Macmillan ending most favored clause and allow retailer discount 10% on ebook $13.99

[Top100EbooksRank]

http://paidcontent.org/2012/12/19/ma...and-heres-why/
Macmillan CEO: No, we won’t settle with the DOJ in the ebooks case

Macmillan CEO John Sargent sent a letter to authors and agents on Wednesday afternoon, saying that the publisher does not plan to follow Penguin’s lead and settle with the Department of Justice in the ebooks lawsuit. But, Sargent said, Macmillan voluntarily entered new retailer contracts that conform with many of the requirements in the DOJ’s settlement.

Nevertheless, Macmillan has entered new contracts with most ebook retailers “except one whose term was not up yet” (he does not specify which one). Sargent explains the new terms: “All the new contracts are compliant with the government’s requests in their complaint. They contain no most-favored nations clauses and no price limits. They also allow 10 percent discounting on individual books priced at $13.99 and above.” (This was partially reported by Publishers Weekly on Monday.) (Macmillan settled in the European Union “because of many differences in their system and because the discounting change will not materially affect the market there for us.”)

Excerpt of his letter:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/12/a-m...m-john-sargent

Since the very beginning, the government’s demands have never wavered in all our discussions. They still insist on the two year discounting regime that forms the heart of the agreement signed by the three settling publishers. It was our belief that Amazon would use that entire discount for the two years. That would mean that retailers who felt they needed to match prices with Amazon would have no revenue from ebooks from five of the big publishers (and possibly the sixth) for two years. Not no profit, no revenue. For two years. We felt that few retailers could survive this or would choose to survive this.

So his beef is that he want B&N, Google, Kobo and Apple to make a profit on selling ebook. Because he feel that if they compete with Amazon in the open market, they won't win because Amazon "would use that entire discount for the two years."

Without the profits from selling ebook, the like of B&N, Google, Kobo and Apple couldn't survive or choose to survive.

[Top100EbooksRank]

Macmillan CEO doesn't consider ebook as "real books"?

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/12/a-m...m-john-sargent

The best news as we enter this holiday season is that independent booksellers have had a good year, booksellers in general have had the time to adjust their product mix and store counts, and consumers continue to value and buy real books.

[Synamon]

It was our belief that Amazon would use that entire discount for the two years.

And I believe in fairies. Is the man delusional?

How is it in Amazon's best interest in this climate to lose money selling e-books? The lower prices years ago were a temporary hook to introduce Kindles, but now Amazon's strategy is to sell the devices at cost and make money selling content. Amazon has adapted to the new digital world, MacMillan has not. Which seems to be reflected in their e-book sales, which Sargent described as "softer of late".

He's also ignoring the advice of his lawyers, that always goes well. Since I already boycott MacMillan because they refuse to sell e-books to libraries, I won't be sad to see them go the way of the dodo bird.

[david_e]

Never mind...

[Nate the great]

I hope no one here is going to take him at his word. He is clearly prevaricating:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...-12-in-length/

[bla]

13.99 for an e-book is sheer robbery no matter how you look at it.. you would have thought they would have learned a lesson from the music industry... but apparently not..

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bla

13.99 for an e-book is sheer robbery no matter how you look at it.. you would have thought they would have learned a lesson from the music industry... but apparently not..

It's reasonable for a book which is only currently available in hardback. Prices generally fall considerably once the paperback is released. It's entirely your choice: pay more to read now, or wait for the price to fall and read later. I don't have a problem with that at all - goodness knows my TBR list is long enough .

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's reasonable for a book which is only currently available in hardback. Prices generally fall considerably once the paperback is released. It's entirely your choice: pay more to read now, or wait for the price to fall and read later. I don't have a problem with that at all - goodness knows my TBR list is long enough .

That would be great if retailers weren't allowed to discount the hardback book below $13.99. I can walk into any number of stores and find current hardbacks priced lower than that.

All the price fixing fiasco has done for me is to seek out new authors and occasionally use the library.