TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

I have an idea that I'm wondering if I should persue that might require "auction software," but that's really not what I'm looking for. Since I'm so early with these thoughts, it will be clearer for me just to make up a ficticious example:

So, let's say that someone was selling brand new packages of coffee.  For practical reasons, this seller only wanted to stock 10 different flavors.  So "FS" (fictional seller) decides that it woud be worthwhile to join forces with his competitors who offer other flavors, and maybe coffee ascessories, because he alone would never be able to create "The" one-stop-coffee shop.

So the obvious choice is probably to use auction in a box software and have a coffee auction site -- but that's not what FS wants.  FS wants it to be set up more like a real store, without the need for people to place bids or without the need for his competitors to re-list items every seven days.  FS wants a set it and forget it solution.

FS is not too sure if he wants to use this approach as an income source in and of itself or as a way to help drive traffic to his 10 flavors.  If it's the latter choice, then FS doesn't really care about charging the competitors to have exposure on this one-stop-coffee-shop, but if it's the other decision, then FS will need a solution that does some of the work with respect to billing his competitors for being on the site.

One solution could be some sort of beefed up store directory, but FS is not too crazy about drawing people into the site and immediately sending them off of the site again via the links to his competitors stores.  What FS really wants is for the site to work like does with an Amazon Merchant account, but very scaled down.  The Bluejay solution (Paypal buttons on listings that go to the individual vendor's account) could work as well.

Any ideas?

Edit to Add:  This is one site that seems to operate in an Amazon-like model  http://www.lampsplus.com/

My opinion is that the auction format is a fad that has already peaked and is waning. Could you simplify it by buying their coffee (or whatever)wholesale and offering it on your site along with your own product? Seeing as this coffee is probably a fictional product, is the product you hav in mind perishable? Does it have brand name recognition that you're interested in? Or is it something that you could put your own label on to expand your own personal product line?

So something like eBay eXpress *ducking* . . . but built around a theme? 

But seriously . . . is this what you are looking for:

http://www.x-cart.com/pro_features.html

X-Cart Pro: Features

X-Cart Pro is an advanced edition of X-Cart Gold software designed to be operated in multi-vendor mode (though it has the ability to operate in single-vendor mode as well). X-Cart Pro allows multiple product providers (vendors) to share a single store for selling their products. Each provider manages his own products, orders, taxes, etc and is able to set their own shipping rates for pre-defined shipping methods independently of other providers. However the store has a joint catalog and a common checkout point, so the customer needs to place only one order. Customers see it like a single shop with different products, and they can purchase products from different providers at a time, and will get a notification from each provider they've bought products from. Respectively, each provider will get orders for his products only.
In summary X-Cart Pro extends features of X-Cart Gold by adding specific functionalities:

Unlimited number of isolated provider/seller accounts
Sellers/providers can edit only products belonging to them
Different providers/sellers can set their own shipping rates for pre-defined shipping methods
Admin account is separated from provider/seller accounts
Independent tax settings for providers/sellers
X-Cart Pro solution is ideal for:
1) Online store selling products from multiple suppliers.
2) Web-supermarket with several departments.
3) Online distributor/wholesaler.
4) Internet mall with joint catalog.

Quote:Edit to Add:  This is one site that seems to operate in an Amazon-like model  http://www.lampsplus.com/

Amazon-like? LampsPlus is the only seller on that site.  Major retailer with 42 superstores in the west serving over 5 million customers annually.   Custom built webstore that cost in the upper 6 figures and costs more than that to maintain annually. Named several times to Internet Retailer's top 50.

Multi-merchant software-in-a-box solutions, whether auction, classified, mall, or store, suck.  FS needs a programmer(s). 

I did something kinda similar when I was still running my ecommerce site. I found three other ecommerce stores selling products that overlapped with mine, but weren't identical to mine. Since I was selling dice, gaming, and fantasy products--I hooked up with someone selling role playing game books, handcrafted board games, and runes. They allowed me to use their images and info on my site, and I integrated their products with mine, seamlessly using oscommerce. Two of them did the same with my products on their sites.

Whenever I sold one of the three retailer's products, I took my percentage cut from the sale and forwarded payment and customer information to the retailer directly. They then shipped the item to the customer.

I did this for about 4 years, and never once had an issue. Of course, I was very, very, VERY careful to choose the three people I worked with, since we were essentially sharing drop-shipping on a select number of products.

It worked out nicely for everyone involved. I moved a lot of board games, in particular, for the nice artist who made them during months when she wasn't selling at shows. 

I'll assume this is B-to-C sales...but is it sale of physical goods or digital goods?  There are different software options available for each as well as specialized software for different categories of physical goods.

short version of post: MORE FRIGGIN' INFORMATION PLEEEEEEEEZE!!!!!!!!!!