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SURVEY: Has Agency Pricing Damaged the Book Business?

Read more by Edward Nawotka
February 12, 2013

By Edward Nawotka, Editor-in-Chief

british poundsToday’s feature article, “The After Math of Agency,” considers reaction to the all-but-dead phenomenon of agency pricing. Several publishers comment, anonymously, that it was a “careless” experiment, one that has potential to leave Amazon in an even more dominant position that it was before Apple came on the scene with its iPad.

“I think we are now in a very dangerous situation, thanks to the carelessness of the major publishers,” says one publisher. ”The central worries are price and the long-term ability of Amazon to squeeze everyone. The consumer gets a short term win in lower prices, but possibly at the long-term detriment to the whole eco-system of reading.”

Some blame Amazon, for undercutting wholesale prices, some blame Apple, for leading publishers down a (legally) dangerous path.

One of the clear victims of the agency pricing has been publishers’ reputations, with many readers being led to believe that publishers are merely greedy in wanting to charge more for books than Amazon and other ebooksellers might want to charge.

Has Agency Pricing Damaged the Book Business?

  • Yes, Agency has been a waste of time and money with a negative long-term impact (27%, 13 Votes)
  • No, Agency in its current form is just the beginning and likely to evolve in a viable pricing program (27%, 13 Votes)
  • It’s too soon to tell (24%, 12 Votes)
  • Yes, Agency has damaged publishing’s reputation, but it is suremountable (12%, 6 Votes)
  • No, Agency was a necessary experiment and worth the costs (10%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 49

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