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News Thu Apr 05 2012
Google To Discontinue eBook Reseller Program
Independent bookstores received another blow today as Google announced it would discontinue its program, which allows independent bookstores to sell eBooks through its platform, mediabistro.com reports.
Scott Dougall, Google's director of product management and digital publishing, announced on their blog, "The program has not gained the traction that we hoped it would, so we have made the difficult decision to discontinue it by the end of January of next year."
The American Booksellers Association offers an e-commerce product called IndieCommerce for independent bookstores. Oren J. Teicher, president of the ABA, said in an e-mail to members, "To say the least, we are very disappointed with Google's decision. 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." The ABA has also listed a FAQ to address the issue on their website.
