Did you buy an e-book from Amazon, Apple, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble between April 1, 2010, and May 21, 2012? If you did, you should expect a check or credit any time now.

If you haven’t made any e-book purchases over this period, we’re sorry, but you’re not getting a dime out of Apple’s payout to U.S. customers, as the long-running e-book price-fixing battle comes to its final stage.

Starting June 21, the tech giant will be ultimately forced to pay a $450 million settlement to millions of e-book customers who will start receiving payments in the form of checks and credits for losses.

The settlement incurred as a result of a reported price-fixing scheme that put Apple and a number of publishers on the spot; Macmillan, Hachette Book Group, Penguin, Simon and Schuster, and HarperCollins were also involved.

If you’re among the affected customers, expect to receive a $6.93 credit for every New York Times bestseller e-book you bought, and a $1.57 credit for each of the other e-books.

Attorneys described the refund process as “uniquely simple,” as payouts are automatically being sent to consumers’ accounts at big e-book retailers, such as Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

Refunded customers will also receive an email direct from the retailer informing them about the crediting of their account. But who is up to get a credit, and who’ll get a check?

Law firm Hagens Berman, the one who litigated the case with the Department of Justice said that “If e-book purchasers requested a check in lieu of a credit, they will receive a check. If purchasers received a credit during the first round of distribution of publisher settlements, and they did not opt out, they will automatically receive a credit.”

First accused in 2010 of fixing e-book prices, Apple was served with the class-action suit that led to this month’s payout only two years later.

The settlement – which involves $400 million shared between affected customers – has been described by Hagens Berman as “one of the most successful recoveries of damages in any antitrust lawsuit in the country.”

Of the remaining $50 million, $30 million will be used to cover legal fees, and $20 million will be split among the 33 states involved in the e-book lawsuit.

Even though the publishers settled several years ago, Apple kept on fighting the suit until this March, when the Supreme Court rejected its final appeal.
Image Source: Investopedia