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Originally Posted by rhadin
First, so what. If you don't like the price set by the BPHs, whether set individually or via conspiracy, don't buy the books they publish. It isn't as if there is a lack of books available. And if the only books you want to read are published by the BPHs, then either pay the price or boycott them. No matter what the BPHs do, they cannot control the retail market except for the books they publish.
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I don't like the prices the BWM publishers would like for their books, and I don't buy them at that price. Having said that, if I come across one of their books where I think the price is justified, I will pay it. But I haven't yet.
Your comment dismissing so lightly a conspiracy to rip-off consumers which has been before the courts and for which the perpetrators have or will be paying compensation is breathtaking. I take it you do not in fact condone such breaches of the law? Or do you feel the law is unjust in this respect?
The wholesale model which applied for so many years was not broken. The market was run, as are many markets, by wholesalers selling their books to retailers, who then sold to the public. It is an industry where, pre-cartel, the wholesalers set their prices to the retailers, who bought the goods and set the prices to the consumer. The purpose of the conspiracy was to take control of retail prices, something the BWM did not enjoy up until the implementation of the cartel. The purpose of taking control of retail prices was to prevent discounting at the retail level. The BWM actually made less per book sold! If they wanted higher prices, they should have sought to achieve this legally by means of the wholesale prices they did and do control for their products.
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Originally Posted by rhadin
And the arguments here on MR have been inconsistent. Some argue that books are interchangeable -- don't want to pay the price for Stephen King, well there are numerous indie alternatives. Others say each book and author is unique and there are no viable substitutes. If the former is correct, then BPH pricing -- conspiracy or not -- makes no difference because there are numerous cheap alternatives. If the latter is correct, then let the market work. Let the BPHs set the price and don't buy the book until the price comes down to where you want it to be.
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The truth is whether books are interchangeable varies not only with the individual but the book. It is not particularly relevant here. In either case, I am happy for the market to work. Let the BWM publishers set their wholesale prices, and Amazon and other retailers set their retail prices, just as used to happen before the cartel implemented its price-fixing scheme.
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Originally Posted by rhadin
As for Amazon buying the books, Amazon doesn't buy the books until it sells the book. If it never sells the book, it never pays for the book. That is true under the wholesale model for print books where Amazon sets the retail price and it is true under agency pricing for ebooks where Amazon gets a fee for each sale. In neither case does Amazon "buy" the book until it has already sold the book.
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Another irrelevancy. The terms between Wholesalers and Publishers no doubt vary greatly. Some businesses pay for physical stock on delivery, some are invoiced but take advantage of trade credit, some receive goods on consignment etc. It just doesn't matter. Under a wholesale model, the sale is between the retailer and the customer, and the customer gets good title to the goods. Under the agency model, the sale is from the principal to the customer, and a fee or commission is payable to the agent per sale. However, in the case of agency the retailer has no control over the prices.