Many online customers awoke to some good news in their inbox Tuesday: a partial credit for e-books they bought.
Consumers nationwide who bought e-books through Amazon and other online retailers will get credited a total of $166 million stemming from price-fixing settlements with five publishers. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said in the Gem State, customers will be credited about $800,000 from the settlement.
"These settlements have a dual effect of bringing restitution for Idaho consumers and readers who were forced to pay higher prices for e-books and restoring competition in the marketplace," Wasden said in a statement.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the inflated prices were illegal. Schneiderman said the settlements being paid by the publishers apply to consumers in 33 states, which includes Idaho and New York.
Wasden said the settlement is with Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Simon & Schuster, Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, and Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The settlement applies to consumers who bought the e-books through retailers Amazon and Kobo with devices made by Amazon, Apple and Sony. Consumers who bought e-books for Barnes and Noble's Nook tablet are also eligible.
Amazon is sending e-mails to its e-book consumers announcing, "Good news! You are entitled to a credit of $xx.xx for some of your past Kindle book purchases."
The online retailer says the credit applies to books sold between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012, and expire on March 31, 2015. For most of the states, the payment is $3.17 for New York Times bestsellers and 73 cents for other books; Minnesota residents get $3.93 for Times bestsellers and 94 cents for other books.
As for Apple, a federal judge in New York ruled that it engaged in a conspiracy with the publishers to artificially inflate the prices of e-books. Apple is appealing the ruling.
"Consumers are entitled to a fair, open and competitive marketplace," Wasden said. "When a company is found to have violated the antitrust laws, as Apple did here, consumers who have suffered as a consequence are entitled to compensation."
For more information, go to www.ebookagsettlements.com.