Verified Document

Amazon.com Has Become Embroiled In A Controversy Essay

Amazon.com has become embroiled in a controversy regarding pricing on Kindle books. The issue arose when several book publishers faced a class action lawsuit from the Attorney General about price-fixing on ebooks. Price fixing is considered to be anti-competitive activity that undermines the power of free markets. Thus, it has been illegal as part of the mandate the U.S. government has to promote free competition, for nearly 100 years. The publishers, however, have essentially placed the blame on Amazon. The company is now working with the publishers to deliver refunds to consumers, who were judged to have overpaid for their Kindle books. Lynn (2012) notes that Amazon has a dominant position in the ebook market, in part because of the success of its Kindle e-reader, but also because it has become the dominant bookseller in general in the United States. Amazon is using its bargaining power as the dominant retailer in the industry to set prices in the market, something that contravenes the spirit, if not the letter, of the antitrust legislation enforced by the Department of Justice.

The Amazon case did not emerge in isolation. In July, Apple was found to also have colluded with five major publishers with respect to e-book pricing. The two cases were tried independently, but in both instances it was found...

The Department of Justice and Amazon reached a settlement, in large part because the Apple judgment made it clear that Amazon and the publishers were going to lose. The judge will now set the amount of money that customers will receive back. Apple, for its part, is appealing the ruling but nobody seriously expects the appeal to hold. For Amazon, this means that it cut a deal with the DoJ for a settlement (MacWorld, 2013). The final results of the settlement are pending, but unless Amazon and the publishers wish to appeal the dollar value, Amazon ebook purchasers will begin receiving partial refunds on books that they purchased between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012 (MacWorld, 2013)
References

Albanese, A. (2013). Apple loses: Judge finds price fixing in e-book case. Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/58166-apple-loses-judge-finds-price-fixing-in-e-book-case.html

Kendrick, J. (2013). Amazon notifying Kindle…

Sources used in this document:
Kendrick, J. (2013). Amazon notifying Kindle book purchasers of upcoming refunds from class action suit. ZD Net. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from http://www.zdnet.com/amazon-notifying-kindle-book-purchasers-of-upcoming-refunds-from-class-action-suit-7000020142/

Lynn, B. (2012). The real bad guy in the e-book price fixing case. Future Tense. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/04/e_book_price_fixing_amazon_is_the_real_bad_guy_.html

MacWorld. (2013). Ka-Ching! Amazon explains benefits from e-book price-fixing settlement. Macworld. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from http://www.macworld.com/article/2048003/ka-ching-apple-ebook-ruling-could-turn-into-real-money-for-millions-of-amazon-customers.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Lululemon Business Model
Words: 3060 Length: 10 Document Type: Case Study

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. Company & Financial Analysis w/ Recommendations Part 1 Strategic Performance Lululemon Athletica, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Lululemon Athletica operates under the Textile—Apparel Clothing classification in the U.S. and its shares are publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LULU. The company currently employs approximately 12500 people and has risen back from a 2013 controversy in which the yoga-wear apparel maker was

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now