Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Robert,
Apple had absolutely nothing to do with the decision of a number of major publishers to go with the "agency model". You make it sound as though Apple are the "cause" of it. That is completely erroneous.
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Apple had little to do with the agency pricing (Apple's market strength gave them the push to implement it), but everything to do with other bookstore's inability to offer discounts.
Agency pricing *should* allow bookstores to take a cut out of their 30% in order to entice customers. Doesn't, on its own, forbid a store from having lower agency prices than another store; a store that specializes in science fiction could contract for a lower rate for those books in exchange for higher rates on others. But Apple's "nobody gets lower prices than us" contract means a flat minimum across the industry--and that, not specifically the agency model--is what's causing the problems, as stores are scrambling to adjust their software to remove bargain-incentives they used to offer.
ETA: Astak's ebook store went live? Where? Google doesn't find it.