1.1
characteristics of the system
The
intended system is envisioned as an online marketplace particularly suited to
very small, localized, transactions particularly of services and irregular
goods.
Such markets can only effectively be served by a system offering the following
facilities in the markets it serves.
(a) any potential seller can enter any market which they are
legally entitled to do so instantly
(b) the price of each seller in each transaction is
constructed based on parameters of that transaction and the seller’s individual
instructions
(c) sellers must be able to exclude themselves from potential
transactions on multiple grounds
(d) buyers are able to input requirements then purchase
immediately from any seller who meets their requirements
(e) dishonest or persistently unreliable traders can be
identified by the software which ensures they are separated from the reliable
and honest
(f) it is unlikely the above can be meaningfully achieved
without some grading system applied to sellers, and possibly buyers, it must be
entirely objective
(g) every transaction is confirmed with a contract offered by
the system
(h) sellers can be contacted adequately by the
system
(i) transaction completion is monitored with a thorough
process for resolving transactions that are in dispute between
users
(j) each user has full accounts and records updated with
every transaction
(k) the system maintains information pages where data about
the system, either manually input or automatically compiled, is accessible by
any internet user
(l) detailed information about patterns of demand, supply and
pricing is available to be interrogated by factors including locality and market
sector by anyone
(m) multiple sectors within the system interlock so small
transactions can be bundled into personalised larger transactions at the behest
of a buyer
(n) funds can be transferred between buyer and seller with a
period in escrow, at no extra cost, to ensure compliance
(o) further functionality that should be progressively
introduced includes without limitation; enabling of investment in market users,
financial functions between users (eg lending, factoring, underwriting of
transactions) a “community banking” function allowing any user to turn digital
funds into cash for other users and vice versa
(p) full functionality for middlemen and agencies who wish to
sell through the system
(q) pages of information about the current state of the
system itself, they should include without limitation, current and historic
transaction volumes and values, system performance metrics and other information
as mandated in this document by the need for transparency
(r) the ability for anyone to build a value added service
repackaging the basic system
(s) commitments in this section can be
phased
1.2 the system
can launch in any market, subject to serving the intended low level
sectors
By
enacting this legislation government is releasing benefits it alone can bestow
to a system of marketplaces. It is doing so with the aim of creating new
efficiencies in low level markets of small, localized, transactions. Operators
have to be clear that these are the markets on which they must focus but,
equally, they are entitled to grow the system as usage expands and that may
include sectors outside the original focus.
(a) this legislation needs to protect against the possibility
of the operators taking their powers and deciding to focus only on high value
markets aimed at corporate customers. This can be contained by specifying which
markets the system must serve but that imposes undesirable controls on the
operators and lack of flexibility for users. Alternatively, the functionality
defined above as part of the mandate aims to ensure the system’s obvious
usefulness and immediate commercial opportunity lies in low level markets.
Government may choose to set a maximum permissible transaction value
to keep operators focused on small sellers, but that makes counter-productive
rule-bending behaviour by users likely.
A compromise might be a ruling that only a percentage of the system’s
transaction can be above a permissible transaction value ensuring that, even if
operators do pursue the corporate market, they also have to serve the low level
sectors just as effectively.
A preferred option is to include a review of the system’s activities at a
renewal point and make the average transaction size a key metric in this
process.
(b) The system is permitted to sell options to purchase
bigger items
but the actual value of the item counts for the purposes of any formula intended
to drive usefulness towards low value transactions
(c) This obligation should not be phased beyond recognizing
operators be allowed to serve higher value markets once they have established a
service in sectors with lower average pricing.
1.3
accessibility for repackaging
It
is fundamental to the neutrality of the system that (a) any citizen or firm in
the country of operation has a right to access
the basic system directly but (b) anyone can access the databases and processing
power of the system with their own version of the system. This repackaged
version can include (a) additional business rules, such as only displaying
sellers who meet the criteria of the repackager (b) additional charges. An
example might be a site offering babysitters who subscribe to a Catholic
philosophy, buyers and sellers are still registered on the main system and are
building up a track record within it but by choosing to enter through the
repackaging site they are ensuring only like minded counterparties for their
childcare needs.
(a) anyone can repackage the system adding additional
business rules of their own and making whatever charges they wish. Examples
include a site selling painters and decorators who subscribe to the philosophy
of a particular magazine, an online service that offers only its favoured
overnight accommodation sellers for buyers or a supermarket repackaging a local
deliveries market to automatically include their stores as points of purchase
for shopping requirements. All transactions go from the value added site into
the databases of the system with results output into the value added
site.
(b) repackagers are entitled to own all aspects of their
relationship with their customers, the system has responsibility only for the
user’s chosen relationship with the underlying system
(c) beyond adding its standard mark-up, the system can not
make any additional charges for repackaged transactions
(d) operators have no control over who repackages the system
(e) operators themselves are not allowed to offer repackaged
versions of the main system
(f) the legislation may allow a window of time before
repackaging is permitted to let the system stabilise and minimise technical
complexity (12 months perhaps)
(g) repackaging can include call centre offerings based on
the system and any other form of technology a repackager wishes to
use
(h) the system has no entitlement to branding on repackaged
sites but must provide a logo if asked
(i) all application details required for repackaging must be
made publicly available by operators
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