I’m rich from the Apple Kindle eBooks Antitrust Settlement

This just in — literally, at 8:58am on June 21 — an $8.50 credit from Amazon, paid for by Apple. I am trying to restrain my excitement, but in reality, it’s nice to get a few bucks back.

This payout has been pending for a few months. Well, a few years. This is Apple’s second payout from the antitrust settlement; the first was in 2014. Read “Apple’s $400M E-Book Payout: How Much You’ll Get and When” Jeff John Roberts in Forbes, which explains

The payments will mark the end of a long, strange antitrust story in which Apple and publishers tried to challenge the industry powerhouse, Amazon, with a new pricing system. Ironically, Amazon is still the dominant player in e-books today while Apple barely matters. Now Apple will pay $400 million to consumers—most of which will be spent at Amazon. Go figure.

I agree with that assessment: Apple lost both the battle (the antitrust pricing lawsuit) and the war (to be the big payer in digital books). Sure, $400 million is pocket change to Apple, which is reported to be hoarding more than $200 billion in cash. But still, it’s gotta hurt.

Here’s what Amazon said in its email:

Your Credit from the Apple eBooks Antitrust Settlement Is Ready to Use

Dear Alan Zeichick,

You now have a credit of $8.50 in your Amazon account. Apple, Inc. (Apple) funded this credit to settle antitrust lawsuits brought by State Attorneys General and Class Plaintiffs about the price of electronic books (eBooks). As a result of this Settlement, qualifying eBook purchases from any retailer are eligible for a credit. You previously received an email informing you that you were eligible for this credit. The Court in charge of these cases has now approved the Apple Settlement. If you did not receive that email or for more information about your credit, please visit www.amazon.com/applebooksettlement.

You don’t have to do anything to claim your credit, we have already added it to your Amazon account. We will automatically apply your available credit to your purchase of qualifying items through Amazon, an Amazon device or an Amazon app. The credit applied to your purchase will appear as a gift card in your order summary and in your account history. In order to spend your credit, please visit the Kindle bookstore or Amazon. If your account does not reflect this credit, please contact Amazon customer service.

Your credit is valid for one year and will expire after June 24, 2017, by order of the Court. If you have not used it, we will remind you of your credit before it expires.

Thank you for being a Kindle customer.

The Amazon Kindle Team