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Originally Posted by Andrew H.
The problem is not agency pricing (which is neither asinine or anti-free market). The problem is the agency *price.*.
Itunes uses agency pricing and most people don't complain about the price. Ebay uses agency pricing, and likewise.
If the publishers had moved to agency pricing and sold new bestsellers for $5.99, everyone would be talking about how Amazon was ripping us off with its $9.99 prices, how it was right for the publisher to set the price, how we don't need middlemen, etc. The only problem with agency pricing is that, in this case, the publishers set the price at a price people believe to be too high.
But that has everything to do with the price, and little to do with the agency.
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Ummmm, no, they most certainly do not. All eBay provides is a venue to conduct business. Each seller is responsible for the transaction. eBay sells NOTHING to the consumer they do sell space to the seller and that is the extent of their involvement other than some oversight to help ensure transactions are fairly safe and within the law.
Agency pricing has been well outlined in the thread but it does not apply to the eBay model it also does not apply to other venues such as a flea market/swap meet where the venue only provides a location for the independent sellers to conduct business. Sellers do not even sell under the license of the venue. I suppose it could be argued a consignment shop is a form of "agency pricing" but I don't think it fits what is being discussed here as in consignment shops the shop has latitude in what they actually sell the item for, they can bargain with potential buyers. Still a consignment shop is closer to the agency model being discussed in this thread than pure venues.
The Amazon Marketplace is also just a venue as well and the relationship between Marketplace sellers and Amazon are different legally than the relationship with the Agency 5 publishers.
Just wanted to make the distinction that eBay sells no products what-so-ever. Ebay also is not directly part of the transaction with the consumer unless there is a problem and then they attempt to moderate any issues. Amazon is a retailer who also has what amounts to a hybrid-marketplace with a mix of different types of sellers plus Amazon is a seller in the same marketplace.