Publishers Close In On Amazon Over Pricing

We knew the Apple iPad was going to have serious effects on the Kindle, but it’s all unraveling pretty quickly. Emboldened by their deals with Apple, prominent publishers are moving away from Amazon’s $9.99 book pricing and toward an agency model that will up prices to $15.

Amazon’s pricing feud with Macmillan is no secret, but now a number of other publishers are joining Macmillan in pushing for higher prices. Hachette and HarperCollins have joined the fight for an agency model, which would allow publishers to set prices. Macmillan has pushed for pricing of $14.99 to $15.99, with some titles being sold for $12.99. Amazon agreed earlier this week to these higher prices.

Apple has already given the publishers what they want in deals for iPad e-books. And now that Amazon isn’t the only game in town, it looks like it will be forced to go the same route.

I haven’t yet capitulated to the whole e-book craze, but $14.99 just doesn’t look like an attractive of a price when I can buy the paperback for a few bucks. [via VentureBeat]