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Rob Lister · 03-10-2012, 08:01 AM

There are dozens of threads here on agency pricing and the evils/advantages thereof so this may be retread territory.

I was reading the DOJ lawsuit thread and was curious as to how the publishers coordinate their distribution, so I visited the Simon & Schuster site to see if they were selling the books for the same price they "set" at other sites.

I was astounded to find they do not!, at least for the one and only example I choose.

I checked other retailers and found that the Amazon price is, as expected, the B&N price, is the Sony price, etc. But I check iTunes and find:

Ya know, in the real world--the meat world--this is completely bass-ackward. Manufacturers kiss the butt of their largest retailers. They bow and scrape and lick the feet of the megastores, and that includes never undercutting them.

But what is your point, Rob Lister?

I'm not sure I have one other than to share that I suspect there is something more to this than my wee brain can comprehend. I get that they do not 'like' Amazon, but they're treating other retailers the same ... except Apple. What kickback are they getting from Apple?

03-10-2012, 08:01 AM	#1
Rob Lister Fanatic Posts: 532 Karma: 3293888 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Virginia Device: Nook Simple Touch	Agency Pricing: Reverse Paradigm There are dozens of threads here on agency pricing and the evils/advantages thereof so this may be retread territory. I was reading the DOJ lawsuit thread and was curious as to how the publishers coordinate their distribution, so I visited the Simon & Schuster site to see if they were selling the books for the same price they "set" at other sites. I was astounded to find they do not!, at least for the one and only example I choose. I checked other retailers and found that the Amazon price is, as expected, the B&N price, is the Sony price, etc. But I check iTunes and find: Ya know, in the real world--the meat world--this is completely bass-ackward. Manufacturers kiss the butt of their largest retailers. They bow and scrape and lick the feet of the megastores, and that includes never undercutting them. But what is your point, Rob Lister? I'm not sure I have one other than to share that I suspect there is something more to this than my wee brain can comprehend. I get that they do not 'like' Amazon, but they're treating other retailers the same ... except Apple. What kickback are they getting from Apple?