Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
Honestly, the idea that browsing six electronic bookstores is the same as browsing six physical bookstores is just wrong. Give that up.
Whether the publishers can minimize Amazon's dominance by creating alternate sales channels and models is uncertain. I'm certain they'll keep trying and the Pottermore model is one option- and a reasonably consumer-friendly one if you are not exclusively an Amazon customer.
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No it is not. I want to go to one store and browse and find what I want to find in one spot. I don't want to have 6 browsers open to compare and contrast books.
Just because you do not like Amazon, and apparently BN, Kobo, Sony, Waterstones or any other e-book store out there, does not mean that most people find them convienent and sensible. Most e-reader users buy their books from the eco-system their book is tied to. Make it hard for people to find books, and I consider having to browse 6 websites and have 6 log ins, and have 6 different accounts hard, and people will stop using their e-readers.
The solution to the Publishers problems is not to make my life harder by adding a Publisher website or, worse, 6 publishers web sites. The solution to the publishers problems is to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they are not going to make the same margins on an e-book as they do a hardback book and to change their model to reflect that. Cut back on the advances, pay better royalties to the authors instead, and look at new forms of marketing. Better yet, improve competition among the bookstores by removing DRM and allowing the bookstores to, oh say, compete. Let me decide if BN sells DRM Free Mobis in bundles that make me want to shop there instead of Amazon.
Agency pricing is not helping competition, it is just tying people to the various eco-systems that exist. Amazon is winning that war in many a country, not just the US, because it is easy to use, easy to shop, and has good customer service. BN, Kobo, Sony, Waterstones and the like can either raise their game and attract more customers or they will become marginal players.