On the web, the chemical is stripped clean of any cost a company adds on for the services its dealers provide customers. A farmer who doesn't want soil testing, sprayer calibration or custom applications buys the bare product and moves on. Enlightened retailers can thrive in this environment, says Greg Bohlen, director of Venture Capital Relations for PaineWebber. Gerald Warren says the Internet is no-frills shopping, but that's the way business is going. And the Internet isn't all gravy for the producer, Bohlen suggests.
Producers still have the worries.
But the transaction was not stress-free. He had to pay for the product before it was shipped. Once it arrived, he was on his own. It is a no-frills way of doing business, he says. But this is the direction companies are headed.