Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenMonkey
Is the argument that the various publishing houses are making, then, that Amazon (and Apple or whoever) is their agent, not a retailer?
I personally believe MAP / RPM laws, allowing corporations to restrict how much retailers sell their products for, are anti-competitive and an anti-trust problem. Companies should be allowed to price products they are selling as they want (for good or ill) in order to compete.
Problem is, the Supreme Court right now seems to be awfully nice to corporations, so it's legal. That doesn't keep me from believing it to be anti- free market at its heart. I sympathize with states that have attempted to ban the practice.
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Could you (or someone) please explain in which way Amazon or any of the ebook-sellers act as a retailer?
In my view they have found a no-risk niche (depending on the exact accounting practices), no expensive to store stock, no money to the producer to obtain the stock, no risk of having un-sellable stock. And if they keep the money they obtain for sold products for a couple of days they can sell the product without mark-up and still make a profit due to interest.