Review of Higher Profits Through Customer Lock-In (Hardcover)

Author Joachim Büschken adeptly presents a different form of pricing strategy based on making it more expensive for customers to switch from your product to a new one, even if your product fails them. This concept, called "customer lock-in," entails charging such high "switching costs" for changing vendors that customers are stuck. It means that consumers who buy deficient software or earn frequent flier miles on a chronically tardy airline are reluctant to change because switching is a big nuisance or too expensive. While your business may not embrace this idea, some hardware (Hewlett-Packard) and software (Microsoft) companies use it to great advantage. To his credit, Büschken has a short section on the ethics of lock-in. He concludes that it is ethically okay given disclosure, though you may want to have a deeper discussion. While the writing can be repetitive and dry, we find that this is a rare book on a sensitive topic. We recommend it to marketers and product strategists who want to learn more about this little-known, potentially controversial pricing practice. It is also a pretty good eye-opener for consumers; customer lock-in takes 'caveat emptor'to new heights (or depths).



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Review of How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers (Hardcover)

This book is great for anyone ranging from beginner to intermediate knowledge of financial reports.I have taken accounting and finance classes in college.This book tells the same things that 600 page textbooks and hours and hours of lecture can tell you, but it does so in an easy to understand and concise manner.

Most important it explains the relationships clearly between the income statement, balance sheet, and cashflow statement.This book would be great for anyone starting an education in finance or for any investor trying to broaden their knowledge base.If you invest in stocks, you should learn how to read financial statements.This book will give you some much needed knowledge that you can use as you scour for companies to invest in.

This author takes pride in his writing.John A. Tracy is a professor of accounting, but his knack for concise explanations and the clear use of the English language is evident throughout.



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Review of Commodities for Every Portfolio: How You Can Profit from the Long-Term Commodity Boom (Hardcover)

After spending the last 10 years investing in stocks and seeing the rapid climb in commodity prices, I wanted to learn more about the markets and how to profit from the move. After seeing Mr. Balarie on many business channels I decided to pick up his book, and I am glad I did.

Balarie starts the book with his opinion that the commodity bull-run is far from over while highlighting many key drivers to support the sustainability of the rally.
What I found the most beneficial was where he goes into the many ways to investment in commodities and the inherent risks involved.

If you are interested in commodities this is a must read.





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Review of Biography of the Dollar: How the Mighty Buck Conquered the World and Why It's Under Siege (Hardcover)

Craig Karmin's new book, "Biography of the Dollar," explores a world that most of us in America take for granted - the world of currency.So, what's so important about the currency?My answer to that is simple- everything.

A free-flowing, stable currency is what makes all trade possible- both domestically and internationally.A lack of confidence in the underlying value of a currency can bring entire economies to a screeching halt.The results can be devastating- life savings are wiped out, hyperinflation can take root, debt is defaulted on, investment dries up.It can take decades for economies to recover.

If you're like me, you probably haven't given much thought to these issues.Because, as Americans, they seem to be such remote possibilities.But are they . . . ?

Karmin's book does an excellent job of informing the reader of how the US Dollar is created, distributed and used not only in the United States; but, throughout the world.Karmin covers many aspects of the Greenback- from printing (it costs 5.7 cents to print one) to foreign government's hoarding (60% of the dollars in circulation are overseas) to lending and interest rates (thank China, not the fed, for keeping US consumer borrowing rates low).

Karmin also brings to light the intense pressure that the Dollar is under every day from seemingly all sides:

-the U.S. Government's unwillingness to balance the budget,
-Asian and Middle Eastern countries growing less interested with "subsidizing" the value of the Dollar,
-the solidifying of the Euro as an alternative global currency, and
-the U.S. consumer's never-ending desire to "borrow-and-buy" their way through life

All of these factors have already played out to a certain degree in the declining value of the Dollar over the past couple years.Will the trend continue and how far will it go?Those questions are explored as well.

I highly recommend that anyone read this book- it is an eye opener without getting technical (economist-types will miss their I-L-S-M diagrams)- and it poses all the right questions to get American's thinking about the implications for the future- whether that be as vital as national security or as trivial as the cost of a hotel room in Paris.




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Review of Selling Your Business: The Transition from Entrepreneur to Investor (Hardcover)

Compiled by Louis Crosier and written by a group of investment and other financial advisors, each of whom contributed a chapter, this book thoroughly addresses every important question involved in the sale of a business, except the matter of finding a buyer. It focuses on financial planning, so the information on insurance, taxes, negotiations, deal structuring and the like is comprehensive and detailed. One of the more interesting chapters, however, addresses the emotional consequences of a windfall of cash. It turns out that the ancient sages were right: money doesn't solve problems; it just substitutes new problems for old ones. We recommend this book to those who are considering selling their businesses. For readers who may have to embark on the problem-plagued life of a wealthy ex-entrepreneur, this book is a useful (although a rather dry) guide.



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Review of Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing: A Simpler and More Powerful Path to Higher Profits (Hardcover)

Activity-based costing can provide important insights; however, it also can be complex and difficult to implement and sustain. Time-driven activity-based costing more straightforwardly uses time as the primary metric for assessing costs, since almost all costs have a time dimension. Robert S. Kaplan and Steven R. Anderson provide a thorough, if highly technical, introduction to time-driven activity-based costing. Chapter by chapter, they show readers how to estimate process times, calculate capacity cost ratios, and plan and implement a TDABC system. Their detailed case studies illustrate the benefits of this clear, sophisticated tactic for budgeting, cost management, process improvement, benchmarking and acquisition evaluations. getAbstract thinks their book will be important to any executive, manager or academician who must understand operational costs.



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Review of Economic Education for Consumers (Hardcover)

The condition of the textbook I ordered was excellent and it only took two days to receive it.



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Review of Catching the Wolf of Wall Street: More Incredible True Stories of Fortunes, Schemes, Parties, and Prison (Hardcover)

Who would write a book boasting about snitching on all their friends? And it's unclear to me why he needs to describe every detail of his sex life with his wife. Classy. What he needs to do islearn to write a sentence that doesn't have a cliche in it; and if I ever see the word "alas" again I'm going to shoot myself in the head. His first book was amusing, due to the drug and spending sprees, unfortunately this book takes place after those ended.



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Review of Navigating the Mortgage Maze: The Simple Truth About Financing Your Home (Paperback)

My husband and I have had mortgages for 25 years.I wish we had this book way back when we started.We would have saved thousands of dollars!Everything is explained in understandable, step-by-step language.This book is essential for anyone with a mortgage.

Product Description

Confused or overwhelmed by the "mortgage maze"? Industry pro Dale Vermillion explains the simple truth. Learn about wise mortgage financing, and how to avoid common traps that cost you thousands of dollars! Chapters include:

• The Top 10 Mortgage Mistakes

• Simple Truth about Interest Rates and APR's

• Mortgage Industry Dilemma

• The Simple Truth About Debt

• Qualifying for Mortgage Financing

• Establishing Financial Goals

• Mortgage Refinancing as an Investment Tool

• Borrowing Smart

• Mortgage Independence

• Moving to Real Life Change

About the Author

Dale Vermillion, a 25 year mortgage veteran, has developed a series of consumer-based seminars under his MortgageMpowered™ brand. He founded Vermillion Consulting, Inc. to provide high-integrity sales and management training services to the mortgage industry. Over the past thirteen years Dale has spoken at mortgage events and conferences in both the U.S. and Canada. He has trained and consulted more than 140 mortgage companies and more than 250,000 mortgage professionals through his corporate and Mortgage Champions® individual training programs. Dale has written articles featured in numerous mortgage industry publications.

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