Amazon vs Hachette - Who Should Price Books?

We sell books, too!

One major issue in the Amazon/Hachette dispute is who should price books, the publisher or the retailer. I was emotionally siding with Hachette until I realized something horrible. I am a retailer who frequently sells books for less than the suggested retail price. Sometimes, way below the suggested retail price.

You see, I own an antique/gift store in a small tourist town. I also carry books, both new and used, and I price to sell. I start at top dollar, but if a product doesn't move, I cut the price until it does.

Maybe it's an over simplified way to look at it, and I understand the publishing world is different than mine, due to the concept of buy-back, but in the end, it is the retailer who is on the front lines with the consumers, not the publishers.

I know Amazon is not lily-white, and they participate in many practices I disagree with, but I also know I wouldn't want someone telling me what prices I had to sell my stock for.