“The thing that has really aggravated me is the one-sided nature and anonymity of their business negotiations,” said Karen Christensen, CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, a Massachusetts-based independent publisher of professional and academic books. “They’re trying to dictate terms to their suppliers without seeing it as something where there are two parties involved.”
Amazon, which buys her books at 40 percent off the cover price, emailed her in December to demand an even bigger discount. She refused, and Amazon stopped placing orders, affecting 10 percent of her business.
That was the first time my complaints about Amazon appeared in print, in 2014, and it’s fun to see that the Seattle Times article mentioned our clever satirical “no smile” image. But the story it doesn’t include – perhaps because I didn’t tell it in full or tell it well – is what happened when I first got a notice about the discount increase. I fired back a message saying I didn’t agree, wouldn’t agree, and that I would be letting everyone in my network and online know about Amazon’s outrageous action. I was David and Amazon was Goliath, but within minutes a call was put through to me from “Amazon Legal Department.” A woman told me they would take action if I went ahead with my threat. Amazon. Lawsuit.
I was too startled to get a name or respond in a snappy way that I could amuse you with now, and she quickly hung up. That was the first of the only two times I have been able to speak to a human at Amazon. The Seattle Times quote seems very bland, compared to my memory of that first engagement.
Amazon No Smiles
This is going to be a chronological report of Amazon's latest, and so far most incompetent, assault on small publishers and self-published authors: Friday Saturday Sunday Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support, I realize the importance this has for you and your business. I know this has an impact on your business, and I will definitely look into this for you. Furthermore, I understand that you are inquiring about reactivate the listing Regarding your request, I kindly add the listing again to be able to solve the issue To add a new and existing products please follow the next steps; 1. Select Add a Product from the Inventory drop-down.
On Giving Up Publishing
On Friday evenings, we eat at home in New York, lamps low as the sun sets over the Hudson. We catch up on what’s happened during the week: the news from Beijing and our far-flung children, the meetings we’ve had, new projects started, funny stories from work. It’s a simple meal, usually fish and salad, a time of peace and companionship and love. On one of those evenings, a Friday in September exactly two years ago, I started crying on the second bite of salad. It was a single teardrop at first, hovering at the corner of my eye. I tried to ignore it. I don’t cry, for heaven's sake. And I
Antitrust investigation of Amazon called for
Amazon just celebrated its 20th birthday with something called Prime Day. The Authors Guild simultaneously announced a call for a Department of Justice investigation of the company. You may remember my letter last August, “Amazon update: when will the Justice Department step in?” I wrote: “I suspect that Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, is alert to the possibility of an antitrust investigation. One has to wonder how that figured into his decision to buy the politically influential but money-losing Washington Post. Does a politically sensitive justice department want to begin an investigation into a company controlled by the owner of the newspaper that is on the doorstep of every DC decision
“Amazon is the Reader’s Friend” debate tonight
Is book publishing an oligopoly, a dinosaur in need of disruption? Is Amazon, which accounts for 41% of all new book and 67% of all e-book sales, a monopoly? Who is doing right by readers and the future of books? I agreed to post the livestream here so our friends and readers can hear different sides of the debate. Read more about it Intelligence Squared. My articles: "Amazon update: when will the justice department step in?” and “How Amazon.com is hurting readers, authors, and publishers.” AGAINST FOR Franklin Foer, Former Editor, The New Republic Joe Konrath, Author & Self-Publishing Pioneer Scott Turow, Attorney & Author Matthew Yglesias, Executive Editor, Vox
Amazon update: when will the Justice Department step in?
A lot has happened since I wrote about how Amazon has pressured Berkshire Publishing (“How Amazon.com is hurting readers, authors, and publishers” – 4 June 2014). There have been accusations, petitions, and even a network TV documentary. I received many thoughtful emails and was interviewed on BBC TV Newsnight and by the New York Times (“Amazon, a Friendly Giant as Long as It’s Fed”). My article was widely distributed and reprinted, and turned into a podcast interview in “Beyond the Book,” a series hosted by Copyright Clearance.
Latest news about Amazon.com’s battles with publishers
We distributed the story I’d dashed off about Berkshire Publishing’s experience with Amazon and were surprised by how much response it got. It was redistributed by Publishers Weekly and will come out in the Independent Book Publishers Association magazine, and I appeared in an episode of BBC TV’s Newsnight program, and was just interviewed by the New York Times. New information about Amazon’s ongoing pressure on publishers - large and small, trade and academic – continues to come out, and the questions I’ve received have made me think more deeply about the problem. As one interviewer said, “It sounds like you like Amazon.” In a way, I do. I