Oodle Unveils First Stop for Chicago Classifieds; Free Online Service Lets Consumers See All the Listings in Chicagoland

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2005--Oodle today announced the availability of a beta version of its service in Chicago (Chicago.oodle.com). Oodle is a free, online service that accesses all of the classified listings in the Greater Chicago area, making it easier for consumers and businesses to buy, sell and give using local classified ads.

Oodle.com covers the Chicago and surrounding suburbs including Arlington Heights, Aurora, Elgin, Evanston, Gary, Joliet, Naperville, Schaumburg and Waukegan for classified listings of jobs, housing, services, cars and other items.

The beta version of the Oodle service, while not yet complete, finds listings from a variety of sources including the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, suburban papers such as the Pioneer Press and Daily Southtown, and online communities such as Cars.com and eBay.

"Whether you're looking for a car or a guitar, you want to find exactly what you're looking for and not miss out great deals when they pop up," said Craig Donato, co-founder and chief executive officer. "Oodle makes this possible."

Helping Buyers in Chicagoland

Oodle provides a unique combination of features and technologies to help consumers find what they are looking for:

-- See it all. Oodle enables consumers to easily see listings from most sources available in the Greater Chicago area. In addition, Oodle shows listings for local charities, which enables consumers to learn which organizations accept goods, as well as about local volunteering opportunities.

-- Find it fast. Oodle's innovative technology categorizes listings to help users find exactly what they are looking for. For example, users can click on "tickets," "basketball," and then "Bulls" to find tickets to Chicago Bulls' events. Oodle also uses its patent-pending Classifind technology to assess listing quality and detect SPAM or inappropriate listings.

-- Never miss a deal. In the Chicago area, more than 5,000 new listings are posted each day, and hot items move quickly. Oodle Alerts help consumers keep up with this fast-paced market. Consumers simply describe what they want, and Oodle emails them relevant listings as they become available.

"Oodle is definitely a place where I would start a local search, said Robin Goolsbee, mother of two in Chicago. "The powerful search and straightforward navigation made it easy to sort though all kinds of listings - cars, furniture and even pets!"

Giving in Chicago

It can be time consuming and frustrating to identify Chicago-area charitable organizations and learn how to make donations. As a result, many items that could be put to good use by local charities end up sitting in garages or getting dumped in landfills. Similarly, many people wish to volunteer but don't know what types of opportunities are available.

Oodle makes it easy to reach out to local charities. The Oodle Charity Directory offers comprehensive information on local charities. It identifies which types of goods an organization will take and indicates whether the charity will pick up items from a consumer's home. Oodle also lists hundreds of volunteering opportunities at organizations ranging from homeless shelters to environmental groups. Oodle invites local charities and consumers to add organizations to the Oodle Charity Directory by visiting chicago.oodle.com and selecting the "Give Locally" tab.

About Oodle, Inc.

Oodle, Inc. is a consumer Internet company whose mission is to provide online tools that make it easier to buy, sell and give in the Greater Chicago area. For more information, please visit chicago.oodle.com