SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Overstock.com(R) (Nasdaq: OSTK) today announced the five year anniversary of Worldstock(TM) (worldstock.com), its social entrepreneurship program designed to reduce global poverty. In celebration, chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne issued the following letter to thank Worldstock customers and share how their support has impacted impoverished craftspeople around the world.
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Dear Worldstock customers,
    We are marking our five year anniversary working together to reduce global poverty, which, per The World Bank, affects more than one billion people who live off less than $1 a day.
    When we originally conceived of Worldstock, we hoped that you would be as enthusiastic as we were to create a social entrepreneurship program designed to help the world's poor sustain a better living. Because of the overwhelmingly positive response from artisans worldwide to participate in the program, their tremendous work ethic and dedication to their craft, and your conscious desire to shop and make a difference, we are making progress. Please allow me to share the impact of your support from Worldstock's inception September 24, 2001 through September 24, 2006:
    -- You have purchased $37.4 million* of Worldstock products from us, for which we paid $23.9 million to our suppliers.
    -- Of the $23.9 million that we have paid out to Worldstock suppliers, we strived mightily to deal as directly with artisans as possible, so that the highest proportion of that $23.9 million got into the artisans' pockets as we can achieve.  This is an area which we are constantly evaluating and seeking to improve.
    -- You're helping an estimated 5,300 artisans and 10,400 of their dependents in 33 countries sustain a living.
    -- You're helping support more than 200 artisans in Colombia alone, where for example, women dislocated by guerilla warfare are earning a living by selling you their hand-woven hammocks.
    -- You're helping improve the artisans' average living wage, which enables them to afford everyday necessities, like food, housing, medical care and education for their children.  As one artisan wrote us, for many, Worldstock is "the difference between having something to eat and not having something to eat."
    -- Worldstock was (for a time) the largest private employment provider for women in Afghanistan, per the country's Ministry of Commerce.
    * Within the context of these results, I would like to remind you that we intentionally price Worldstock's products affordably, so that the business can grow and spread to as many underprivileged people as possible. The pricing model barely covers costs to ensure a maximum financial return to every artisan.
    In the past five years, such future investment has included focusing Worldstock's efforts in specific regions, such as Afghanistan and the Navajo Nation, where resources were needed to promote self-sufficiency. Investments have also included generous donations by private donors on behalf of Worldstock to help fund schools for thousands of impoverished
children whose livelihoods have been further challenged by AIDS, warfare or natural disasters, like the Indonesian tsunami. Coincidentally, since 2001, some of the most popular Worldstock products you've purchased are from developing countries facing some of the greatest economic, political and social challenges in the world: Bosnia, Colombia, Ethiopia and Ghana.
    While we celebrate these achievements for Worldstock today and look forward to the next five years, I welcome your thoughts and opinions on how we can continue to improve the program. For example, I realize that we can do a better job connecting you to the artisans and the inspiring stories behind their work. Thus, in the coming months, look for artisan videos, photos and podcasts on our Web site to show you how their lives are
affected by your support. Until then, we're adding new products daily, including beautiful new, handcrafted furniture from Afghanistan, Colombia, Ghana and Morocco, Ethiopian hand-loomed organic cotton spa robes, Malawi artwork, and Native American jewelry and rugs.
    Once again, thank you for helping me make this program possible. Your conscious efforts are making a world of difference.
    Your humble servant,
    Patrick M. Byrne
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    About Worldstock.com
    Patrick Byrne, chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, founded Worldstock in fall 2001 to alleviate global poverty. Unlike traditional charities or relief organizations, Worldstock does not provide handouts. Worldstock contracts with skilled craftspeople in developing countries and helps them establish long-term businesses for selling their products through the
Worldstock tab at http://www.overstock.com.
    Overstock.com is a registered trademark, and Worldstock is a trademark, of Overstock.com, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the company's vision for Worldstock, customers' support for and artisans' participation in the program, types of products to be added, and such other risks as identified in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and all our
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain and identify important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Overstock.com, Inc.

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