4 ms·

Someone should try selling a book that there are limited copies of (ie one that can't be procured easily) to see what happens if someone buys from a seller who

by pitdesi 16y ago

Someone should try selling a book that there are limited copies of (ie one that can't be procured easily) to see what happens if someone buys from a seller who doesn't have it.

benvanderbeek 16y ago
The seller will drop ship it from another seller or they cancel the order. Not a lot of options. As long as they don't do it too often it won't affect their feedback ratings noticeably.
gwern 16y ago
The nice thing about selling books is that you aren't bound to deliver the book - you can always just cancel the contract and refund the money. It's unlike short selling stocks in that respect; you aren't vulnerable to a short squeeze (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_selling#Risk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_selling#Risk). (For an example, read up on Porsche & Volkswagen: eg. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/worldbusiness/30iht-norris31.1.17372644.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/worldbusiness/30i... )
- bryanh 16y ago
  The NYT piece on Porsche & Volkswagen (and many other market corners) is actually a really useful piece of financial literature. It nicely outlines some of the outlandish and clever ways that people can use common market forces to create situations for profit. I always try to think in a similar way when it comes to startups. Where can you harness some market force to create a favorable position for yourself?
zecho 16y ago
My wife used to sell used books on Amazon part-time a few years ago, mostly as a hobby to feed her own library. She employed some software and pricing algorithms, similar to the ones mentioned in the post. Often, she'd go to library or estate sales and just scan hundreds of books. If they met her pricing targets, she'd buy them. But one time a book she scanned had an incorrect barcode number (it wasn't clear if Amazon had the incorrect barcode or what), but so did several other sellers of the same book. When she posted the book for sale, it came up with a different title, but she hadn't noticed while she was posting inventory. Initially my wife assumed she'd lost the inventory when someone tried to buy from her, but it wasn't until she tried to drop ship from another seller that they realized what was going on. The sellers all had to cancel their orders with each other on down to the buyer, who took it in stride. But, with Amazon, you can still rate sellers who cancel your order, so there's at least that risk...

by pitdesi 16y ago

Someone should try selling a book that there are limited copies of (ie one that can't be procured easily) to see what happens if someone buys from a seller who doesn't have it.

benvanderbeek 16y ago

The seller will drop ship it from another seller or they cancel the order. Not a lot of options. As long as they don't do it too often it won't affect their feedback ratings noticeably.

gwern 16y ago

The nice thing about selling books is that you aren't bound to deliver the book - you can always just cancel the contract and refund the money. It's unlike short selling stocks in that respect; you aren't vulnerable to a short squeeze (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_selling#Risk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_selling#Risk). (For an example, read up on Porsche & Volkswagen: eg. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/worldbusiness/30iht-norris31.1.17372644.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/business/worldbusiness/30i... )

bryanh 16y ago
The NYT piece on Porsche & Volkswagen (and many other market corners) is actually a really useful piece of financial literature. It nicely outlines some of the outlandish and clever ways that people can use common market forces to create situations for profit. I always try to think in a similar way when it comes to startups. Where can you harness some market force to create a favorable position for yourself?

zecho 16y ago

My wife used to sell used books on Amazon part-time a few years ago, mostly as a hobby to feed her own library. She employed some software and pricing algorithms, similar to the ones mentioned in the post. Often, she'd go to library or estate sales and just scan hundreds of books. If they met her pricing targets, she'd buy them. But one time a book she scanned had an incorrect barcode number (it wasn't clear if Amazon had the incorrect barcode or what), but so did several other sellers of the same book. When she posted the book for sale, it came up with a different title, but she hadn't noticed while she was posting inventory. Initially my wife assumed she'd lost the inventory when someone tried to buy from her, but it wasn't until she tried to drop ship from another seller that they realized what was going on. The sellers all had to cancel their orders with each other on down to the buyer, who took it in stride. But, with Amazon, you can still rate sellers who cancel your order, so there's at least that risk...