The Least They Could Do: Amazon Charges 1 Cent To Meet French Free Shipping Ban

Last year, we mentioned that the French government was unhappy with Amazon for offering better prices than the French competition, and strongly limited the amount by which retailers can discount books. Last month, the French parliament also passed a law banning free delivery of books. Ars Technica reports that Amazon has responded with a one-penny shipping rate on the orders that would previously have shipped free. Says the article: This is by no means the first time France has tried to put a damper on major US tech companies dabbling in books or other reading materials. In 2011, the country updated an old law related to printed books that then allowed publishers to impose set e-book pricing on Apple and others. And in 2012, there was the very public dispute between French lawmakers and Google over the country's desire to see French media outlets paid for having their content pop up in search results. At least for now with this most recent situation, an online giant has found a relatively quick and easy way to regain the upperhand.

Comments

Not France vs US

[medoc]

This is not at all about the French/US competition, the big French sites like fnac.com are subjected to the same rules of course.

You can think one thing or another about the rules, but they are about the big sites killing off the small local shops.

Re: Not France vs US

[Anonymous Coward]

It is not a technology issue. The law that stated a maximum of 5% discount for books goes back to 1981. Decades before Amazon even existed. It was put in place to assure that local bookshops could compete on an equal term to big competitors (like supermarkets selling books etc...). Right now the French government has only clarified that that 5% maximum discount is also to include also the shipping charges. So you can't do 5% discount (allowed by law) on the book + x% discount (shipping).

Now as to the price of books, maybe you don't know but french books cost on average less than american ones. And considering the US is a much larger market, a free market WHAT does that really tell you ? The French have a vibrant cultural market. Especially when it comes to books. They love books, they love reading, and they buy a lot of books. Much more on average than americans. If this law were so bad you would see people stopping buying books but that's not what happens. Ensuring that local bookshops survive is a good thing to everyone.
Imagine a future were only Amazon or Apple can distribute/sell books. It would be a nightmare. Even now when thy don't have much of the market they're brazen in their attemps to censor/blocks books that aren't morally suited to the corporation. You want to publish a young adult books that talks about teen sex, tough luck. Apple doesn't like it so you don't get to publish it. No thanks. Having retail stores that stock and get access to all the back catalog is a good thing for everyone.

Things are simple...

[Ecuador]

You should never try to protect at an overall cost an established business, however small, cute etc it is. Bookstores have to close. Not all of them, but a lot of them. The ones that actually provide value to the customer will stay due to people actually visiting them. For example I love Amazon, however there is one small local bookstore that provides a great personalized experience and does not gouge prices to which I go first. I see a lot of people not minding a surcharge when they get even more value out of the experience, so this bookstore will servive. Also that small bookstore has found things to bring that Amazon doesn't have etc. Protecting or bailing out failing businesses is always bad for the community as a whole in the long-run. Yes, poor buggy whip makers will be out of jobs in the short term, but we can't all be riding carriages into the future...