The Justice Department accuses the conspirators of agreeing that instead of selling books to retailers and letting them decide what price to charge readers, the publishers would convert the retailers into "agents" who were restricted from lowering the publisher-set retail price.

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With new protection perks in place, customer service agents rely on their relationships with retailers who handle swaps and refunds.

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Watch, jewelry, and handbag retailers have, as a practical matter, now become travel agents.

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