Google is ending the program that allows independent booksellers to sell Google e-books through their websites. It is a big blow for small bookstores seeking to compete against Amazon and Barnes & Noble.The full letter that the American Booksellers Association sent to members announcing the news is at the end of this post.
Over 350 independent bookstores who are members of the ABA sell Google e-books through their websites. As of January 31, 2013, that relationship will end, cutting off “numerous online retailers, including IndieCommerce, as well as Powell’s and other partners in the United States and around the world, including partners in Canada, the UK, France, and Australia.”
Publishers Marketplace broke the news.
In February, Google scaled back its e-book affiliates program. While that move angered some, it primarily affected individual users looking to make a bit of extra money from affiliate links. This move is much broader and effectively ends independent booksellers’ ability to sell e-books through their websites until they find a new partner.
ABA CEO Oren Teicher says the company “has been actively engaged in talking to many other potential industry partners, in case the need arose to replace or to supplement Google’s offering.”
And, he writes, “We are totally committed to providing IndieCommerce stores the means to continue to sell e-books, and, at minimum, we expect to move forward quickly with one or more partners who will better understand — and who will maintain closer ties to — your stores, and to the book industry in general.”
Full story at Paid Content.