Lost amid all the hype accompanying the release of Apple's iPad is this sobering fact: E-book prices are moving higher as a result. The days of seemingly endless $9.99 digital book bargains are gone, and consumers should brace for the shock. Why the change? Because publishers used the iPad to pressure Amazon, the acknowledged market leader in e-book sales. Here's a just-the-facts-ma'am summary:
Publishers have long griped about Amazon's e-book dominance, and the $9.99 prices that undercut print sales. Apple proposed a higher pricing structure for e-books that it sold -- generally between $12.99 or $14.99 -- while insisting that publishers not sell books at a lower price through a competitor. Publishers were overjoyed. And with the iPad emerging as a real competitive threat to the Kindle, Amazon announced this week that it would follow Apple's pricing model. So everyone is happy -- except consumers, who are stuck with the bill.
Of course, in the highly volatile e-book market, this could change in an instant. (And some e-books will still be priced at $9.99.) Still it's a good lesson to remember as we cheer, toot horns, light candles and otherwise celebrate the iPad's birth.