If they've kicked everyone's books out once, they'll probably try it again if they think Macmillan gave enough ground. Naughty Amazon.
Maybe convenience, multiplatform options, and who can get their devices with their store as the default into the market fast enough.
Sounds good to me.
Actually, if Amazon could cut the price but still had to pay the publisher, that wouldn't over-bug me, probably. I can see where it would over-bug publishers, though -- they would rather not see returns (so they don't care if a store sells physbooks more cheaply), but for ebooks... It might create expectations. And Amazon's still eating even more of the pie than with its physical books (it demands a 55% discount, IIRC, for physbooks; not, effectively, a 65% discount).[1]
On the other other hand, I'm slightly suspicious of this long-term thinking theory. Are publishers that well-known for long-term thinking? >_>
Amazon selling for more than you list is a different matter; if it weren't Amazon being a virtual monopoly, the go-to for All Things Book, then it wouldn't be an issue. Don't like the price? Fine, order it elsewhere. I suppose if they had to list the "our price, suggested retail price" prominently, it wouldn't be an issue there, either...
Mmph. I want to see what Apple does for the iPad's bookstore. Right now, I feel like I've got grody old oranges and shiny vaporware, and I don't entirely trust that comparison.
Footnote 1: Actually, that's what this should be looking at. Amazon is NOT A PUBLISHER. It tries to claim both sides of the coin, mentioning "royalties" in their Kindle contract with self-publishers (and presumably big publishers as well?), but at the least, when dealing with Macmillan? Amazon is a STORE. It's not paying royalties, it's demanding discounts, and discounts steeper than the usual, for less work on Amazon's part, frankly. I do hear they put things in Kindle format, but once that's done, it's done; there's no stocking, no shipping, no taking-the-book-out-of-the-crate-and-shrink-wrapping-it-for-the-customer.
I have somewhat more sympathy for Macmillan, actually (though I've heard they give poor royalties to their authors), in that context.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-02-05 07:58 pm (UTC)Maybe convenience, multiplatform options, and who can get their devices with their store as the default into the market fast enough.
Sounds good to me.
Actually, if Amazon could cut the price but still had to pay the publisher, that wouldn't over-bug me, probably. I can see where it would over-bug publishers, though -- they would rather not see returns (so they don't care if a store sells physbooks more cheaply), but for ebooks... It might create expectations. And Amazon's still eating even more of the pie than with its physical books (it demands a 55% discount, IIRC, for physbooks; not, effectively, a 65% discount).[1]
On the other other hand, I'm slightly suspicious of this long-term thinking theory. Are publishers that well-known for long-term thinking? >_>
Amazon selling for more than you list is a different matter; if it weren't Amazon being a virtual monopoly, the go-to for All Things Book, then it wouldn't be an issue. Don't like the price? Fine, order it elsewhere. I suppose if they had to list the "our price, suggested retail price" prominently, it wouldn't be an issue there, either...
Mmph. I want to see what Apple does for the iPad's bookstore. Right now, I feel like I've got grody old oranges and shiny vaporware, and I don't entirely trust that comparison.
Footnote 1: Actually, that's what this should be looking at. Amazon is NOT A PUBLISHER. It tries to claim both sides of the coin, mentioning "royalties" in their Kindle contract with self-publishers (and presumably big publishers as well?), but at the least, when dealing with Macmillan? Amazon is a STORE. It's not paying royalties, it's demanding discounts, and discounts steeper than the usual, for less work on Amazon's part, frankly. I do hear they put things in Kindle format, but once that's done, it's done; there's no stocking, no shipping, no taking-the-book-out-of-the-crate-and-shrink-wrapping-it-for-the-customer.
I have somewhat more sympathy for Macmillan, actually (though I've heard they give poor royalties to their authors), in that context.