Online Marketplace

As if shopping on Amazon.com needed to get any more dangerous: The online retailer will now start selling wine in a dedicated section on its site, just in time for the holidays. Visitors to Amazon Wine will have access to more than 1,000 wines from wineries nationwide. Bottle prices range from less than $10 to more than $100, plus shipping costs of $9.99 for up to six bottles. Amazon will serve as a sort of middle man and discovery center, partnering with wineries that provide the wine and use the online marketplace to raise awareness for their brands and make sales.

Amazon.com Inc. is uncorking a new venture. The online retail giant launched a wine marketplace on its website Thursday, with more than 1,000 domestic brands available. For now, wines will be shipped only to a dozen states, including California, and to Washington, D.C. Bottle prices range from less than $10 to more than $100; shipping costs $9.99 for up to six bottles of the same wine. It's an unusual addition for the Seattle company, better known for selling books, household items and Kindles.

Fifty of the world's largest food, beverage and consumer product manufacturers plan to collaborate on an electronic marketplace that will allow them to purchase the estimated $200 billion of goods and services they use each year more cheaply and efficiently. Some of the biggest consumer product names such as Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble and Nestle USA are funding the venture with Grocery Manufacturers of America.

As if shopping on Amazon.com needed to get any more dangerous: The online retailer will now start selling wine in a dedicated section on its site, just in time for the holidays. Visitors to Amazon Wine will have access to more than 1,000 wines from wineries nationwide. Bottle prices range from less than $10 to more than $100, plus shipping costs of $9.99 for up to six bottles. Amazon will serve as a sort of middle man and discovery center, partnering with wineries that provide the wine and use the online marketplace to raise awareness for their brands and make sales.

David Wallis didn't need scratch paper to compute the potential. A story based on a prison interview he'd conducted with ousted Panamanian dictator Manuel A. Noriega in 1998 sold more than 20 times. He made a cool $20,000. "It really opened my eyes to the allure of selling work. The possibilities." It suggested that the life of a story was much longer--and more lucrative--than he had ever imagined.

Ever racked your brain trying to find the perfect drill bit that will drill titanium? Or whether there's a zinc alloy maker in southern Arizona? The average consumer may not bother looking beyond the nearest hardware store. But parts buyers at companies can spend days trying to locate obscure manufacturing products. Now they can find them by doing quick keyword searches on their computer via Internet databases. Industry.

A fee change is coming for EBay sellers who occasionally auction off items on the online marketplace. EBay Inc. said that beginning June 16 users will be able to offer up to five items for auction every 30 days without paying fees the San Jose company usually charges to list goods.

Converge Inc., an online marketplace founded by Hewlett-Packard Inc. and 14 other technology companies, said it would buy NECX, an electronic components trading exchange owned by VerticalNet Inc. The acquisition is expected to help Converge expand the reach of its online marketplace and further knock down inefficiencies that cost high-tech companies billions each year. Under the terms of the sale, Horsham, Pa.-based VerticalNet will receive $60 million in cash, a 19.

Tradesy, an online marketplace where women can sell and buy preowned clothing, wants to turn your closet into cash. The latest in a long line of resale start-ups launched Wednesday and was founded by Tracy DiNunzio, who also started the popular used wedding dress marketplace Recycled Bride in 2009. "We've all got overflowing closets and nothing to wear," DiNunzio said. "What if we could just turn to each other and say, 'Hey, do you have something I would want, because I've got something you would want.' And it really lowers the barrier to entry for everyone.

Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, is sending women to Hacker School this summer. Marc Hedlund, Etsy's vice president of engineering, said that in his career he has hired hundreds of men but only dozens of women. “Other managers I know have reported similar experiences,” Hedlund wrote in a blog post . So Etsy is hosting the summer 2012 session of Hacker School at its New York City headquarters, and it's offering 10 $5,000 grants to women who want to join but need financial assistance.

