Amazon and Hachette are in the midst of a dispute over eBook prices. Amazon recently sent out an email to all of the Kindle Direct Publishing authors asking them to write-in with their support, while nearly a thousand authors took out a full-page ad in the New York Times. It seems at first like a straightforward argument about keeping the Internet free and letting retailers set their own prices- but it gets rocky from there.

The dispute, at its core, is simple. Amazon would like to cap the prices of eBooks at $9.99. Hachette would like to be able to set any price for their eBooks. Amazon claims that it would be better for authors and readers if eBooks were cheaper and thus more available, and says that Hachette is artificially inflating the market to promote the sales of hardbacks. The dispute took a volatile turn when Amazon stopped offering pre-orders and one-day shipping on Hachette big name authors, such as J.K. Rowling. From there it gets complicated.

The truth is, and as many authors have pointed out, neither corporation actually has the best interest of the writers and readers in mind. Like many corporation’s, they really only care about their bottom line. Amazon wants a monopoly on distribution, and Hachette wants
to protect its hold on publishing. From the perspective
of a reader, a freer market means cheaper books and better quality, and as such, Amazon is pushing for control they should not have. From the author’s perspective, the more options in publishing the better. Supporting Hachette seems to be the best thing to do, at least in this instance, but keep in mind that there are really no saints here.

The Internet should make it easier for consumers to find competitive retailers, but Amazon still has over 60 percent market share of online book sales. We vote with our dollars, and most of us still vote to empower Amazon. The real solution is to look elsewhere, support other eBook distributors and retailers, and encourage healthy free market competition. There are plenty of sites out there that distribute eBooks and physical books at competitive prices, so taking a moment to look might help weaken Amazon’s plurality of market share, and thus their ability to threaten publishers (and authors) with delaying book orders and upping prices. Monopolies are bad for business, bad for consumers, and bad for America. 

Alternates to Amazon (Independant online booksellers)

Abebooks

Online marketplace for used, rare, or out
of print books
Abebooks.com

Powell’s Books

Portland’s famous bookstore also sells new
and used books off of their website

http://www.powells.com/

Alibris

Sells new and used books provided by a
network of independant bookstores

http://www.alibris.com/

Better World Books

A good source for finding used textbooks.
They donate a small percentage of their
profit to literacy programs around the world.

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

Biblio

Offers a wide variety of new and used
books and low prices

http://www.biblio.com/