Digital Dealing

Publishers Weekly

Stanford economics professor Hall makes economics fun where hundreds of his colleagues have failed. Focusing on buying and selling via the World Wide Web everywhere from eBay to business-to-business marketplace exchanges Hall explains the economics behind the transactions that ultimately lead to deals. Managers will have to do most of the work to figure out which pricing models will work best for their businesses, but at least Hall provides a clear and entertaining account of the options. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The world of e-commerce has led to numerous books, from the history of a specific company (e.g., Joseph T. Sinclair's eBay: The Smart Way, Amacom, 1999) to guides on successful investment strategies in the dot-coms (e.g., Stephen E. Frank's Net Worth, LJ 5/1/01). Hall (economics, Stanford Univ.), a consultant to such companies as Apple and Oracle, offers a unique perspective on e-commerce, analyzing the various types of e-market systems, how they work, and their impact on the economy. The author focuses on six primary e-market models, which depend upon "the nature of the product and the roles of the players." The six models are eBay, OffRoad, FreeMarkets, Nasdaq, Priceline, and Grainger. Potential problems with each model are covered; for example, Nasdaq's price-fixing case of the 1990s and its implications are reviewed. Especially helpful is the "Takeaways" section at the end of each chapter, illustrating key points and offering helpful advice to buyers and sellers. Especially informative to undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, in either marketing or economics, this book is recommended primarily for academic libraries. Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

An economist describes and assesses for the lay reader the varieties of current e-market models and speculates about the future of e-commerce. Hall (Economics/Stanford Univ.) knows the territory-and forecasts a bright future for it. A consultant to Napster, Apple, and Oracle, he lives comfortably in the e-world, speaks the language, understands its principles, and usually explains them so that even Internet tyros will comprehend. (Further evidence of Hall's cyber-savvy: He has created a Web site featuring material to supplement his text.) Hall begins with a simple assertion: "In e-markets, people make deals." He then proceeds to explain what he has identified as the six primary e-market models, using such familiar names as eBay, Amazon, Priceline, and Nasdaq to illustrate. Along the way, he explores some basic economic concepts-most prominently, what he calls the "zero-profit principle," holding that new sellers will continue to enter an emerging e-market until the last one in stands to earn a profit of zero. There is a compelling chapter about on-line auctions (with prudent advice for eBay users and an explanation of how eBay has come to dominate the market), a dense discussion of Nasdaq, and an interesting assessment of online book-buying (books are almost always more expensive than at a bricks-and-mortar bookshop). Hall's brief account of the recent Napster case is also intriguing. He argues that the music industry, by failing to protect itself against copying, has proved rather more intransigent than innovative. And he twice declares that Priceline teetered at the precipice of destruction when they attempted to supplement their profitable airline ticket business by enteringthe grocery, gasoline, and phone service arenas, where, says Hall, it didn't belong. Hall includes numerous graphs and charts, most comprehensible, and he ends each chapter with a feature he calls "Takeaways"-bullet-lists of his main points, arrayed, one supposes, for harried businesspeople troubled by paragraphs and other indications of complexity. A genial guide to this brave new world of Napster and Netscape. (Illustrations throughout)