No Chef's Knife for Me

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and current CEO, had a great idea and it revolutionized the publishing industry. The 1930's distribution model used by publishers does not work in this age of instant access and responsible use of our resources.  Changes were long overdue.  

Hard to find titles?  Amazon has them.  Without Amazon and others like it, I would not reach much of my audience.  I am not yet famous enough to warrant shelf space in a bookstore.

Hard to find anything else?  I purchased my favorite chef’s knife from Amazon because no local retailer stocks the brand even though it had the highest rating from a well-known cooking magazine and television show. 

Unfortunately, all this good is tarnished by Amazon’s efforts to control or manipulate its vendors and the marketplace.  Amazon tried to force some publishers to use its printing company if they wanted their books to be sold on Amazon. (Amazon settled that lawsuit in 2009.)  Now Amazon is using strong-arm tactics on Hachette.  Want a copy of a Harry Potter book or something by Stephen Colbert?  You can't buy it on Amazon.

Amazon - You set ebook prices. If they are too low, you need to raise them. That’s how business works. Ask Kmart. It almost went under because its ultra-low prices couldn’t sustain it.

Refusing to sell a product customers can easily get elsewhere alienates them – something no company can afford to do, especially in these difficult economic times.  Or, more likely, the sale may be lost completely. The consumer may decide she doesn’t really need that book.

If I lose a book sale, I lose income and so do all the people who work for my publisher.  If I don’t have income, I can’t buy a chef’s knife..other anything else Amazon wants to sell me.

Interestingly, I wrote this same basic piece back in 2010 when Amazon was battling MacMillon over ebook pricing and discounts. Not much has changed. It is still true that Amazon can ill afford to lose customers.  

Thanks to the Internet, I can buy books anywhere.  Powell's, bn.com, Smashwords.  Sure, Amazon was easy, but as an author, I am very aware that there are two sides to this.  So I just got a book elsewhere.  Something tells me I can find kitchen knives elsewhere too.