Things are changing quickly this summer in once-staid book publishing. It was early this month that the NYT warned America that “as competition wanes, Amazon cuts back discounts” on books. Based on penetrating “anecdotal and fragmentary” evidence, the newspaper convinced average Americans that Amazon was cutting back on book discounts — particularly from smaller and academic publishers — daring to charge only a little less than list price, as part of their Plot to Destroy Publishing. Then last Thursday, Overstock.com put out a press release announcing “a limited time” promotion, promising “we’ve priced our books at least 10-percent below Amazon.com’s […]
