I can't understand this DoJ ruling. The store sets the price of the book? Not in the book business.

Apple wanted to keep the price of songs at .99. The music companies wanted variable prices. Jobs held out for the fixed price with DRM removed. As a result, Amazon accepted variable pricing and got the DRM-free almost a year before Apple, who were forced to accept the pricing deal.

Tell me again how Apple's acceptance of "agency pricing," which is the practice in the book business before e-books, loses to a fixed price by a STORE that didn't give any advances to authors and spends NOTHING for promotion?

How much damage did the tewwible people do? Well, look at the refunds you're getting, huh? 30 cents?

I'm still confused by this. Are Publishers allowed to set whatever price they like as long as it can be changed at any time? In other words, no contractually fixed price. Or is the DOJ saying you have to sell your wares below cost. What would be the point? You might as well just give it away for nothing.

Can anyone offer any links that would clarify this in laymans terms?

=0/

None of this has anything to do with what is right for publishers, it all has to do with the way the DOJ thinks things happened. It's all about collusion, which is illegal (except for oil companies and other businesses that get away with it). The DOJ believes Apple and some publishers met to talk about price setting (or fixing), which technically is illegal (but we all know this happens all the time all over the place). It has nothing to do with Amazon selling below the cost they paid for the books or any monopolistic activity Amazon is absolutely participating in.

@apostle, Publishers can set any price they want to but Amazon will sell at the price they feel they can sell the book for especially while taking a loss because it doesn't matter if they take a loss as long as they get the business and push other book store out of business. This has already happened and follows exactly what the basis of the movie "You've Got Mail" suggested way back in 1998. Borders is gone and Barnes & Noble is trying to compete with Amazon by offering its own eBook reader. Amazon, however, is still king and will be until the DOJ challenges it's predatory pricing scheme.

As for a contractually fixed price, this doesn't mean much today. Amazon will pay for books but sell them cheaper, which is something they can do. I wonder whether the fair-trade practice is still valid anymore. Generally Apple has figured out a way to not let their products get sold for a reduced price. This is why Costco doesn't have any iPods anymore. They wanted to sell them at a greatly reduced price and Apple said no so they were removed from all the stores.