I know of a retailer who sold products below recommended retail price under-cutting other competition. When its sales volume became the the largest (at the expense of lower margins/even at a lost), it demanded great discount from the supplier to offset the losses.
So while publishers will receive the same amount per ebook for now, I’m sure Amazon does not intend to lose money on content and devices forever. It is just a long term strategy to gain market position vis-a-vis publishers, other ebook sellers and possibly physical bookstores?
