In economics, disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain. Disintermediation is often the result of high market transparency, in that buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. As a result, buyers bypass the middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) in order to buy directly from the manufacturer and thereby pay less. Buyers can alternatively elect to purchase from wholesalers, but most often, a buyer-to-consumer intermediary functions as the bridge between buyer and manufacturer. A few years ago, scholars wrote that the Internet would “disintermediate” industries or eliminate middlemen. Instead, the lower cost of selling over the Net and its immense appeal have produced even more middlemen, which helps explain the success of the search giant Google and the online marketplace eBay.

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