I don't think buying habits will alter nearly as much as presumed -- mostly because many people mistakenly think prices will be permanently set at $15 per ebook. They're going to use dynamic pricing, so ebook prices will fall over time. I suspect people will grudgingly figure this out, awhile after the agency model kicks in.
So, what will happen soon is what has been happening for a long time: Those who are willing to pay a premium will get the book faster, and those who want to pay less will wait until the price drops. Just like what happens with hardcovers and paperbacks -- and as what should happen, when supply is flat and prices can show the direct impact of demand.
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Originally Posted by leebase
It will be very interesting to watch -- and to see how this "agency model" gets past the "price fixing" laws.
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No, it'll be boring, because it isn't price fixing. The publishers are not colluding in secret to coordinate prices, they aren't allocating market segments to different publishers, discounts will be offered on, for example, NY Times best sellers by at least one publisher (Macmillan) but not necessarily by others, etc.
Also, unlike price fixing setups, this arrangement is very public and has received a fair amount of press. I'm reasonably confident that a) publishers and retailers already had their lawyers vet this model, and b) if it was illegal, the DoJ might have actually noticed or commented by now.
It's not much different than retailers setting the price for digital song downloads at $1 per. It's just a big shift from how prices were often set for books in the past.