Clearinghouse models of online pricing - such as Varian (1980), Rosenthal (1980), Narasimhan (1988), and Baye-Morgan (2001) - view a price comparison site as an "information clearing-house" where shoppers and loyals obtain price and product information to make online purchases. These models...

A standard "solution" offered to the deleterious effects of all-out price competition is for firms to engage in differentiation strategies. This solution, however, depends critically on the inability of rivals to imitate a successful differentiation strategy. With imitation, we show how "Red...