It's a trade off.
Amazon gets a 6 to 15% commission (I think the commission on books is 15%), a $1.20 closing fee for books and a $0.99 transaction fee (waived for Pro Merchants). So for a $26.95 book Amazon would get somewhere around $6.24 per book sold.
But a much larger potential market could be reached.
I've ordered my books buy just picking up the phone and calling the world headquarters. It's simple, painless, and as an added bonus you get to talk to a real live Texan.
