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Originally Posted by bgalbrecht
When the publishers guaranteed that the price was the same everywhere, and sold only books with DRM, the only way Amazon could ever stop being their biggest ebook retailer is if some other company comes out with a more popular ereader platform. For all the publishers' grandstanding, this was never about the Amazon ebook monopoly, it was about the fear that discounted ebooks would cannibalize their hardcover sales, which is where they make the most profits. By controlling (and raising) the ebook price, they could slow the adoption of ebooks and preserve the hardcover profits.
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Whenever you have fixed prices, it doesn't matter where you buy the item. Suddenly, the retailer has to find another enticement to get prospective buyers into their stores. That's why you frequently see store gift cards offered during Black Friday for some items. It's because stores aren't allowed to offer direct discounts.
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Apple, on the other hand, was in it to ensure that they didn't have to discount ebooks in order to compete with Amazon.
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When your bottom line hinges on high margins, the only way to compete is to get publishers to set prices at a level higher than your competition offers. What a corrupt way to conduct business.