Book War!

MANIFESTO

Interested as I am in books, I can't help but follow this situation:

The American Booksellers Association is asking the Justice Department to investigate the book price war that broke out last week between three of the nation’s top retailers: Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target. In a letter to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division dated today, the independent booksellers group wrote that the three companies’ actions "constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers."

The price war started when retail giant Wal-Mart slashed online prices on top-selling preorder books, including Sarah Palin’s upcoming memoir “Going Rogue” and Stephen King’s novel “Under the Dome,” to $10. Amazon.com matched that price on the same books. Then Wal-Mart went down to $9, and Amazon followed. Then Target jumped into the fray.

Right now Wal-Mart is offering the books for $8.98 or $8.99 on its website. Amazon has them for $9, and Target has them for $8.99. That’s a steep discount from the list price of these books, which range from about $25 to $35.

While I certainly am sympathetic to the ABA's plight, I don't quite see how this situation is "harmful to consumers." After all, they're getting deals the likes of which they've never received before.

Nevertheless, it's another case of Wal-Mart destroying the small retailer (A certain bookseller on the Connecticut shore comes to mind.)—a situation that's been deleterious on many levels. Thus, as I say, I'm sympathetic to the ABA's concern, but I do resent a lobbying group telling me that they're as concerned with me as they are with their own interests. I just don't think it works out that way.