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Algorithmic Pricing Leading to Disequilibrium in the Second-Hand Book Market

A real-world instance of market disequilibrium occurred on Amazon with the out-of-print book 'The Making of a Fly.' Biologist Michael Eisen observed how automated pricing algorithms from two different sellers interacted, causing the book's price to skyrocket from an initial $1.7 million to a peak of over $23 million. The price eventually corrected to $106.23. This case demonstrates how automated systems can lead to extreme and unstable pricing when equilibrium conditions are not met, rather than achieving a stable market-clearing price.

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Updated 2025-07-13

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