Halfway Home

While the Internet is ablaze with the war over Napster and MP3s, a business offering everyone's favorite legal method for obtaining cheap music-used CDs-is quietly making its mark. Using a business model that's part eBay, part Amazon, Half.com hooks up buyers and sellers of used CDs (and a smaller selection of books, video games and movies) while eliminating many of the person-to-person hassles that can make auctions a risky proposition. And unlike an auction site, Half.com virtually guarantees that your purchase will be a steal-everything is sold for a maximum of half of list price.

While there are holes, the site's selection is fairly robust-among more than 500,000 CDs for sale, we found everything from Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death ($3) and Santana's Supernatural (a steeper $9.48) to more obscure offerings from bands like Sonic Youth, Hazel and Tuscadero-all at $5 or less.

In other media, the site featured NFL Madden 2000 for $20, a DVD of the Matrix for $12 and a hardcover copy of A Man In Full for $1.75. If Half.com doesn't have what you're looking for, you can add the product to a "wish list" that will send you an email as soon as the item comes in. And if you're really willing to wait, you can even specify a maximum price you're willing to pay.

Though the system still involves third-party transactions, Half.com handles all the movement of money, preventing the check-or-money order nightmare that can make mail-order a drag. When a buyer purchases an item from the site, Half.com authorizes the purchase on their credit card, then contacts the seller. Once the seller "confirms" the sale (which means they must ship within two days), Half.com charges your card. You get your CD, and the seller eventually gets a check from the site. Theoretically, at least, everyone gets paid (Half.com takes 15%).

Despite their good idea, there's still no telling whether Half.com will distinguish itself or fall by the wayside with the rest of the dot-com detritus. Whatever the outcome of the business, though, the site has made a bid for longevity in another way-by renaming an entire town. This January, after several months of negotiations, donated computers and vague promises, Halfway, Oregon (pop 345) became Half.com, Oregon-the first dot-com town in America. And in today's world, where everybody loves a pun or a gimmick, the ploy ain't half bad.

-By Jonas Blank