I could forward you the Publishers Marketplace summaries, if you want.

Here are a couple of takes on it that I found useful:

[link]

[link]

They were written before Amazon released its "capitulation" letter, which has to be one of the most passive-aggressive press releases I've ever read.

I quoted an article that outlines the "agency model" which is, in effect what the whole mess was about, in my blog, ita. [link]

Thanks. Those links were all very informative.

And that concession letter by Amazon? Major pissy fit material. Sheesh.

"capitulation" letter, which has to be one of the most passive-aggressive press releases I've ever read.

I am *astonished* that a business would ever put something out like that. That kind of blew me away.

I am *astonished* that a business would ever put something out like that. That kind of blew me away.

Really? I feel like that kind of junior-high level hissy fit is par for the course when tech companies argue in public.

I have been thinking a lot about this eBook war. It's interesting.

My conclusion is this: the agency model is the best distribution model, but the PUBLISHERS will hopefully get smarter about setting prices. eBooks should be cheaper than print books, for psychological reasons if nothing else, and if the publishers have control of pricing then it's up to them to realize that.

There are other economics issues with pricing models for the music, video, AND book industry that I hope the digital revolution will slowly improve. Basically, it is my belief that pricing should be more author-individualized. Right now, if you're a brand new author in a non-genre field, your book gets priced at basically the same cost as a Dan Brown book, which essentially means it costs MORE since so many retailers discount bestsellers. This just leads to even more people buying Dan Brown instead of the new unknown author. That's fine by the publishers, but it sucks for authors.

Less popular books should cost less, so as to increase demand. That's economics.

One of the friends I work with recently published a book. It's good, but it's not popular. If he could quadruple his sales numbers by halving his price, I'm sure he would. And I really expect that would happen. I can't imagine spending $26 on a book like his without knowing the author. In fact, the Kindle version was $14 when I bought it, and I wouldn't have bought it at that price point either. I have no incentive to try somebody completely new to the scene at that price point.

But the second his book hits the "On Sale" table at B&N, I might well pick it up. I buy a lot of random books from that table. They're less risk.

Ebook pricing should follow that model, the OPPOSITE of what I see in bookstores. Popular books should cost $20+. Lesser known books should cost $5-$10.

Will the agency model bring us that? I hope so. It makes the most sense to me. But it requires publishers to think it will make them more money in the long run. I believe it would. But what do I know?

eBooks should be cheaper than print books, for psychological reasons if nothing else, and if the publishers have control of pricing then it's up to them to realize that.

eBooks need to be cheaper than print books for the simple reason that they require a $250+ hardware investment on top of the price of the book.

If I buy a $25 hardback, I pay my $25 and then I read the book. In order to read the same book for $15 on a Kindle, I need to buy a Kindle first. (Yes, I have the Kindle app on my phone. I have tried to read books that way and ALWAYS wound up just buying the print version instead. The screen is simply not big enough.)

Also, you can resell the hardback.

I think eBook readers are still cost too much to really take off. If they can hit $150 or the magic $100, then I think it'll really get going. Maybe the prices are still distorted because it's still a fairly niche market. People who spend $250-$500 for a reader, are more likely to still buy e-books even when the price isn't that great.