Post by Bob Nelson on Apr 11, 2012 23:43:55 GMT -8
On April 11th, the Department of Justice filed a Lawsuit against several companies, including Apple, Inc. alleging a scheme to fix the price of eBooks. Here is a CNN article with additional details.
This is BCB's official statement, from CEO Bob Nelson.
In regards to today's announcement of litigation by the US Government in connection to their allegation that several companies conspired to artificially fix the price of eBooks, I wanted to make sure that we made some form of comment.
I think it is safe to say i saw this one coming, as I felt that $14.99 was simply an unacceptable price point for an eBook, a point I have pushed on numerous forums and blog posts.
There are many implications to the litigation announced today, but most of those affect larger publishers and the models they use to price their books. Those issues, based upon whom it is that sets the price of the eBook, the seller or the publisher, are not at the heart of the DOJ complaint. What is at the heart of the DOJ complaint is that they feel those publisher's worked knowingly in unison with Apple, Inc. to influence the price of books inappropriately.
Brick Cave Media is comfortable in our pricing model. We have arrived at our pricing strategies through 3 years of hard work identifying trends and habits among eBook buyers as well as assessing the costs associated with the production and promotion of an eBook. Those factors, in conjunction with our desire to ensure that our writers are paid fairly for their work makes us comfortable that we are pricing our eBooks competitively in the market.
It is not for us to say if there was or was not collusion regarding the pricing of books, but we can say that we believe that books should be treated no differently than other products in regards to who is allowed to place their value. Likewise, we believe that the retailer (should) always has (have) the choice not to sell books if they feel that the publisher is pricing them inappropriately.
We continue to support a fair and open marketplace, one that provides small publishers like Brick Cave Media, as well as Independent Authors, the chance to have their books offered for sale through all of the major eBook markets. We also support fair and competitive eBook pricing that reflects the reduced production costs as the transition from print to digital continues.
As always, we encourage consumers to actively seek out entertainment created by local, small and emerging creators.
Thanks,
Bob Nelson
This is BCB's official statement, from CEO Bob Nelson.
In regards to today's announcement of litigation by the US Government in connection to their allegation that several companies conspired to artificially fix the price of eBooks, I wanted to make sure that we made some form of comment.
I think it is safe to say i saw this one coming, as I felt that $14.99 was simply an unacceptable price point for an eBook, a point I have pushed on numerous forums and blog posts.
There are many implications to the litigation announced today, but most of those affect larger publishers and the models they use to price their books. Those issues, based upon whom it is that sets the price of the eBook, the seller or the publisher, are not at the heart of the DOJ complaint. What is at the heart of the DOJ complaint is that they feel those publisher's worked knowingly in unison with Apple, Inc. to influence the price of books inappropriately.
Brick Cave Media is comfortable in our pricing model. We have arrived at our pricing strategies through 3 years of hard work identifying trends and habits among eBook buyers as well as assessing the costs associated with the production and promotion of an eBook. Those factors, in conjunction with our desire to ensure that our writers are paid fairly for their work makes us comfortable that we are pricing our eBooks competitively in the market.
It is not for us to say if there was or was not collusion regarding the pricing of books, but we can say that we believe that books should be treated no differently than other products in regards to who is allowed to place their value. Likewise, we believe that the retailer (should) always has (have) the choice not to sell books if they feel that the publisher is pricing them inappropriately.
We continue to support a fair and open marketplace, one that provides small publishers like Brick Cave Media, as well as Independent Authors, the chance to have their books offered for sale through all of the major eBook markets. We also support fair and competitive eBook pricing that reflects the reduced production costs as the transition from print to digital continues.
As always, we encourage consumers to actively seek out entertainment created by local, small and emerging creators.
Thanks,
Bob Nelson
