The rate at which Web marketplaces are getting funded seems to have slowed, but deals are still being made. Among those announced since the stock-market correction:
* DealerSource.com, a marketplace for off-lease and used business equipment, supplies and services, recently received $9 million from Trident Capital, Apex (AVCT) Investment Partners and Lunn Partners.
* Fasturn, a global apparel marketplace, closed $40 million in financing from Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, BCI Partners, CIT Venture Capital and others.
* OneMediaPlace, a media marketplace formerly called Adauction.com, secured commitments for $67 million in private-investment financing, including $25 million from CMGIAtVentures.
* WholesalePortal.com, a wholesale marketplace and transaction service for the specialty-food industry, secured $4.4 million in financing from The Argentum Group.
* Net Market Partners, an accelerator company that provides management advice, capital and connections to potential partners, recently invested in ForRetail.com, an independent Internet marketplace for the $300 billion giftware, home-accent and home-furnishings market.
"The companies in this sector are all small," says Mitch Tuckman, a general partner at Net Market Partners. "Selling costs and write-downs of inventory cost them $72 billion a year. If ForRetail can create a solution where those efficiencies are greatly reduced, then there will be a lot of money to be made."
