How would you do this site?

[agua]

OK - I have just been contacted by a client who is like a middle man for building supply companies and builders - he sells the building suppliers stock to builders.

He wants to set up a website in order to acheive this - but he wants to be as free as possible - here are his criteria:

1. He doesn't want to handle any transactions period, just pass the order on.
2. He doesn't want to handle any order management, again just pass it on.
3. He doesn't want to bother his suppliers to alter the way their websites works.
4. He wants a 10% of each transaction
5. He needs to be able to add products as and when

So as you can see - he is basically a middleman - just connecting people.

I've planned out ideas in which it could work - but one or more of the criteria have to be dropped on each one...

Any ideas on how this can be acheived?

[chromate]

Sounds to me like he wants to have his cake and eat it. He wants to pass the order on and take some money but at the same time have nothing to do with it

If he doesn't want to handle the transaction, he's going to have to have an agreement with the supplier to take 10%. He takes the orders on his site - they get emailed or faxes automatically to the supplier. The supplier supplies and invoices the builder. At the end of the month, your client automatically invoices the supplier for the commissions owed.

But, the problem with this is the builder will learn about the supplier and cut out the middle man (your client).

[agua]

Thanks chromate

I had come to the same conclusion - I'd even started writing it typing it into my initial post - but thought it best to leave it out so people weren't swayed into my way of thinking.

I think I'll go back to him with this and see what he says... nice point about cutting out the middleman though... thanks

[Cutter]

Sounds to me like he wants to have his cake and eat it. He wants to pass the order on and take some money but at the same time have nothing to do with it

Sounds a lot like affiliate marketing to me!

[agua]

Very much so - except in this case the affiliate has to set up his own affiliate program