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U.S. price wars hit a new low

In response to the decision of three big U.S. publishers – Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Hachette Book Group – to counter the downward pressure on e-book prices by delaying their publication, Amazon has chosen the combative response of lowering prices even further.

According to The New York Times (via MobyLives), the company is now selling e-book pre-orders of Stephen King’s Under the Dome and Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue at the rock-bottom price of $7.99 U.S. (Both titles are currently available in hardcover and will be released as e-books later this month.) From the Times:

As of Thursday Amazon appeared to be offering low prices on Kindle editions of several popular titles, including The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, for $7.60, The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second in the thriller series by Swedish author Stieg Larsson, offered at $7.99, and both Twilight and New Moon, the first two volumes in the vampire series by Stephenie Meyer, were available for $4.25.