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Originally Posted by Bookbee
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to how Google Editions will work?
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IIRC it's already outlined, and it's basically the agency model. That was the plan since at least last summer, when Google started talking about Editions.
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Originally Posted by Bookbee
In effect, publishers are going to want to sell through their own sites to keep a bigger slice of the sale, but they’re virtually competing with Google for sales....
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Not many publishers sell directly to the public; those that do are in a thoroughly defined niche, e.g. sci-fi / fantasy, romance, technical manuals.
Even in the ebook age, publishers need retailers. Most people have absolutely no idea which publisher puts out a specific book; ergo when you're browsing, you are 100x more likely to think of Amazon or some other site than Penguin or Harcourt-Brace or what have you.
It's the same thing with physical books. Penguin et al could sell direct to the public and net a bigger share of the profits, but a) they'd still have to pay for all the fulfillment and infrastructure, and b) it won't put the books in front of the buying public.