Tag: publishers

Some Publishers Abandoning Amazon

People in general don’t like monopolies, and why should they?  Monopoly – the term not the board game – is a bad word. Amazon.com is pretty darn close to a monopoly in the ebook world, and the behemoth has taken quite a few steps towards alienating publishers, including dictating prices and various other strong-arm tactics.

Writer John Oakes of Publishers Weekly recently penned a piece on this topic, profiling a smaller publisher that is focusing on direct sales to the consumer. Oakes writes…

Despite a computer on every desk and exciting new marketing tools online, we perpetuate the same old system, working through retailers and treating the electronic world as simply a tool to augment our presence in the real world. And it means wrestling with Amazon over how to sell.

Although we are certainly not abandoning the Amazon e-book platform, All Star Press is like many publishers in that we are also offering our books for sale right here on our website. There is no reason publishers can’t do both. Our view is that the All Star Press books should be available to everyone and anyone.

Check out our current inventory of e-books from All Star Press:

Quiet Spaces: Hearing God’s Call in a Noisy World

The House that Richard Built

Sleep Great for Life

The Road to Recovery: Overcoming and Moving Beyond Your Grief

 

Apple and other Major Publishers Sued over Price Fixing

Apple and other publishers sued

Law firm Finkelstein Thompson LLP filed a class action complaint against Apple, Inc. and six major book publishers alleging a horizontal conspiracy to fix and increase the price of eBooks in the United States. These allegations, if proved, may entitle purchasers of eBooks to monetary damages. The publishers include Hachette Book Group, Inc., HarperCollins Publishers Inc., Macmillan Publishers, Inc., Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Random House, Inc., and Simon & Schuster, Inc. The action is currently pending before a New York State judge.

The complaint alleges that six of the defendants implemented price-fixing agreements contemporaneously with Apple’s introduction of the iPad in April, 2010. Defendants allegedly did so by coordinating the introduction of an “agency” model for eBooks sales, where the publishers are the direct sellers of the eBooks and dictate the price at which online retailers, such as Amazon.com, can sell the eBooks as agents for the publishers. The book publishers and Apple allegedly agreed among themselves to simultaneously raise the price of eBooks, often from $9.99 to $12.99 or higher.

If you are interested in discussing your rights, or have information relating to this investigation, please contact Finkelstein Thompson’s Washington, DC offices at   (877) 337-1050  or by email at contact@finkelsteinthompson.com