Believe it or not, there has been a dotcom success story, and it's not pr0n. The New York Times has an article on how used bookstores are making money selling via the internet.
In fact, the used-book industry so well illustrates the classic economic model that it could replace widgets in Econ. 101 and no one would know the difference.It's not surprising to me. I helped found Bookstore Junkies, a non-profit gathering of people who love to scour bookstores looking for genre fiction. We did it not-for-profit, though. Cost must be cover price + shipping only, and we did a great job of finding books for each other. Our free service could easily have been turned into a paid service if someone had a mind to do so.
While I love walking through a used bookstore and browsing the shelves, looking for specific titles and finding others I hadn't known I wanted, I must say that it's a godsend to just be able to order something online and get it within a few days.
Courtesy of Slashdot.