Actually, we prefer to be called "Cougars"

I was walking outside the public library today when a man stopped and told me: "You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

I turned to say thank you, and he asked me: "Are you a wolf?"

Um...no.

Selling books on Amazon no longer worth the effort

Before I came to b-school, I made a couple hundred bucks liquidating my personal library. It wasn't very many books, but it made moving easier--and easier to finance.

Recently, I've been buying books again, much to the detriment of my bank account, and thought to sell some online once I was through.

Well, guess what? Amazon now takes a 33% commission on any books you sell through them. I actually lost money on the last 2 books I sold, but one went to a marine, so I felt sort of obligated.

I will never understand why new books are so expensive and used books so freaking cheap (or free, if you use the library). Let's examine the drivers of a high willingness to pay for new books:

• convenience: For many people, Amazon is definitely the most convenient way to buy books. It offers a wide selection; plus, due to Amazon's aggressive marketing tactics, most people have trained themselves to type "amazon.com" into their browsers when shopping for ANYTHING. So, this reduces the search cost (currently unquantified in this argument) for the buyer.
  
• status: I just threw this in here because I couldn't figure out anything besides convenience. Maybe some people feel more dignified with a new book or one that isn't wrapped in plastic? I don't, but it takes all kinds.
  
• utility: A small, but important point: you can't read a book if it's just a few battered scraps held together by twine. But most readers can use a book for years without bringing it to this state.
  

Which brings me to an interesting point: Can books be considered a durable good? That might justify their initial high prices. You're buying something that you'll have for years...maybe for the rest of your life! Think of all the value there!

I think this is the most likely explanation, and unfortunately, it means that the business model for book sales is out of sync with the way most people use books: as temporary and disposable diversions. The way booksellers price books now is akin to Charmin making teflon TP and pricing it at $1,000/roll. Sure, you may have one square for the rest of your life, but who would need or want to?

This discrepancy is, to me, what makes the Kindle such a compelling value proposition to consumers: Buy basically one durable "book" at a high price, and then a low price for new content over the life of the "book."

This business model makes a lot more sense to consumers from a utility perspective. Does it mean that the Kindle's victory over print is inevitable? Hardly. Substitutes, including ultra-portable computers, NetBooks, and the various iPhone/Pods/whatevers, abound. The winning device will be the one that carves out a niches in your purse, or, in this case, bookshelf.

I Got in Trouble at School

...Trying to go over my class credit limit. I'm sorry, but 60 credits is totally doable. MIT undergrad would have let me take my entire graduation requirement in the same semester! B.S.

Advice to anyone at an MBA program: go for a school without credit limits.

Argh Devito's Argh

I checked, and I can get 6 stone crab claws overnighted to me in Boston for $20. I wasn't even shopping around -- this is the first place I clicked.

Devito's tried to charge me $35 for one claw.

Women: Less likely to cuckold you thank previously thought

I'm putting this one up here for Inaki, who is CONSTANTLY citing the "1 in 10" statistic as proof that secretly, all women want to cheat.

Now, science has proved we don't, especially when you marry us.

So NYEH.

Strange customer service interaction

A while ago, I started my own business--a copywriting and marketing consulting firm. I would still run it as a sideline, if the tiny start-up that I worked for didn't have very strict, very clear rules about this sort of thing.

The business had its own credit card -- an Amex Blue for Business Rewards card -- on which I had charged up quite a bit over the last few years of operations, but which now I felt that I should cancel.

I called up to close the account and was surprised to have all sorts of goodies thrown at me, among them cash rebates, 5,000 rewards points and a $25 credit (which surprised me -- $25? Seriously? Is $25 really going to make or break anyone?).

When I told the rep -- again and again -- that I really really wanted to close the account, he actually sounded angry. "I just don't understand why you would want a personal card for business spending," he said.

I felt like I was scraping off a clingy ex. Maybe that's why I bothered to stay on the phone for so long instead of just cutting the conversation short. I actually felt kind of bad for the guy.

But in the end, it went the way all things must, and I signed up for an Amex Cash card instead. 5% annual return versus a .7% annual return from my member rewards card. What business person wouldn't make the switch?

Why is the Seattle Public Library so sexist?

The results of a recent search:


Okay, economics and HOME economics are NOT the same.

Team-building

Went out to lunch with a couple of the guys from work. They are frankly, awesome. The team here is great.

And, I really feel a part of it because we just had our first over-share. Apparently, one product (which shall go nameless)

causes diarrhea "8 out of 10 times" for one of my bosses. He's even kept a journal.

Hilarious. Seriously, what would work be without people like this?