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GEO PLANS ON-LINE CLEARINGHOUSE FOR COOPERATIVE E-COMMERCE
by Alex Pukinskis
GEO is interested in building an online clearinghouse where co-ops, and potentially
ESOPs, can sell their products and services
over the Internet. Although some co-ops already have an online presence,
it's often hard to find them on the Internet, and we think it would be great
to have a system that allows consumers to easily locate products made by these
businesses.
We realize that many organizations may have little technical expertise, so this
system would make it easy for anyone to set up and maintain products and prices
for an online store with just a web browser. We'd like to offer this service
at a very reasonable cost, through either a monthly fee or a percentage of gross
sales. The entire system would also be searchable, so that you can locate products
based on location as well as on enterprise sector (e.g., durable goods, consulting
services, printing, restaurants, etc.).
This is potentially a very large project, and we're looking for lots of input.
So let us know: What would be useful for your organization? What features
are critical? What sorts
Of
products or services would you like to try to sell online? What would such
a service be worth
to you (what would you be willing to pay for
it)?
To get this needed input from you, we'll be setting up an e-mail discussion
list for this
project. If you'd like to be included on this list, or have any responses
to the input
questions above, just send a note to alex@satoridesign.com .
*Web and Internet Consultant; Satori Design and
Development; http://satoridesign.com;
Include the citation below and GEO Newsletter grants permission to copy, use,
and distribute this article.
Permission not for commercial or for-profit use.
©2001 GEO,
P.O. Box 115,
Riverdale, MD 20738-0115
http://www.geo.coop
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