Nary a Net connection in the bunch, even though one actually involves the Net. I quickly realized that the software required to plug their complex operations into the Net either does not exist yet or is in its infancy. And Internet commerce, by and large, is too expensive for local merchants to go it alone. Selling local services online is even more complex than selling merchandise. That means more legwork for Internet entrepreneurs trying to sign up merchants.
Services also involve more two-way negotiating.
But services represent more than 70 percent of the U.S. economy, and with a potential payoff so huge, venture capitalists are more than willing to back a few losers. Also in the local race are the yellow pages from phone companies. Perhaps the toughest decision entrepreneurs face is which local services to tackle. Some are mistakenly trying, I think, to do everything from a single site. As a consumer, I find it confusing to see diamonds listed alongside hotel reservations.