News
Amazon 'Not Optimistic' About Resolving Dispute with Hachette
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The Amazon Books team released a statement regarding its ongoing dispute with Hachette Books Tuesday. The company wrote that it is "not optimistic that this will be resolved soon."
Amazon is no longer taking pre-orders on Hachette titles and is buying less inventory than normal. The company explained that this was due to its current contract and terms with Hachette.
Unfortunately, despite much work from both sides, we have been unable to reach mutually-acceptable agreement on terms,” the statement said. “Hachette has operated in good faith and we admire the company and its executives. Nevertheless, the two companies have so far failed to find a solution. Even more unfortunate, though we remain hopeful and are working hard to come to a resolution as soon as possible, we are not optimistic that this will be resolved soon.
The ongoing dispute is affecting Hachette's manga imprint, Yen Press.
A spokeswoman for Hachette told the New York Times that, even though Hachette has been keeping Amazon supplied with books, "for reasons of their own" Amazon has been warning customers of a long delay in shipment, from several weeks to several months. In addition, most titles are listed with smaller discounts or without any discounts at all, and Amazon display messages offer alternative titles from rival publishing groups. Some of the suppression tactics have been going on for months.
The dispute arose from failed contract negotiations. Publishers Weekly reports that the e-book prices and terms, in particular, are a sticking point between the two companies.
Amazon has had disputes with major publishers before: in 2010 it removed the "buy" button from books published by Macmillan and in 2011 it removed 4,000 e-books distributed by IPG from its site.
[Via ICv2]
