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Also missing is the notion that consumers are ultimately the deciders. If Amazon's service is so terrible, consumers will make other choices. If consumers prefer cozy local independent bookshops, that's where they will spend their money. And the claim, again, repeated without context (or proof), that Amazon is using predatory pricing -- selling below cost to drive competitors out of business -- is galling.
Also the notion that $9.99 for ebooks was a price Amazon created "without consulting publishers" is simply bizarre: a free market is supposed to be about choice, not price fixing by suppliers. If consumers prefer to pay $24.95 for a physical book at their indie bookshop vs. $9.99 for an ebook, let them. I am certain that over time the Agency Five will figure out that $14.99 for an e-book won't make them the same profits as a $9.99 best-seller. Funny thing about the free market: the consumer is driving the outcome.
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