New York
– Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) has agreed to raise the price on e-books from publisher Macmillan,
after a standoff last week that saw the company temporarily remove the
"buy" buttons from Macmillan e-book titles on its site, The New York
Times reported. While Amazon’s default pricing on e-books is $9.99, beginning
in March the publisher will be able to set its own price for its e-book titles,
expected to range from $12.99 to $14.99.
The Times noted that these terms are
similar to the terms of deals Apple (NASD: AAPL) recently signed with publishers for the
sale of their e-books in a new online store for the forthcoming iPad.
"We
have expressed our strong disagreement and the seriousness of our disagreement
by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles," Amazon said in a
statement.
"We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate
and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own
titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are
needlessly high for e-books."
Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/technology/companies/01amazonweb.html
