But Mr. Jones adds that even people who buy tickets on the Internet need a lot of handholding for the hand that isn't using the mouse. That's sort of what Patti Metzger had in mind when she combined her traditional agency in West Bend, Wis., with her background as a wedding consultant to create Weddings on the Move, which arranges nuptials around the world. For one particularly complex ceremony last summer, Ms. Metzger had to arrange a wedding in Rome for an American serviceman and his Canadian bride, who were living in Saudi Arabia. Richard Nigosian, like many middlemen, views information about his clients as a key weapon to keep from being squeezed out. In the world of dealers and distribution, the Internet would seem to remove their reason for being.
Manufacturers can sell directly to customers, cutting out store owners.
And the rise of technology-based delivery companies like Federal Express means that businesses can ship small quantities quickly, straight to customers. But Brian O'Donnell doesn't think he's quite dead yet. So he began surfing the Net, looking for Web sites for brands of goods that his hardware already sold or that would make a reasonable fit. Then he bought Internet domain names that would go with those lines of goods. He approached manufacturers offering to serve as a one-stop Internet shop for their full line of wares.