Tradesy, an online marketplace where women can sell and buy preowned clothing, wants to turn your closet into cash. The latest in a long line of resale start-ups launched Wednesday and was founded by Tracy DiNunzio, who also started the popular used wedding dress marketplace Recycled Bride in 2009. "We've all got overflowing closets and nothing to wear," DiNunzio said. "What if we could just turn to each other and say, 'Hey, do you have something I would want, because I've got something you would want.' And it really lowers the barrier to entry for everyone.

Hate that old blouse? Fear not: A slew of new start-ups are running virtual marketplaces where people can sell and buy secondhand treasures. Companies such as Poshmark Inc., Twice and Threadflip are offering new twists on the yard sale and what they say is a more intimate experience than online mega-malls such as EBay Inc. "It feels like it's become a new cultural shift, in terms of what women can do with their wardrobes," said Rosalie Yu,...

HipSwap is aiming to get just a bit hipper and is letting users weigh in on what's hot and what's not.  Starting Thursday, the peer-to-peer online marketplace will add a "hip or skip" feature, putting some of the curating and culling duties on the shoppers. This way, customers have sway in deciding what the hot items really are, allowing them to rank a series of selected items. Shoppers -- virtual window shoppers -- can, of course, still buy the items. When nine or more items have been "hipped," the shopper gets a personal, curated collection to share.

Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, is sending women to Hacker School this summer. Marc Hedlund, Etsy's vice president of engineering, said that in his career he has hired hundreds of men but only dozens of women. “Other managers I know have reported similar experiences,” Hedlund wrote in a blog post . So Etsy is hosting the summer 2012 session of Hacker School at its New York City headquarters, and it's offering 10 $5,000 grants to women who want to join but need financial assistance.

There's something exhilarating about walking out of a movie. Not only does it reacquaint you with the notion of your own free will ("Wait a second, no one is forcing me to watch Tom Hanks ride around on a scooter!"), it's like getting two extra hours in your day. To walk out of a bad movie is literally to escape from the darkness, to show yourself who's boss, to remind yourself that your time is valuable. So is your money, of course. Should you get it back? Lately there's has been some disagreement on that score, particularly when it comes to "The Tree of Life," directed by the legendary (and legendarily esoteric)

Silver Lake resident Charles Scott bypassed the malls and the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles in shopping for an engagement ring. Searching for something out of the ordinary, he surfed onto Etsy and started clicking through photos of handcrafted diamond rings. Using the online marketplace's "shop local" function, Scott found a Pasadena jewelry maker whose handmade Moroccan-inspired wares caught his eye. "I wanted to not have to go to a store and haggle with someone who sells diamonds all day," Scott said.

Re "Trading in politics? Don't sell it short," Opinion, June 27 Joel Stein's foray into prediction markets is a smart exploration of the benefits of betting. But there's a reason he found "so few people" in one online marketplace and "lots of action" in another: government regulation. Prediction markets in the United States are subject to nebulous gambling laws and strict financial rules. In fact, the Iowa Electronic Markets is only allowed to operate thanks to a special "no action" letter from the federal government.

Hate that old blouse? Fear not: A slew of new start-ups are running virtual marketplaces where people can sell and buy secondhand treasures. Companies such as Poshmark Inc., Twice and Threadflip are offering new twists on the yard sale and what they say is a more intimate experience than online mega-malls such as EBay Inc. "It feels like it's become a new cultural shift, in terms of what women can do with their wardrobes," said Rosalie Yu,...

A fee change is coming for EBay sellers who occasionally auction off items on the online marketplace. EBay Inc. said that beginning June 16 users will be able to offer up to five items for auction every 30 days without paying fees the San Jose company usually charges to list goods.

Re "Trading in politics? Don't sell it short," Opinion, June 27 Joel Stein's foray into prediction markets is a smart exploration of the benefits of betting. But there's a reason he found "so few people" in one online marketplace and "lots of action" in another: government regulation. Prediction markets in the United States are subject to nebulous gambling laws and strict financial rules. In fact, the Iowa Electronic Markets is only allowed to operate thanks to a special "no action" letter from the federal government.