What the DOJ e-book lawsuit means for readers now

What does the Department of Justice suit against Apple and five book publishers for allegedly colluding to set e-book prices mean for readers today and in coming weeks?

Readers are likely to see lower prices on e-books from HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster — at least at Amazon, which expressed its glee over the settlement. But you won’t see those lower e-book prices until at least June — remember there’s that 60-day waiting period, and then publishers and retailers have to enter into new contracts. It’s in Amazon’s best interest to enact the new contracts as soon as possible so that it can start discounting the settling publishers’ e-books. Other e-book retailers, like Barnes & Noble and Kobo, are likely to want to enter into new contracts quickly as well so that they are on a more even playing field with Amazon. They may not be able to afford to discount a wide range of e-books as deeply as Amazon can, but could deeply discount select titles. As soon as the new contracts are in place, let the discounting begin. Forrester analyst James McQuivey told Digital Book World last week that he expects Amazon to discount e-books slowly and strategically, starting with bestsellers. Publishing industry consultant Mike Shatzkin, on the other hand, believes Amazon “will do the splashiest discounting they possibly can, making the point as loudly as possible that they deliver the lowest prices to the consumer and daring their competition to match them.”