31.   Established merchants may not be able to outperform their virtual rivals.

32.   First were neighborhood merchants from Germany, then rope makers, brewers and slaughterhouses.

33.   For now, though, some merchants are willing to share the wealth with portal sites, if trust is established.

34.   He contends that merchants are free to set prices as they wish, regardless of the potential penalties.

35.   He said the best merchants are the ones who execute well.

36.   If the Wizard of Oz turned out to be just a man behind a curtain, the virtual merchant is only a graphical character backed by an algorithm.

37.   In no mall in America, for instance, are food merchants forced to take a dozen heads of lettuce through security.

38.   In the last analysis, wine merchants are no more sentimental than any other bunch of businessmen.

39.   In practice, the card issuer sometimes takes weeks to restore the credit, no matter how prompt the merchant is.

40.   Indeed, the specialty merchants are such a draw that bus companies are mounting day trips for food worshippers.