With the widespread use of e-books, such as Amazon.com’s Kindle, book publishers are faced with a tough channel decision: should they introduce the conventional hardcover and the e- book versions simultaneously or delay release to the e-book channel until after the hardcover has had a chance to generate sales through the conventional channels? HarperCollins, the publisher of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue: An American Life, opted for the delay strategy. The publisher chose to wait over a month after the release of the hardcover
before making the book available via e-book. The publisher had produced 1.5 million copies of the hard cover version, which were available for sale in book stores and online in mid-November. But the e-book version was not made available until December 26, the day after Christmas. Apparently HarperCollins was worried about the e- book cannibalizing sales from the hardcover version. Do you think HarperCollins made the right channel decision? Why or why not?