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Originally Posted by ProfCrash
Yup. It would be nice to see the independent e-bookstores be able to provide more books for users....
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Google offered that option... and just cancelled it. I doubt any other type of approach could work, since independent stores -- even ones as big as Powells -- can't afford to offer its own ebooks.
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Originally Posted by ProfCrash
Do people really believe that BN would not have matched Amazon's discounts?
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It's not a matter of belief, it's a matter of fact.
http://inkmesh.com/blog/2009/11/30/a...ebook-pricing/
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...agency-market/
Again, B&N has poured lots of money into Nook development, and lost a big chunk of money last year as a result. They very likely could not afford to match Amazon on ebook prices.
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Originally Posted by ProfCrash
As for Apple, Jobs was late to the game because he did not believe people read enough to develop a dedicated e-reader....
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[indent=20]"It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” said [Steve Jobs]. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”[/indent]That was early 2008, right around the time they were likely starting to develop the iPad.
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Originally Posted by ProfCrash
I would also point out that Amazon established its price point long before BN, Kobo, or Apple entered the market. So Amazon's price was not established to take out the competition.
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They were competing against Sony and smaller stores (like Fictionwise) as well as against paper books. They were also competing against B&N prior to the iPad release.
Apple explicitly demanded "most favored" status in order to ensure that Apple would not be undercut on price by Amazon. Kinda the whole point of the push for agency pricing....