Aussie regulator: E-book price fixing is not our problem

[Alexander Turcic]

What do you do if something smells fishy? You ask your local competition regulator to sniff around until they find the potential source of the stink. Unfortunately for Senator Nick Xenophon, and for all our Aussie members, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) turned down his request to investigate the pricing of electronic books in Australia. The Australian Financial Review writes:

[A]n ACCC spokesman said the watchdog considered that "the conduct of concern occurred in the US and we note that conduct is being sanctioned by the regulator in the US."

We've seen plenty of examples here in the forums where MobileRead members pointed out the difference in e-book prices, usually to the disadvantage of our Aussie friends.

Instead of fretting about e-book prices, the Australian argues more attention should be given to snapper fish and giant squids (subscription req):

Nothing would be served by such an inquiry; it certainly wouldn't result in any significant reduction in e-book pricing, which is set beyond these shores, and as far as we can see no longer by Apple. [...] Xenophon, we reckon, would be doing more useful work petitioning the ACCC for an inquiry into the price of Aussie seafood.

[image: Flickr]

[crich70]

I'd draw their attention to the old quote from Edmund Burke - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." When people pass the buck about something not being their problem then they become part of the problem. Those who trade liberty for security will have neither in the end. Compromising what is right because it isn't easy to achieve what is right is a certain path to a world no one should want to live in.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by crich70

I'd draw their attention to the old quote from Edmund Burke - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." When people pass the buck about something not being their problem then they become part of the problem. Those who trade liberty for security will have neither in the end. Compromising what is right because it isn't easy to achieve what is right is a certain path to a world no one should want to live in.

That's not what they said at all, if you read it. They said that these are US publishers, and the problem is being addressed at source in the US.

[Lynx-lynx]

Pass the parcel rules apply in the ebook pricing game as far as the ACCC's reaction goes.

Yep, we also pay more for all Microsoft and Adobe and, and, and ..... products.

So now you know how pass the parcel works here!

However, the ACCC has been very good on some of the matters that it's investigated, so pity it won't take up this issue.

By the way, Amazon doesn't have a store here in Aus, we have to use the US store and quite frankly I never know whether I'm paying in USD or AUD until I get the credit card statement. As far as I can see Amazon don't have anywhere on their screen, or option in my account, to see prices in AUD only.

I can't stand them quite frankly, so yep I download their freebies, but very rarely actually 'buy' an ebook.

And I definitely wouldn't buy anything other than an ebook from them - stinky poo as far as I'm concerned.

And before anyone says, yeah but hey Amazon are trying to keep the prices down for everyone, well not in Aus they're not - they charge us more on most ebooks (even when the AUD is more favourable than the USD).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

By the way, Amazon doesn't have a store here in Aus, we have to use the US store and quite frankly I never know whether I'm paying in USD or AUD until I get the credit card statement. As far as I can see Amazon don't have anywhere on their screen, or option in my account, to see prices in AUD only.

Amazon.com only ever shows prices in US$.

[Blue Tyson]

The only way to do something about the seafood price..an actual scarce commodity...is to get rid of a bunch of people, reduce demand...

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Amazon.com only ever shows prices in US$.

Pretty sure I got offered the option once upon a time to display prices in real money.

[caleb72]

I don't think the Senator was asking for ACCC to investigate ebook pricing in Australia per se. What he was specifically asking was whether Australians were impacted by the collusion of Apple and the big publishers. The answer, of course, was yes.

The problem he is raising is definitely being addressed at source as the ACCC pointed out. Did these findings actually result in compensation to consumers? And if so, did that trickle through to consumers globally? I don't buy many big six books so it could well have gone right past me without my notice.

However, perhaps he might have requested a different angle to the investigation. From what I understand there is some other element in play which artificially raises the price of ebooks bought in Australia due to some agreement with local publishers. I can't remember where I read about this or how accurate it still is, but it wasn't related to Apple in any way. Anyone have more info on this?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Did these findings actually result in compensation to consumers? And if so, did that trickle through to consumers globally?

No, only customers in the US (and I think only certain US states?). Those of us who live elsewhere don't get anything.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I don't think the Senator was asking for ACCC to investigate ebook pricing in Australia per se. What he was specifically asking was whether Australians were impacted by the collusion of Apple and the big publishers. The answer, of course, was yes.

I fixed the link in the first post pointing to the senator's blog entry in this regard. You're right in pointing out that he asked the ACCC to investigate whether customers in Australia have been affected by the price-fixing for e-books in the US.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Pretty sure I got offered the option once upon a time to display prices in real money.

Interesting. I buy quite a lot of stuff from Amazon.com and all I ever get shown is US$. There may well be some well-hidden configuration option I've not come across, though.

[bookwurm70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, only customers in the US (and I think only certain US states?). Those of us who live elsewhere don't get anything.

I live in the U.S. and didn't get any compensation at all.

[HarryT]

Nobody has yet, to the best of my knowledge. You probably will at some point.

[Jozawun]

For those unfamiliar with the "newspaper", The Australian is an extreme right publication owned by Rupert Murdoch, with a fixed ideological bias against all controls on business and all government action except tax breaks for the rich.
Think an Antipodean Fox News in print.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's not what they said at all, if you read it. They said that these are US publishers, and the problem is being addressed at source in the US.

I realize that it is a problem with a source outside Australia HarryT. I just mean that even if it can't be fixed from Australia they could still let their voices be heard somehow rather than just doing nothing. I might not be a senator or congressman but if I feel something is wrong I can protest it somehow. It sounded in the original post like they were saying we can't do anything directly so we're not going to even bother trying. Maybe I misinterpreted it, but that's what it sounded like to me at the time.