Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston
What is there to stop the publishers from demanding the same for paper
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The mechanics of paper sales, for one.
In the standard model, the retailer or distributor buys large numbers of books, pays the publishers
prior to actually selling the book to the consumer, stores the books, and then tries to sell them at a profit. The retailer/distributor also has the right to return the books for 100% of the wholesale cost, if the books don't sell. Publishers also hold a percentage of royalties in reserve for returned books.
This system is very well-established, has years of work and relationships and infrastructure behind it, and does not work in an agency model.
The agency model, in many ways, makes sense for ebooks. It's the same deal Amazon offers to self-published authors and small publishers who put out their work directly through Amazon's DTP. Scribd and most other self-publishing ebook sites use the exact same concept: publisher (which may or may not be the author) sets the price, the retailer takes a cut.
Also, the agency model is actually not going to result in a horrifying permanent establishment of a $15-per-ebook price. You're only paying more for new ebooks -- i.e. book price is based on demand, as it ought to be. When the demand lowers (e.g. 6-12 months after publication), so will the price; there will be lots of ebooks at $10 or less.
Many people routinely proclaim that electronic and paper sales are not the same. When the system actually puts that into effect, of course, people throw fits. Go figure.
