Apple puts some Hachette e-books on sale as Amazon dispute drags on
With publishing house Hachette locked in a battle with Amazon that has seen the imprint's titles pulled from Amazon's virtual shelves, Apple's iBookstore has become the next-best place for readers to shop as a number of Hachette e-books are now discounted to just $9.99.
Each of the nearly 30 titles in Apple's $9.99 pre-orders section is from Hachette, and all are currently unavailable from Amazon -- though it is not known what relation Apple's move has to the Amazon tiff. The sale was first noticed by Re/code.
Included in the sale are popular upcoming titles by authors including J.K. Rowling and James Patterson, which have become pawns in a dispute over e-book pricing between one of the world's largest publishers and the world's largest seller of books. Many believe Amazon is strong-arming Hachette in hopes of securing a new, more profitable sales agreement following the Department of Justice's dismantling of the agency pricing model that allowed publishers to set e-books prices.
Amazon, for its part, insists that the stalemate is a standard part of negotiations designed to benefit consumers. "Negotiating for acceptable terms is an essential business practice that is critical to keeping service and value high for customers in the medium and long term," the company said in a statement.
Hachette is among the publishers who almost immediately settled following the DoJ's filing of a civil suit alleging antitrust violations. Apple eventually lost that case, though the company is in the midst of an appeal and recently settled a parallel damages-seeking suit brought by a number of state attorneys general.
Each of the nearly 30 titles in Apple's $9.99 pre-orders section is from Hachette, and all are currently unavailable from Amazon -- though it is not known what relation Apple's move has to the Amazon tiff. The sale was first noticed by Re/code.
Included in the sale are popular upcoming titles by authors including J.K. Rowling and James Patterson, which have become pawns in a dispute over e-book pricing between one of the world's largest publishers and the world's largest seller of books. Many believe Amazon is strong-arming Hachette in hopes of securing a new, more profitable sales agreement following the Department of Justice's dismantling of the agency pricing model that allowed publishers to set e-books prices.
Amazon, for its part, insists that the stalemate is a standard part of negotiations designed to benefit consumers. "Negotiating for acceptable terms is an essential business practice that is critical to keeping service and value high for customers in the medium and long term," the company said in a statement.
Hachette is among the publishers who almost immediately settled following the DoJ's filing of a civil suit alleging antitrust violations. Apple eventually lost that case, though the company is in the midst of an appeal and recently settled a parallel damages-seeking suit brought by a number of state attorneys general.
Comments
But wait books are commodities and you should be able to buy the same book from any writer or publisher and everyone should be paying the same price not matter what.
Hatchette should just give in and let Amazon sell their product otherwise they may go to the writer and convince them to sell their book under another publisher, or worse they find their own writers and have them write the same books for them.
Next best?
Definitely a weird line especially since these titles are not available on Amazon thus making the iBookstore the best place to get them.
I still believe this whole DOJ lawsuit is/was a farce. As a consumer, I should pay what I want for the quality of product I want. If I want to pay less for Amazon's version. Good. If I want to pay more for Apple's iBook version. Great!
Publishers should also be free to sell their product for what they think its worth. The whole idea that Amazon is undervaluing the product is hurting the entire industry for the benefit of one company. This has proven time and again to NOT be a pro-consumer activity. Making something free or cheap does not mean the consumer is getting a better deal. Exhibit A: Walmart... outsourcing manufacturing to cheaper locations and reducing the American wage just to "rollback" the price of goods a few cents and line the pockets of a few people. Entire small town mom and pop shops have been wiped off the planet, never to appear again thanks to one corporate behemoth.
The sad thing is that every other retailer now needs to follow suit or face the same fate. No longer do we have a diverse economy of small shops, but now there are only a few corporations that continue to consolidate and control the entire buying habits of the population.
So is this what we want as consumers? To be fed a constant stream of ads on sub-optimum devices and forced to buy from one supplier? No matter how cheap that gets, I don't want it. I want to have the option to buy a better quality experience that lets writers have a fair wage that builds the economy, not destroy it.
I still believe this whole DOJ lawsuit is/was a farce. As a consumer, I should pay what I want for the quality of product I want. If I want to pay less for Amazon's version. Good. If I want to pay more for Apple's iBook version. Great! ....
If only more people could see that just because the consumer gets something cheaper doesn't mean it's a better overall deal (even for said consumer) ... I'm with you on paying for quality. Unfortunately, for some, I understand that $ can be issue.
Good thing for choice, when we're allowed to have it, I guess.
Now Apple will investigated for predatory pricing. Putting books on sale to take away customers from Amazon? Hideous.
DOJ sues Apple in 3... 2... 1...
I'm surprised Bromwich approved it.
What's there to approve? Apple still sells ebooks under the agency model, the publishers are free to set whatever price they want - and Apple takes their 30% fee. Just as before this is coming off as something Apple is doing, this is more likely Hachette's doing.
The ruling against Apple forced the removal of the so-called "Favored Nation" clause, it didn't prohibit the continued use of the agency model.
No they don't currently sell eBooks under the agency model.
http://tidbits.com/article/13998
But wait books are commodities and you should be able to buy the same book from any writer or publisher and everyone should be paying the same price not matter what.
Hatchette should just give in and let Amazon sell their product otherwise they may go to the writer and convince them to sell their book under another publisher, or worse they find their own writers and have them write the same books for them.
That is not how a free economy works. Pricing is something that the market dictates and Hatchette doesn't need to give in. It is their prerogative how they want to conduct their business. The fact of the matter is that neither the publishers or authors are happy with Amazon's position in the market. I haven't seen authors side with Amazon in this contract negotiations.
Apple doesn't set the price. Hachette does.
And you can bet that this is all about Amazon's crap. Hachette wants folks to get the books. If Amazon loses sales cause folks went to iBooks, sucks to be Amazon.
That was a proposed order, not a final one. And no where does it say they can't use agency terms.
Hooray Apple and Hachette. I'm hoping Amazon cracks before Hachette does. People can buy books just as easily from Google Play, and some people can buy from iBooks too. Pay reasonably more for the books, and charge more for them. Hachette is bearing the brunt while the other publishers sit on the sidelines. Would be nice to see another one join them in the fight.