Certain Habits

Apparently there are websites out there that create a marketplace where communities of people can buy products. And amazingly, even a relatively small audience online can be quite profitable. Here’s Forbes, on the cutting edge as always:

Plenty of e-commerce sites flamed out in the dot-com bust of 2001. “The knock on new companies like these was always there’s not enough liquidity to create a viable market in something so small,” says Paul Kedrosky, a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit that studies entrepreneurship. “Now you can find big marketplaces in small obscure areas, mostly because of how gigantic the online population has become. There’s more liquidity in small marketplaces now than large ones like eBay 15 years ago.” …

While still small, Etsy is becoming a bustling bazaar. During the month of October, artisans sold 1 million items, generating about $17.7 million in revenue, 11% more than in September. “It’s hard for a generalized marketplace like eBay to get into these niche areas, because they can’t pull a community together,” says Steve Barsh, partner at DreamIt Ventures, a Philadelphia early-stage venture firm.

Someone should write a book about that.