InfoWorld discovers reputation capital

[Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>]

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Date: Sat, 05 Jul 1997 09:00:32 -0400
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Reply-To: rah@shipwright.com
Organization: The Shipwright Development Corporation
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: rah@shipwright.com
Subject: InfoWorld discovers reputation capital

http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?97073.eabi.htm

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[|Top News Stories|]

  ABI offers instant company background check on the Web

  By Lisa Moskowitz
  PC World Online

  Posted at 9:03 AM PT, Jul 3, 1997
  If you run a company, large or small, it's good practice to know
  exactly who you're doing business with before you sign any contracts.
  Now you can get the lowdown on potential partners online at a low
  price.

  American Business Credit, a division of American Business Information
  (ABI), sells reports on the credit of the more than 10 million
  businesses in the United States for $3 a pop. Reports include company
  name, address, phone number, fax number, number of employees, type of
  business, Standard Industrial Classification codes, estimated sales
  volume, names of competitors, branch and headquarter locations,
  Internet address, and credit rating. The rating is based on in-house
  research of public information conducted by ABI.

  "A lot of small businesses looking for initial credit screening up
  front come to our Web site," said Rich Chrostek, ABI general manager.
  "The Web service is good for small orders, between 20 and 50 a year,
  and there's no long-term contract involved."

  Customers can order one of ABI's Business Profiles by typing in the
  name of the business they wish to check on, registering as a user, and
  entering a credit card number. Within minutes they can view the
  profile online, then download and print it. The same information at
  the same price can be ordered by calling (888) 274-5325.

  Dun & Bradstreet, ABI's chief competitor, also offers credit reports
  via the Web, but only contract subscribers have access to the most
  comprehensive of its documents, Business Information Reports.
  Subscription fees vary according to customer needs.

  Dun & Bradstreet offers two types of credit profile on the Internet:
  the Business Background report for $20, and the Supplier Evaluation
  for $85. Although these reports are more expensive than ABI's Business
  Profiles, they contain different -- and sometimes more extensive --
  information.

  According to ABI's Chrostek, the company's Business Profile is the
  cheapest business credit report available on the Web.

  "We're giving a cost-effective snapshot of a business," he said.
  "We're a tool, not an end-all solution."

  ABI also sells a CD-ROM of Business Profiles, which is recommended for
  customers who need several hundred credit reports. The CD-ROM is
  updated quarterly and costs $595 for an annual license and 1,000
  profiles.

  American Business Information Inc. can be reached at
  http://www.lookupusa.com//.

  PC World Online, an InfoWorld Electric sister publication, can be
  reached at http://www.pcworld.com/.

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 Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Electric News Editor Dana Gardner.

               Copyright � 1997 InfoWorld Publishing Company

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--- end forwarded text



-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/