Random House Adopts New Model for Selling E-Books

Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its e-books using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for e-books while the retailer takes a commission.

Five of the six largest publishers switched to the agency model last spring after Apple introduced its iPad.

“The agency model guarantees a higher margin for retailers than did our previous sales terms,” Random House, publisher of Stieg Larsson, George W. Bush and John Grisham, said in a statement on Monday. “We are making this change both as an investment in the successful digital transition of our existing partners and in order to give us the opportunity to forge new retail relationships.”

Full article