Diary of a Digital Sale FastParts matches buyers and sellers of computer electronics 1. A COMPUTER MAKER finds itself with a shortage of a memory chip needed to assemble a circuit board. It needs to buy 20,000 chips--fast. 2. A PURCHASING EXEC logs on to FastParts, an Internet trading exchange, and enters information about the chip he's seeking. The system returns a list of available lots, with price, quantity, and other details. One lot looks like it fits the bill: 20,000 of the needed chips are available at 36 cents a piece. 3. THE BUYER puts in a lower bid: 29 cents apiece. The supplier and other buyers interested in the same part are notified of the bid by E-mail. 4. THE SELLER lowers the price to 33 cents. The computer maker is alerted by E-mail. It's a good price, and he accepts. 5. FASTPARTS confirms the details of the sale, and the payment is held in a special escrow bank account. Once the buyer receives the chips, he has five days to inspect and accept them. After five days, the payment is released to the seller. Return to main story

Updated Apr. 23, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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