Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
I don't see a problem with a publisher telling the price of a book, personally... Naturally, if Amazon wants to (re)sell it for a lower price than they've bought the book, they're fine to do so.
And naturally, you're free to not buy a book for the given price as well...
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Except in the model described and demanded by MacMillan (which, for the record, I support) does not allow Amazon the opportunity to resell or fit the bill to sell at a lower price. That was the whole point, the publishers don't want those lower prices because it's leading to price competition that they believe will eventually force them out of their blockbuster HB pricing model, and thus, all of their profits for most books.
So, while I like the "agency" model, which is what Apple does for apps on their app store, btw, it's worth noting that it takes Amazon almost completely out of the picture in terms of being a retailer, and places them in the position of distribution channel instead. That's why they're so unhappy, because taking a loss on 9.99 new releases helps them push hardware sales, supposedly. They will no longer be able to do that with MacMillan books.