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Originally Posted by stonetools
Frankly , I don't think that there is any way in the long run that small ebook stores can compete with Amazon or BN.
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They can compete with
1) Personalized customer service
2) Loyalty discounts
3) Better UI--good search, better info about the books
4) Additional activities on the site that draw in users. (If tor.com had a bookstore, it'd be solidly competing with B&N for its titles.)
5) Selection: carrying content not available at Amazon or B&N. (For example, some foreign language books, or some types of erotica, or better-formatted works.)
And possibly other ways. Your belief that they "can't compete" is not a basis for a legal ruling. It's likely that the biggest threat to a small ebook store is that, if it's successful enough, Amazon will attempt to *buy* it to shut it down, like B&N did with Fictionwise.
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Frankly, everyone in the book industry supports agency pricing EXCEPT Amazon.
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I am in the book industry. (A very tiny niche of the book industry, but I am professionally involved with a publishing company.) I do not support agency pricing.
Setting aside indie publishers & authors... Baen doesn't seem to support agency pricing. (I suspect their ebooks aren't on Amazon because at first, they wouldn't tolerate DRM; later, Amazon won't tolerate them selling the books in bundles.)
Are you under the impression that ebook stores are not "in the book industry?" Because many of those don't like agency pricing. They'd like to offer discounts to loyal customers. They'd like to offer "your first purchase is half price" incentives.
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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.
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If Amazon uses illegal methods, profit-juggling between several branches of the company to cover losses in whatever areas it takes to drive out competition to achieve market dominance, an anti-trust lawsuit will be launched against Amazon. This can happen even if they become the *only* online store (which isn't going to happen); I remember phone prices before & after the original AT&T split.
If they use legal methods ... there are no laws against one company being the best deal available.