Amazon's discount pricing, argues Robinson, is bad because the online shopping giant uses its clout to take publishers hostage. Amazon's strong-arm tactics extort better wholesale prices from publishers, and customers are clearly attracted by those low prices, which in turn gives Amazon more power to demand exclusive relationships even lower prices from publishers. For example:
"John Sargent, head of Macmillan, [...] home to many authors [...] including Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky and Barbara Ehrenreich, [...] confronted Amazon over its insistence on setting the prices of e-books it sold on its site, generally at under $10. This was a concern throughout an industry worried that low prices of electronic versions would undermine profits from printed books and generally lower the perceived value of the product.And as for the issue of selection:
Amazon reacted with characteristic distemper: bye-bye Macmillan's buy buttons." (Buy buttons, incidentally, are nothing esoteric. They're simply the buttons that read "Buy" or "Buy now" when viewing an Amazon item.)
"Many would argue that the efflorescence of new publishing that Amazon has encouraged can only be a good thing, that it enriches cultural diversity and expands choice. But that picture is not so clear: a number of studies have shown that when people are offered a narrower range of options, their selections are likely to be more diverse than if they are presented with a number of choices so vast as to be overwhelming."Both of these forces work to keep otherwise noble publishers on their knees and to knock down independent bookstores like so many bowling pins. Right?
As with so many controversies, I don't view the emergence of Amazon in black-and-white terms. There's a bit of truth to both sides of the debate. The idea that, before Amazon came along, publishers and booksellers existed in a world of absolute fairness and harmony, one in which they took turns sipping rainbow nectar between unicorn rides, is simply ridiculous. If anything, Amazon has taken publishers' self-importance down a notch or two and restored a small amount of power to booksellers — both online and brick-and-mortar.
Speaking as an avid reader, for me Amazon's selection, pricing, and convenience are appealing. I love visiting bookstores for all the obvious reasons, but when I have a single book in mind and don't want to pay through the nose for it — keeping in mind that bookstore-bought books are rarely discounted from their cover price, and, like Amazon here in WA, they get hit with tax to boot — Amazon has typically been my bookstore of choice. For another round of incentives, my credit card also gives me triple points for shopping at Amazon, points which then net me more stuff at Amazon. It's hard to turn all those extras and freebies down. Plus their customer service is insanely good.
But I won't say that Robinson doesn't have a point. It's easy to focus on the low cost of Amazon's books and overlook the fact that paying full price at, say, Auntie's or even Barnes & Noble helps those bookstores to host events that cultivate a local reading community. And it's true that brick-and-mortar stores continue to struggle against the convenience and selection of online booksellers — not just Amazon but Alibris and ABEbooks too.
Not all of Amazon's behavior has sat well with me personally, either. The whole 1984 Kindle fiasco comes to mind, and, almost one year on to the day, it's enough to make me shudder. Still, they haven't become anything like despicable, or done anything to the point that would make me stop shopping there or making use of their affiliate links.[*] Yet it's worth mentioning that, sinister aspects of digital media aside, Amazon did wonders for the eBook market, which was struggling to make much of an impact before the Kindle came along.
The comments to the Alternet-posted piece are worth reading, mainly because so many of them come to Amazon's defense (surprising, that is, given the predominant anti-corporate-hegemon stance of many Alternet readers, myself included). Which raises another question: Has Amazon succeeded in making allies of those who would otherwise oppose it simply because it predominantly deals in something "good" like books?
Anyone from Auntie's or another indie bookstore have something to add? Am I missing something nefarious? Please, if you've got a stance on the matter, chip in.
----------
Just noticed — thanks to the heads-up given by 