Google "to start selling eBooks"

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 1 Jun 2009 at 07:55

Google has told publishers that it will start selling eBooks by the end of the year, according to newspaper reports.

The search giant is preparing to take on the likes of Amazon by selling eBooks directly to consumers, the New York Times reports.

Google already allows people to search for and read extracts from books, via its controversial Book Search service. That same service also provides links to leading book stores such as Amazon and Waterstone's, where people can buy print and electronic versions of the titles.

The company seemingly plans to add itself to the list of retailers, but unlike Amazon, Google will allow consumers to read its eBooks on any device, be it a PC, mobile phone or dedicated eBook reader.

Google is also planning to allow publishers to set their own prices. The New York Times claims that Amazon has angered many publishers by selling eBooks at below cost price, damaging sales of lucrative hardbacks. Amazon sells new titles from as little as $9.99, whereas the latest hardback books cost around $26.

Google has told book publishers that it plans to have its store up and running by the end of the year. The company has announced similar plans before, but Tom Turvey, director of strategic partnerships at Google, met publishers at the weekend and told them: "This time we mean it."

Google's Book Search is facing regulatory probes in both the US and Europe. The company plans to fully digitise millions of "orphan works" - titles that are still covered by copyright law but whose ownership is unclear. Competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic are investigating whether such a move is legal.