eBay

 

The attractions of multisided platforms have enticed many companies, large and small, to try to apply the model in cases where the reseller model would have had a better chance of succeeding. For instance, all attempts since the early 2000s to create an eBay-style marketplace for patents have been shut down, redirected, or scaled back and limited to brokerage and technology-consulting services. Zappos, the online shoe retailer, started off in 1999 as a marketplace but by the mid-2000s had turned itself into a pure reseller, stocking inventory and taking full control of transactions with end users.

Whether you’re the founder of a start-up, a manager in an established business, or an investor, this article can help you evaluate which model—or mix of models—will work best.

A firm’s position along the continuum between pure reseller and pure multisided platform is determined by how much control the company takes over transactions (see the sidebar “How Companies Use Different Sales Models”). To what extent does the intermediary control pricing, product presentation, and the other factors that influence buyers’ purchasing decisions? To what extent does it take responsibility for fulfilling orders and delivering products?

Shopify

 

Brilliant Life Shop sells digital products aimed at helping small-business entrepreneurs—particularly those who are moms—find more success in their endeavors. Its blog, Brilliant Business Moms, features content to complement the paid resources—and it’s pretty much an entity of its own.

The Brilliant Business Moms blog has more than just articles with business advice and ideas for marketing strategies. You’ll also find podcast episodes, free templates and printables, and a list of recommended business tools and resources. When blog readers are ready to upgrade their freebies, they can head over to the shop to purchase more comprehensive templates and downloads.

Amazon

 Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said that he would give away most of his money to charity, making him the latest billionaire to pledge to donate his vast fortune during his lifetime.

Mr. Bezos is worth $124 billion, making him the world’s fourth-richest person, according to Bloomberg. In an interview with CNN released on Monday, Mr. Bezos, appearing with his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, said they were making preparations “to be able to give away this money.”

He said that he wanted to give in a way that maximized the impact of the donations. “It’s really hard,” he said. “And there are a bunch of ways, I think, that you could do ineffective things,” he said.

It was the first time that Mr. Bezos announced that he, like several other billionaires, would give away the bulk of his wealth. In 2020, Mr. Bezos pledged to give $10 billion to combat climate change as part of an initiative called the Bezos Earth Fund. Previously, his largest donation was a $2 billion gift to help homeless families and start preschools.

On Saturday, the couple announced a $100 million grant for the singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton to direct to her chosen charitable causes, as part of an annual gift called the Bezos Award for Courage and Civility.

Mr. Bezos has been criticized for not signing the Giving Pledge, a commitment by many of the wealthiest Americans to give away at least half their fortunes, started in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett and others. (Mr. Bezos did not address the Giving Pledge in the CNN interview.) Mr. Bezos’ ex-wife, the author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, in 2019 signed the pledge after their divorce.