Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it does not expect a swift end to its contract dispute with Hachette Book Group, which has led the US online retailer to curtail sales of some of the publisher's titles.
Hachette, a subsidiary of Lagardere SCA, has operated in "good faith" but the two sides remain at odds, Amazon said, without detailing the nature of the dispute.
The statement was Amazon's first on the dispute, which became public in early May.
"Though we remain hopeful and are working hard to come to a resolution as soon as possible, we are not optimistic that this will be resolved soon," Amazon said in a statement posted online.
Amazon is buying fewer print books from Hachette and is no longer taking pre-orders on titles that will be published in the future.
In the statement, Amazon said customers looking to buy one of those titles should "purchase a new or used version from one of our third-party sellers or from one of our competitors."
Hachette did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of regular business hours.
Copyright: Thomson Reuters 2014
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