Voldemort was second division as an adversary; Amazon was Harry Potter’s most implacable foe. But the bespectacled wizard has seen off the virtual giant. The major books story this week is the arrival of official eBook editions of the Harry Potter novels. But these books are not for sale through Amazon’s e-commerce system (or Barnes and Noble’s and Waterstones’). Click on any Amazon link to the Potter eBooks and this message will appear:
‘Harry Potter Kindle books can be purchased at JK Rowling’s Pottermore Shop, a third-party site. Clicking on “Buy at Pottermore” will take you to Pottermore Shop, where you will need to create a separate account. Like all Kindle books, books purchased from Pottermore are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” and will be delivered to your Kindle or free Kindle reading apps.’
Amazon’s dominance of the eBook market is such that it is able to shut out independent publishers in the States because they won’t agree to its demands.
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