Re:Efficent Market Hypothesis: irrational to compare prices?
by cperciva on Saturday July 26, 2008 @11:54PM
(#258008)
If you believe that the market has zero friction (and I don't think you'll find any economists who believe that) then there is no point comparing prices.
Reading reviews is worth doing for non-commodities -- which is to say, reading reviews is worth doing whenever reviews exist. You won't find reviews comparing bricks of 99.9999% pure gold with each other; there would be no point. But you certainly do find reviews of computers: The best computer for one person is not necessarily the best for someone else -- computers are not commodities.
Reading reviews is worth doing for non-commodities -- which is to say, reading reviews is worth doing whenever reviews exist. You won't find reviews comparing bricks of 99.9999% pure gold with each other; there would be no point. But you certainly do find reviews of computers: The best computer for one person is not necessarily the best for someone else -- computers are not commodities.