goodbye to all that?

German law forbids the discounting of books except when damaged or in other special circumstances - a book must be sold at the same price whether by a chain store, a small independent bookstore or Amazon. This has been credited with the strength of independent publishers and booksellers in Germany but is now seen as under threat, since a Competition Commission in Switzerland has recently decided to permit the discounting of German books. The full story in today's New York Times, here.