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4 Dec 2000, Portugal

Dear Dr. Ecommerce

I would like to know more about the possibility of an enterprise, with a web page, that allows its customers to advertise services or products on its web page in order to negotiate with third parties.

Thank you in advance

Helga

Dear Helga:

What you are describing is called an on-line "marketplace". An on-line marketplace is very much like a traditional marketplace - the only difference is that an on-line version takes place on-line.

Typically, an on-line market place is a web site that brings together buyers and sellers. The owner can be an independent company, trying to profit from their ownership of the marketplace, or it can be one of the buyers. For example, a car manufacturer might open an on-line exchange and invite both their suppliers and other car manufacturers to participate in the exchange.

It might at first seem strange to invite your competitors to participate in such an exchange. But if you think about it, it makes sense. Just as a traditional marketplace will not be very good if it only has a small number of buyers and sellers, likewise an on-line marketplace will not be effective with only a few participants. Lots of buyers on the marketplace will make it more appealing to sellers and vice versa.

To learn more about marketplaces, visit your favourite search engine, type B2B Marketplace in the search field and visit a few.

Incidentally, B2B (ie. business to business) marketplaces are the latest e-trend and everyone and her grandmother seems to be developing one. The result is there are too many marketplaces on the net these days and a lot of them will not last very long. Hence, it is critical that anyone developing an on-line marketplace provides sufficient functionality and added value to ensure they succeed.

Good luck,

Dr. Ecommerce