DOJ: Apple and B&N can continue to use agency pricing

[Top100EbooksRank]

http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f285300/285315.pdf

To the extent the proposed Final Judgment requires changes to the business relationship between retailers such as Apple and Settling Defendants, it ensures that retailers have more flexibility, not less. Apple’s stated position on this point is that “eBook retailers such as Apple and Barnes & Noble should be free to continue with the agency model without Government mandated changes.” Id. at 3. They are indeed free to do so. Nothing in the proposed Final Judgment would force Apple or B&N to exercise discounting authority - they are free to carry out their own businesses exactly as before. What they may not do is continue to rely on a conspiracy to restrain their competitors.

[tubemonkey]

By all means, let Apple and B&N sell books $3~$5 higher than Amazon.

[Top100EbooksRank]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

By all means, let Apple and B&N sell books $3~$5 higher than Amazon.

If you have a Nook, what option do you have if the book you want is $9.99 on Kindle and $12.99 or $14.99 on Nook? (beside removing the DRM, which most buyers don't know how).

Many Nook buyers wouldn't even know that the prices might be lower elsewhere.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Top100EbooksRank

If you have a Nook, what option do you have if the book you want is $9.99 on Kindle and $12.99 or $14.99 on Nook? (beside removing the DRM, which most buyers don't know how).

Many Nook buyers wouldn't even know that the prices might be lower elsewhere.

I don't have a problem with consumers paying different prices for the same item.

[Top100EbooksRank]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I don't have a problem with consumers paying different prices for the same item.

Same. That's how it should work in the world of retailing.

If B&N doesn't want to exercise its "discounting authority" sooner or later, buyers would notice. And the market will correct itself which will force B&N to compete.

Competition is a good thing. Same price for ebook is not.

eBook X: $14.99 on Amazon, B&N, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Googleplay. Where's the competition?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Top100EbooksRank

eBook X: $14.99 on Amazon, B&N, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Googleplay. Where's the competition?

Competition??? Project Gutenberg and public libraries

High prices find me seeking alternatives. If a favorite author becomes too expensive, I'll ditch him and find a cheaper author.

To me, there is no such thing as a must read author!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I don't have a problem with consumers paying different prices for the same item.

Try to buy a wiper blade for a Mercedes.
(A friend of mine bought a used MB. Nice car. Outrageous maintenance costs. Replaced it with a new VW GTI. Even better car, decent maintenance costs.)
Let each vendor price products according to their price structure and target market; they'll find their own customer base.

If epub compatibility matters to you, then the Adobe tax and a higher Nook price shouldn't bother you. But if *I* don't care, why shouuld I have to give Amazon more money (than they even want) just to match *your* pricing?

Besides, giving Amazon more money to play with is not going to lead to anything good for their opponents.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Top100EbooksRank

eBook X: $14.99 on Amazon, B&N, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Googleplay. Where's the competition?

For me, an equal or better book for $6 at Baen.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

To me, there is no such thing as a must read author!

thank you, i thought i was the only person who felt that way. as much as i like certain authors, i'm not gonna lose sleep if i miss their books.

[stonetools]

Lets be blunt. The purpose of the agency model is to ensure that the publisher, not the retailer, sets the final price. By taking that way, the DOJ is in fact pushing the publishers back to the wholesale model, at least for the next two years. They are disingenuous in suggesting that they are not dictating a business model. In effect, they are, regardless of the formal wording.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Lets be blunt. The purpose of the agency model is to ensure that the publisher, not the retailer, sets the final price. By taking that way, the DOJ is in fact pushing the publishers back to the wholesale model, at least for the next two years. They are disingenuous in suggesting that they are not dictating a business model. In effect, they are, regardless of the formal wording.

It's called punishment.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

thank you, i thought i was the only person who felt that way. as much as i like certain authors, i'm not gonna lose sleep if i miss their books.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Competition??? Project Gutenberg and public libraries

High prices find me seeking alternatives. If a favorite author becomes too expensive, I'll ditch him and find a cheaper author.

To me, there is no such thing as a must read author!

I agree.
I cannot afford the latest and greatest and the prices that go with it in e format, so I choose affordable stuff.

And I love the public library. Reading doesn't need to be expensive. Even as a kid, before e-books, reading was a "poor man's" hobby, and it still can be. Expensive incarnations of books don't stop me from reading.

Once a week I also browse smashwords for freebies. Discovering new authors is great, and if I buy their books, they are drm-free and not too expensive.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's called punishment.

Just so we understand what's really happening.

TBH, there's a lot of different ways Apple and the publishers can go with this . The old way was for the publisher to charge one price for a book, regardless of the retailer or pricing model. That might change.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Just so we understand what's really happening.

I think we've all understood what's really happening, in spite of the attempts by Apple and the opposing publishers to pretend this is about agency pricing.

The DoJ is not 'dictating a business model', they are dismantling a legal business model which was brought about by illegal collusion.

Graham