Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin
The one question that is always avoided in these discussions, probably because it is speculative and because indie authors mostly want to believe it will not matter, is this: What will Amazon do once it has a monopoly of the ebook market?
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This is not a question that is always avoided. This is a question that is always brought up. And the fact is that low price retailers that get a dominant position in an area through low prices don't jack up their prices. They just don't. Wal-mart didn't. Borders and B&N didn't. Best Buy didn't...and neither did any of the other Big Box retailers. And Amazon won't either, for at least three reasons: (1) there is always some competition; (2) books are a leisure activity, and people can always choose to do another activity if this one is too expensive; and (3) raising prices invites more competition, and the barriers to entry for an online retailer aren't that high.
(An exception to the not jacking up prices principle might be gas stations, since individuals can't really substitute anything for gasoline.)