> Why in the world would bot 2 offer the book for $11?
Dan's explanation:
"The price-setting robot sets its price far enough above that of the other vendor that if someone buys, the robot-owner can buy the book from the other vendor, send it to the customer, and still make money."
To make money - out of nothing except a listing - only requires a buyer, either misguided, malicious or unfortunate. This might even work in large numbers by pure chance. Or it might not, but someone is trying.
> consumers buying used books almost always buy the lowest-priced
There it is, a bet on the complement of "almost always", at an insignificant cost.
> The price-setting robot sets its price far enough above that of the other vendor that if someone buys, the robot-owner can buy the book from the other vendor, send it to the customer, and still make money.
Yes, this is what book arbitrage is, I hope I'm aware of the concept! It's what I did for a few years.
> To make money - out of nothing except a listing - only requires a buyer, either misguided, malicious or unfortunate.
Or none of the above! If they buy it on Amazon for $10, but it was only $5 on AbeBooks, and they never would have found it there, they're a perfectly happy customer.
> There it is, a bet on the complement of "almost always", at an insignificant cost.
I'm suggesting that, as a person with several years professional experience doing so, nobody makes money on Amazon by being anything except the lowest-priced used book available.
I'm further suggesting that the bot wars that happen (often!) are negative feedback loops, causing prices to drop, not the other way around, and he has provided neither examples nor a reasonable explanation of why bots would fight to be lower on the list.
Being first on the list of used books is everything when selling on Amazon, and if there are bots going the opposite way, they won't last long. Low cost ≠ free.
Dan's explanation:
"The price-setting robot sets its price far enough above that of the other vendor that if someone buys, the robot-owner can buy the book from the other vendor, send it to the customer, and still make money."
To make money - out of nothing except a listing - only requires a buyer, either misguided, malicious or unfortunate. This might even work in large numbers by pure chance. Or it might not, but someone is trying.
> consumers buying used books almost always buy the lowest-priced
There it is, a bet on the complement of "almost always", at an insignificant cost.