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leebase · 11-14-2019, 09:56 AM

Monopoly is used and abused as a term. But for eBooks, Amazon has a huge market share....so large that one cannot avoid doing business with them. So large, they can dictate terms. They aren't a monopoly. But they are large enough and everyone else small in comparison, that there are justified "free market competition" concerns about their behavior.

Contrast that to McMillan vs the Libraries. Libraries as a whole are not a big enough group to single handedly dictate terms to McMillan. McMillan is not single handedly large enough to dictate terms to libraries.

If Amazon refused to sell McMillan ebooks....that would all but destroy McMillan's ebook market.

Kindle Unlimited - at this point - I am not at all afraid that it's hurting competition. Nobody but Amazon's indie publishers are putting their books into the program. If you read a LOT of Indie books each month, it might even be a good deal.

I can't keep up with the Indie books I buy for $1 for a box set and such to benefit from KU.

Now if Amazon were able to put any body's books into KU themselves....say Amazon would pay the royalties due when someone read the book....all for $10 a month....THAT would definitely have free market competition concerns. The same concerns when Amazon sold all new ebooks from the NYT Bestseller's list for $9.99 to entice people to pay $400 for the original kindle.

I still think people will rue the day they sided with Amazon over Apple. eBooks NEEDED a viable alternative so that there would be viable competition in the eBook platform market.

I'd like to see what we have with streaming movies and tv in the ebook industry.

11-14-2019, 09:56 AM	#24
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,976 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	Monopoly is used and abused as a term. But for eBooks, Amazon has a huge market share....so large that one cannot avoid doing business with them. So large, they can dictate terms. They aren't a monopoly. But they are large enough and everyone else small in comparison, that there are justified "free market competition" concerns about their behavior. Contrast that to McMillan vs the Libraries. Libraries as a whole are not a big enough group to single handedly dictate terms to McMillan. McMillan is not single handedly large enough to dictate terms to libraries. If Amazon refused to sell McMillan ebooks....that would all but destroy McMillan's ebook market. Kindle Unlimited - at this point - I am not at all afraid that it's hurting competition. Nobody but Amazon's indie publishers are putting their books into the program. If you read a LOT of Indie books each month, it might even be a good deal. I can't keep up with the Indie books I buy for $1 for a box set and such to benefit from KU. Now if Amazon were able to put any body's books into KU themselves....say Amazon would pay the royalties due when someone read the book....all for $10 a month....THAT would definitely have free market competition concerns. The same concerns when Amazon sold all new ebooks from the NYT Bestseller's list for $9.99 to entice people to pay $400 for the original kindle. I still think people will rue the day they sided with Amazon over Apple. eBooks NEEDED a viable alternative so that there would be viable competition in the eBook platform market. I'd like to see what we have with streaming movies and tv in the ebook industry.