Amazon, not Macmillan, won the e-book price battle

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James McQuivey of Forrester Research argues that Macmillan, by forcing Amazon.com to change the way it prices and sells e-books, has handed the online bookseller a long-term victory. Macmillan is now free to set its own price for e-books, but 30 percent of each sale will be kept by Amazon. McQuivey believes that e-book prices will eventually fall due to competitive pressures and, “at that point, even if prices come back down to $9.99, Amazon will be making $3.30 from each book sold. Amazon wins in the short run and the long run. And publishers will make less money than before on each book sold.”