Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin
Agency didn't stop discounting; it set a floor for discounting.
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Right. And that floor was set
ABOVE the price that the smaller shops' loyalty programs and discount coupons were routinely providing customers before Agency. So no, agency didn't
stop discounting. It just stopped the level of discounting that smaller online retailers routinely provided to compete with the larger shops. The distinction you're making is semantic only. Financially, it had the exact same effect as stopping discounting altogether would have (in the case of those smaller retailers).
"
You can still discount; we're not monsters after all. We're just not going to let you discount to a degree that allows you to remain relevant. And oh, yea ... can you little guys hang on for eight months or so, 'til we can find the time to negotiate with you?"
When the discounts the members were used to at those smaller retailers ceased to exist, their sales ceased to exist.
Spin it all you like, Agency contributed heavily to the demise of many smaller ebook retailers. If it wasn't THE cause, it was still a big-ass nail in the coffin. Not BECAUSE of agency pricing, but because of how agency pricing was illegally conceived and instituted.