Amazon’s experimentation with its pricing comes against a backdrop of tumult in bookselling and publishing. The Justice Department sued Apple and major publishers, accusing them of conspiring to raise the prices of e-books as a defense against Amazon. The publishers were worried that Amazon was setting an artificially low price to gain control of the e-book market. (The publishers settled without admitting guilt. Apple went to trial and is awaiting a verdict.) In its 16 years as a public company, Amazon has received unique permission from Wall Street to concentrate on expanding its infrastructure, increasing revenue at the expense of profit. Stockholders have pushed Amazon shares up to a record level, even though the company makes only pocket change. Profits were always promised tomorrow. Small publishers wonder if tomorrow is finally here, and they are the ones who will pay for it. One small nonfiction publisher, which requested confidentiality because Amazon is a crucial account, said the retailer sold its books at a discount ranging from 25 to 35 percent for years. Then, despite steady sales, the discounts began to shrink. Their most popular book this week was 16 percent off. nytimes/2013/07/05/business/as-competition-wanes-amazon-cuts-back-its-discounts.html?hp&pagewanted=all
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 17:08:20 +0000
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