Monday, April 25, 2011

Algorithmic Pricing on Amazon

I just discovered the following hilarious but true story about algorithmic pricing on Amazon:
A few weeks ago a postdoc in my lab logged on to Amazon to buy the lab an extra copy of Peter Lawrence’s The Making of a Fly – a classic work in developmental biology that we – and most other Drosophila developmental biologists – consult regularly. The book, published in 1992, is out of print. But Amazon listed 17 copies for sale: 15 used from $35.54, and 2 new from $1,730,045.91 (+$3.99 shipping).
Want to know how that happened? Read the full story here. I still can't stop laughing about this.

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