[ficbot]

I read the latest from the MacMillan people on the switch to the 'agency' model and they specifically address retailer discounts: they will not be allowed. MacMillan will set the price and everyone will abide by it. I have seen some speculating here and elsewhere on what this means for places like Fictionwise which offer club discounts etc. I am wondering if anyone is thinking this will change their buying habits.

For me, I think it will mean that I will patronize Fictionwise MUCH less frequently. The eReader format is pokey and really a pain to convert. I have put up with it because sometimes they offer discounts, or micropay rebates, to such an extent that it is worth it to me to get it from them (for example if I have something else I want to get with the micropay). But if that advantage is now going to disappear and the book will cost the same no matter from whom I buy it, then I will buy it somewhere they have the epub, which is MUCH less of a hassle to liberate, and is more future-safe because many devices will read it directly and it converts with much less manual labour into mobipocket for the Kindle.

The big winner for me will probably be Kobo as they sell in Canadian prices. If a new release comes out and I want it, I will probably look there first.

I may still use Fictionwise for the occasional multiformat purchase (although I have pretty much stopped buying random books of those because many of them are terrible). I do enjoy my multiformat magazine subscriptions and would like to keep them. But really the only incentive to deal with the eReader format has been the Fictionwise reward system, so I think they are really going to lose---from the standpoint of *me* as a customer---with this new system.