Book Publishers Warned on E-book Prices

In the past couple of years, we have covered how e-books are expensive and frustrating in many ways. Many of us have suspected that some top e-book publishers may be working together to keep e-book prices too high. E-book buyers are not the only ones noticing this though. The U.S. Department of Justice has warned 5 U.S. publishers that severe consequences could be on the way for e-book price fixing.

Simon and Schuster, Hachette, the US arm of Penguin, Macmillan and HarperCollins Inc are the publishers that have been warned. Many e-book buyers have been concerned about the idea of publishers adopting an agency pricing model. The DoJ’s investigation was started by confusion about how much it costs to create and market e-books. It is now accusing Apple and these five companies of conspiring to push e-book prices higher.

This is not going to be an easy fight by any means. Top publishers and their allies will fight this with all their might. Did moving to the agency model increased competition as it is suggested by publishers? It depends on who you ask. We will see how this threat by the DoJ escalates in the upcoming months.