Private Book Sellers: Profiting from Scarcity
I just heard about a guy selling CDs out of his apartment in Boston. That was all he does – he sells CDs via Amazon. And he has a nice apartment. Today, the New York Times has an essay on the middle-economy between used-bookstores and mega-chains. Sellers, using Amazon, can now achieve scale like never before.
The idea that “rare but not collectible” books are where the profit is, reminds me of the Wired.com story from a few months back that said (to the effect) that the 20th century was about figuring out supply and the 21st century will be about figuring out demand. The NYC article makes it clear to me that as advanced as inventory management systems like SAP are, they are being leapfrogged by quicker, nimbler systems like Fillz (on the pricing front anyway.
The article also introduced me to the Independent Online Booksellers Association — now that is something I can get behind.
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