Unutterably Silly Amazon's 9.99 Pricing Strategy vs Publishers Pricing Models

[poohbear_nc]

OK - I realize this really belongs in the General Discussion forum with the rest of the threads on the new Agency pricing model and the resulting insanity in ebooks being pulled from stores, pre-orders being delayed/cancelled/removed, etc. - but this is SO farking ridiculous I had to post here.

You will recall that publishers rebelled against Amazon's 9.99 price point for new releases, even when The Lost Symbol outsold the pbooks and earned a ton of money for the publisher. They whined that 9.99 was not a realistic price for newly released ebooks and are re-negotiating pricing deals with Amazon and other distributors. 9.99 IS EVIL.

So, as the story developed, readers became outraged when their ebook pre-orders vanished due to these prolonged negotiations about pricing changes. Amazon - apparently to placate disappointed readers - is selling newly released hardcovers at 9.99 if the ebook release has been pulled. I had pre-ordered the ebook version of Martha Grimes newest (The Black Cat) - and had it cancelled. I checked Amazon and bought the hardcover for 9.99.

It's kind of like Animal Farm - some 9.99 prices are better than others?
9.99 is now an OK price for hardcovers but not ebooks?

What next? I fear to ask.