Jane wrote a absolutely marvelous post about Amazon’s decision to no longer stock books that do not use Booksurge, Amazon’s print-on-demand service. According to Writer’s Weekly, tomorrow (1 April – April Fools?!) is the deadline by which “some POD publishers to sign the contract with Amazon/Booksurge, or risk having their buy buttons removed from Amazon.com.” (Thanks to Cheryl for the link).
Some publishers who use other POD services, such as Whiskey Creek Press, have noticed that already, prior to that signing deadline, their books are only available through resellers, or via the Kindle edition – a file type which is owned entirely by Amazon.
We here at Bitch HQ use Amazon as referral customers, and we earn about 6.5-7% of all purchases made through our Amazon referral account. We use that money (and money from our advertisers) to cover hosting, prizes, postage, and my regular stalker letter to Fabio, but you didn’t hear me say that. Amazon makes it hideously easy to build a store, build a link, host any number of popup or mouseover windows for additional information about a book, and offers a badrillion different linking options to anyone, like us nefarious bloggers, to use.
Personally? I use Amazon all the damn time. While being a bitch is a full time unofficial job, I have a rarely-spoken-of job which cuts into my shopping for diapers time, and I use Amazon’s subscription service and Prime membership with its two-day shipping to have big ass boxes of diapers arrive on my doorstep on a regular basis. I order computer equipment, toys, supplies, and gifts from Amazon, and stores who operate through Amazon. I’ve discovered some really great stores that way, too. For Hanukkah last year, I ordered Hubby a flight of dark chocolate from a business in Portland which sells through Amazon that specializes in salt, chocolate, and spices. OMG. LOVE.
I’m not sure how Amazon’s decision to force usage of their own POD company will ultimately shake out in the publishing world, or the legal one, and I’m not sure how that decision, which smacks of big beefy bullying, will affect how I personally view Amazon as a vendor. I don’t shop at Wal Mart if I can avoid it, for example, but I also recognize that there are some communities where the Wally World is the best and only option for budget-minded shopping. So I can vote with my wallet where the Mart is concerned, but doing so is a luxury, and I can’t – and don’t want to – tell other people where to shop.
But since this site is powered by mantitty but fueled by your interest, I want to ask your opinion. What’s your position on Amazon?
I’ve come to find out that Powells in Portland offers a partnership program similar to Amazon’s. If I offered a buy option that linked to Powells as opposed to Amazon, would you prefer one over the other? Does Amazon’s decision to force vendors to use their POD service in order to use their bookstore affect your desire to shop at Amazon?
Does Amazon’s decision to force vendors to use their POD service in order to use their bookstore affect your desire to shop at Amazon?
Nope.
Not even a bit I’m afraid.
As far as I can see, Amazon are looking out for number one. They’ve identified a way to generate more revenue for themselves, and quite frankly, I can’t blame them for that.
But then I’m not an author, and I don’t own a small press.
Amazon’s contract will affect your pocket book, however. One of the stipulations in the contract is that the publisher agrees to not undercut Amazon’s price, even on the publisher’s own website. So the publisher cannot offer a price that is lower than Amazon’s (who requires a whopping 48% discount on the list price). Amazon, however, can sell it for less.
Sweet. For Amazon.
Writer’s Weekly has all the details.
And you thought it was just about who pubbed the books….