Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
We've already discussed at length the fact that many European countries impose fixed prices for books on the grounds that doing so benefits society.
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Yes.
But is that "solution" actually effective? Does the gouging of consumers to protect retailers actually protect *retailers* as the conspirator apologists claim?
You'd know better than me what the retail scene is in the UK but on this side of the pond, the case has been made (compellingly, to me) that the Price Fix conspiracy was a total backfire that froze the market of reading *devices*, foreclosing new entrants who are unable to compete with the pricing of the walled-garden devices, and effectively locking in Amazon and B&N's market share, with the primary beneficiary being Amazon. (B&N's market share is a respectable 25% or so but it didn't acually *grow* under Agency.)
So Agency protected B&N's share, protected Amazon's share, and blocked new hardware entries which means all new ebook adopters have been funneled to the *existing* vendors. And since ebookstore choice is tied to the hardware, the result is a marginalization of the device-independent ebookstores.
Even Google has been a failure and they have since discontinued their ebooks through indie bookstore efforts.
Things may be different elsewhere but here the only measurable outcomes of two years of ebook Price Fxing here are a stronger Amazon, a Nook that is still bleeding $77 million per quarter, and *less* competition for devices and ebooks.
That doesn't look to be much of an advertisement for Price Fixing.
Not. Here.
Price fixing may or not work elsewhere but *here*, as implemented, it hasn't achieved any social good and the DOJ for calling a two year hiatus in its use by the conspirators may force them to actually take a look at what they've been doing to themselves, their authors, and their readers. And maybe they'll come up with a *legal* approach to selling their product at a time of technological disruption.
Or not. Maybe they'll just go back to Price Fixing the first chance they get.
But, the tipping point is *still* coming.
And all the time they're spending looking for anti-Amazon "magic bullets" is time they're not spending preparing for the future of smaller shelf-space, more quality ebook content, perpetual backlist, and less reader herd behavior (smaller "bestseller" sales volumes).
Gouging consumers isn't going to help them there.
Price Fixing is not going to help there, either.
They're so focused on Amazon they're ignoring the bigger threat of changing consumer habits. And, moving forward, the ower is moving to the consumers.
*That* is the real threat to the conspirators in their glass towers.