Here's the intro statement (from the link):
Wholesale and Agency Pricing in the E-book Market
This study is being conducted as part of a Masters dissertation in Library and Information Management through Manchester Metropolitan University. I am be studying the differences between the wholesale and agency pricing models on e-books, and the effect that the pricing model has on purchasing decisions of e-book consumers.
Your participation is greatly valued. If at any time you wish to withdraw your participation please contact the researcher who will destroy any data already received from you. All data will be anonymous and will not be used for any purpose other than this dissertation study. Collected data will be stored securely and the final report will not use any identifying information. If you have further questions or concerns please contact the researcher. The researcher for this project is Lucy Grieve and can be contacted at
lucy.grieve2@stu.mmu.ac.uk. The supervisor for the project is Sheila French.
E-books are sold under two different pricing models, wholesale and agency. Until 2010, all e-books were sold under the wholesale pricing model. Under the wholesale model, the retailer (such as Amazon or Waterstone’s) sets the price of the e-book to be sold to the reader. However, using the agency model, the publisher sets the price for the e-books, which the retailer must then observe, and cannot change prices at their discretion, such as to offer discounts or raise the price. This survey aims to discover attitudes of readers towards the pricing models.