Money Matters, Simplified.
Amazon surrenders to Macmillan's demand
Amazon.com on Sunday said that the company has no other option but to surrender to Macmillan’s demand of selling its e-books at a price tag of $14.99.
by Priyanka - February 1, 2010 - comments
Amazon made its disappointment clear over the whole issue to its customers via a message posted on its Web site stating that it still believes the price is “needlessly high.”
Amazon’s released statement said, “We have expressed our strong disagreement and the seriousness of our disagreement by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles.”
“We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books.”
Macmillan is among one of the world’s largest English-language book publisher that includes divisions like St. Martin's Press, Henry Holt & Co. and Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Start of Amazon, Macmillan price war
Amazon has been selling both bestsellers and new releases at the same price of $9.99. But Macmillan asked to raise the price of its e-books to around $15.
Amazon reacted to this by pulling all books by the publisher from its virtual book shelve on Friday.
Popular book titles such as: ‘A Long Way Gone’ by Ishmael Beah, ‘Wolf Hall’ by Hilary Mantel, ‘Middlesex’ by Jeffrey Eugenides and ‘Finger Lickin’ Fifteen’ by Janet Evanovich, were all missing from Amazon’s site but could have been purchased from third-party sellers on its site on Friday night.
However, all Macmillan titles will be eventually return on Amazon.com but this time Amazon will charge its users around $12.99 to $14.99 for e-books version of bestsellers. When this change will happen. Amazon did not mention.
But Amazon said in a statement, "Amazon customers will...decide for themselves whether they believe it's reasonable to pay $14.99 for a bestselling e-book."
After effects of Apple’s iPad release
Macmillan is among the publishers who have signed a deal to offer their books on Apple’s newly released iPad tablet.
According to reports, the deal with Apple will provide more leeway to publishers to set their own prices for their e-books. Even before Apple emerged on the scene, tension was brewing between Amazon and publishers.
Sometimes publishers withheld releasing select e-book editions of their hardcover books for several months.
However, it’s not clear yet if all the publishers intent to follow Macmillan.