But eBay isn't a true Net Market - they're for businesses, not consumers. When things first started up in the Net Market space last year, there were few vendors and even fewer initial sites. At the beginning most sites had the eBay model - auctions, auctions and more auctions. But auctions were the model most Net Markets wanted least. As I mentioned in an earlier column, the true model for most Net Markets is the negotiation.
Some markets rely on strict anonymity between negotiators, at least until the deal is consummated.
And most deals are negotiated on more than simply price or quantity, because in most industries things like delivery times, freight costs, grades of materials and even documentation are as important as price. This became obvious to most of the early vendors and some quickly adjusted their product offerings to begin to offer negotiations. And as they watched Net Markets spring up around their products, they realized they had a limited audience. Couple this with a finite number of industries and things didn't look all that great. At least until someone realized that they were the best ones to create a Net Market in the first place.