In a free market, competition drives prices down since buyers want to shop wherever they can get the best price. In the past shoppers, paid attention to broad trends, like which store generally had the best price on produce. No one had time to check bananas in every grocery store. Online retail has only taken this to a new level by making comparison shopping convenient and instant. Many sites do the work for you, pulling all the major online retailers together on one page, and letting you pick the best price. To survive, Internet retailers have to