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Might not be $9.99, but at least there will be price competition, which we haven't had with the advent of the MFN clause, which is banned for 5 years. Yes, I remember all the silly boycotts--silly because Amazon never said all books would be $9.99, but just that NYT Best Sellers would be that price, and I think they did usually fall to that price once they made the bestseller list.
Price competition is good for consumers. Remember Under the Dome - that book fell to $7.00 before Amazon, Target and Wallmart were through.
I think the reinstitution of price competition will serve to cement Amazon's dominance with the kindle. Not only is the kindle widely available, you can bet Amazon will match anyone on price.
One of my collegues (who is everything Apple) said this is a sad day for the quality of books. I understand that this decision may end author advances, but authors should still be able to make money. And given that Fifty Shades has been at the top of the NYT bestseller list for a long time, I think we can say that agency pricing is not a barometer of quality in the written word.
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