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One other thing to consider: Will nonbookstores like Walmart follow B&N's lead? The Walmarts, Targets, and Costcos are big outlets for books and they have no love for Amazon. If they do follow B&N's lead, which I think they will, it will significantly decrease Amazon's chances of signing a Stephen King-level author, perhaps down to nearly nil. Although ebooks are a growing and significant market, the majority of revenue is still earned from pbook sales. Until that changes, not giving b&m exposure to Amazon books will hurt Amazon.
Also worth noting is that B&N's refusal also extends to the books that will be published by Harcourt for Amazon. It appears that Amazon's end run didn't run very far.
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