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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I understand the theory--I haven't seen it working in ebook stores. With all prices the same, the stores with the biggest selection, most reviews, & most coding features--Amazon and B&N--have things to offer that smaller stores don't.
Since small ebookstores were never going to be able to discount as much as Amazon, they counted on other features to draw customers. Fictionwise had Micropay with a lot of bonuses for buying at their store: buy one, get one half-price later. Or get one free later. Other sites could have member-only discounts or coupons, or other kinds of activity/purchase rewards. But with agency pricing, there's no reason not to buy from the largest aggregator.
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The Fictionwise strategy was a form of loyalty discount: as ftorres said, that might come back as part of the settlement . But really, it's another kind of discount: which means thatvFictionwise was going to lose out against Amazon anyway.
Frankly , I don't think that there is any way in the long run that small ebook stores can compete with Amazon or BN. The people the DoJ might have the most sympathy for is the small independent B&M booksellers who complain, rightly, that they were showplaces for Amazon: people would browse thir stores, accept advice from their staff, and then go home and buy from Amazon. THEY want agency pricing extended to physical books. Frankly, everyone in the book industry supports agency pricing EXCEPT Amazon. I've yet to see anyone doubt that Amazon would not achieve complete dominance in the ebook market without agency pricing, which would be an unacceptable outcome for the DOJ.