But we're not trying to create a destination site. We take our environment and plug it into existing sites that have already aggregated eyeballs, so those people can then choose to buy. So the idea of anonymous selling and auction-based selling for prime steel doesn't work. You can go to the New York Stock Exchange to find out what IBM is trading at. You can also find out what a barrel of oil is selling for.
Steel is sold to the usual customers unless someone else shows up.
There's no objective marketplace where you can find out whether you're buying or selling competitively. Its first trade took place between Worthington Industries Inc. and Cargill Ferrous International. Like any good market, e-Steel makes buying and selling faster and easier. Phone calls, faxes, and days of delay have been replaced by instantaneous, Web-enabled transactions. E-Steel is open to members only.