Quote:
Originally Posted by j.p.s
So, it wasn't a mistake to conspire to fix ebook prices?
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Well, now...
There is a school of thought that says nothing's a mistake as long as you don't get caught.
One thing that comes to mind is that the risk-reward assessment at Apple was (and remains) way beyond anything reasonable.
Starting with the fines: one estimate I saw put the possible damages/fines on Apple at $850M, with the possibility of treble damages raising it to $2B. Chump change for Apple, I know.
However, the entire US ebook business in 2012 was estimated at $2B and Apple's share at 10-12%, which works out to a gross of $250M. Apple's net on that would be in the $50-60M range for 2012; lower in 2011, higher in 2013, so a $5M a month net for iBooks US is a fair bogey.
So, we have a company that makes well over a billion a month jumping headfirst into a sewer of illegal activity over a business worth a half of one percent of their normal net. And that now faces the prospect of fines amounting to 5-10 years worth of iBook profits.
There is a school of thought that would call that a mistake of historical proportions. And if things escalate...