What is a market maker?
An e-currency market maker offers a firm buy and sell price for e-currencies.
He is alway's ready to trade dollars for e-currency, at a small margin... he's alway's ready, willing, and able, to buy or sell ecurrency for a small profit.
Market makers maintain liquidity and efficiency for the particular securities that they make markets in. They typically charge 5% to sell egold, ebullion etc, (to fund your egold account) and about 2% to buy e-gold (they cut you a check for your e-gold)
Market maker spread
The spread is the difference between the price at which a market maker is willing to buy an e-currency and the price at which he is willing to sell it. The spread is where a market maker gets his profits, because he will be both buying and selling at the same time.
This is a good business to be in. There's a profit on both suides of the equation.
Typically they charge 5% to convert your money into e-currencies like e-gold. You pay them $105, and they place $100 worth of gold in your account, keeping $5 for the transaction fee. When you want to cash out (sell e-gold) they charge 2%. You give them $102 worth of gold, and they cut you a check for $100.