Online marketplace with anonymous communication

A method for communicating between a purchaser and a seller in an online marketplace, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a request for bid for a good or service from the purchaser via an electronic network, the request for bid not identifying the purchaser;
• transmitting an offer for the good or service to the purchaser via the electronic network, the seller sending the offer not knowing the identity of the purchaser that is receiving the offer;
• and
• receiving a purchase order from the purchaser so as to form a contract for purchasing the good or service, the purchase order identifying the purchaser.

A method for operating an online marketplace, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a request for bid for a good or service from a purchaser, the request for bid not identifying the purchaser;
• transmitting the request for bid that does not identify the purchaser to a plurality of sellers via an electronic network;
• receiving at least one offer for the good or service from at least one of the sellers via the electronic network, the sellers sending the offers not knowing the identity of the purchaser that will receive the offers;
• and
• transmitting the offers to the purchaser.

A machine-readable medium encoded with a program for operating an online marketplace, said program containing instructions for performing the steps of:

• receiving a request for bid for a good or service from a purchaser, the request for bid not identifying the purchaser;
• transmitting the request for bid that does not identify the purchaser to a plurality of sellers via an electronic network;
• receiving at least one offer for the good or service from at least one of the sellers via the electronic network, the sellers sending the offers not knowing the identity of the purchaser that will receive the offers;
• and
• transmitting the offers to the purchaser.