Kansas City, MO ? June 30, 2000 -- Payless Cashways, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PCSH), a full-line building materials and finishing products company focusing on the professional builder, remodel and repair contractor, institutional buyer and project-oriented consumer, today announced it has entered an agreement with DIYonline.com, an Internet site designed for the customer interested in designing their own projects. Through the agreement, the companies will provide customers with online purchasing capabilities for home improvement products.

DIYonline.com offers both consumers and contractors state-of-the-art, online home project design software. Using the website, customers can custom design decks, gazebos, underground sprinkler systems, kitchens, baths and more. DIYonline.com provides customers with 3-D drawings of the project; easy to follow, step-by-step instructions, a complete list of materials and local retailers that carry the products.

Now, Payless Cashways will make project completion even easier by providing customers with the ability to order the products they need online. Upon receiving the materials list, customers can order quality material from Payless Cashways for delivery directly to their home or jobsite. The companies plan to begin testing this alliance in several Payless Cashways markets starting in July and will roll the program out to all of Payless Cashways markets after the initial piloting is complete.

Commenting on the agreement, Millard E. Barron, president and CEO of Payless Cashways, Inc. said, "This alliance is the latest step we've taken to increase our e-commerce presence, and we are pleased to be partnering with DIYonline.com. Their convenient, easy-to-use services offer customers online guidance through their entire home improvement project, and as our customers increasingly turn to the Internet for information and purchasing options, we will be there to offer them the services they need."

"Partnering with Payless Cashways Inc. is a natural next step for our company. By leveraging each other's comparative advantages in both the online and point of purchase markets for home improvement services and building materials, both companies are now positioned to better serve customers," added Michael H. Heisler, President and CEO of DIYonline.com. "This alliance reaffirms our standing commitment to establishing our site as the premier online resource offering customers the most complete home improvement project experience from design through the materials fulfillment process."

Payless Cashways, Inc. operates 150 stores in 18 states located in the Midwestern, Southwestern, Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain areas. The stores operate under the names Payless Cashways, Furrow, Lumberjack, Hugh M. Woods, Knox Lumber and Contractor Supply.

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This paragraph is included in this release to comply with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are certain important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements made above. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. Among the factors that could cause different results are: competitor activities, stability of customer demand, weather, stability of the sales force, supplier support, consumer spending and debt levels, interest rates, housing activity, lumber prices, product mix, growth of certain market segments, an excess of retail space devoted to the sale of building materials and the success of the Company's strategy. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's SEC filings, which are available by contacting Payless Cashways or on their web site, payless.cashways.com.