Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wal-Mart's At It Again


From the Associated Press:

"NEW YORK — A price war has broken out in the book world.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Thursday that its online site, walmart.com, would charge just $10, with free shipping, for such upcoming hardcover releases as Sarah Palin's Going Rogue and John Grisham's Ford County, a cut of 60 percent or more from the regular cost.

Amazon.com, the leading online book seller, has responded, also slashing its price to $10 for Going Rogue, Ford County, Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes and other leading pre-orders."

[ . . . ]

"In a new program called 'America's Reading List,' Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart also will offer 50 percent off or more on 200 current best-sellers, including Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and Kathryn Stockett's The Help.

Thursday's price cuts come at a time when Seattle-based Amazon and other sellers have been charging just $9.99 for ebooks, a price that publishers worry is unrealistically low. The reductions also make it increasingly hard for independent sellers, who can't afford such large discounts, to compete for the most popular books."

2 comments:

DM said...

I've been hoping that Wal-Mart would expand its book section. I always stop by to see if they have anything good, but they rarely do. I want more cheap books!

Stephanie said...

May not happen! Check out today's post (10/24). ABA wants Wal-Mart investigated.