and publish their unabridged catalogs including photographs, expert research, and the actual sale price of each item. Artfact's search capabilities provide instant and intuitive access to millions of items sold at approximately 25,000 auctions worldwide since 1986.

Access to auction sales information in the antiques and fine art world is increasingly vital to dealers, appraisers, auctioneers, museums, insurance companies and collectors. Artfact provides its database subscription services without any limits on usage, so subscribers can search and utilize the databases as much as they'd like anytime. Artfact now offers access through two different plans: Artfact Professional and Artfact Annual. Both subscription plans are available for as little as one day, and allow unlimited searching -- unparalleled in the world of antiques and art market data.

Subscribers to Artfact Professional have access to all archival databases— millions of antiques and fine art auction records, stretching back almost 20 years, compiled from hundreds of auction houses worldwide. This is the premier service for auction houses, professional appraisers, high volume antiques and art dealers, passionate collectors, museum curators, libraries, and insurance underwriters. Artfact Professional helps subscribers analyze market trends for specific, unusual, and infrequently sold objects over long periods. More historic information is also valuable to establish or confirm the provenance of specific objects.

Recent improvements to this substantial historical database include far greater functionality and enhanced parsing of entries, which enable more accurate searches. Currently 15% of the objects in the historical database include photographs. To meet its goal of providing every original photograph published in all past catalogs, each month Artfact scans more than 500,000 photos from its enormous catalog archives to add to its database. Artfact Professional is available for as little as $29.95 for a one-day subscription with unlimited searches, allowing antiques and art experts unprecedented access to the most extensive auction information.

A breakthrough in affordability and quality, Artfact Annual allows subscribers access to over 250,000 auction records from about 600 auctions over the latest 12 calendar months. Designed for users who are primarily interested in the most current market data, Artfact Annual has the highest digital photo intensity available anywhere— greater than 50 % of all listings are accompanied by a photo. Artfact Annual is available for as little as $7.95 for a one-day subscription with unlimited searches, allowing tremendous access to recent auction information.

Artfact now also provides a complimentary Basic Service that allows anyone to search and view upcoming auction catalogs from close to 100 of the most experienced and reliable auction houses in the United States. Upcoming catalogs are unabridged from the original auction house versions including research and digital photography. Artfact's records are updated daily, with most transmitted directly from participating auction houses. In addition, using ACK's website publishing software, auction houses can make their own online updates to their catalogs, assuring the greatest accuracy and completeness for upcoming auctions.

Artfact was originally started by Stephen Abt in 1989. Today, Artfact's investors include: David K.R. Thomson, Chairman of Thomson Corporation, one of the world's leading information service providers; William G. Holman, a private investor and art historian, who was previously CEO of Baring Securities U.S., and Director of First Call Corporation; and Adam W. Kirsch, a founder of Bain Capital, where he specialized in consumer business investments including Staples, Sports Authority, Wesley-Jessen, Stage Stores, and Duane Reade.

The Artfact team includes: Jonathan L. Fairbanks, Museum of Fine Arts Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Emeritus; William M. Peverill, Vice President of Technology, the first computer engineer and the eleventh employee of Staples, Inc.; Joshua F. Eldred, Vice President of Marketing, a member of the Massachusetts auction family; and Daniel Buck Soules, Vice President of Sales, has appeared on The Antiques Roadshow, and previously an auctioneer and appraiser for more than 20 years.

For more information, visit www.artfact.com or call 617-252-5090.





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