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Turning the Amazon Contretemps Into a Positive for Indies
April 16, 2009
When news spread this week via
Twitter and other social networking sites that Amazon.com had removed certain
titles with LGBT-related content from its sales rankings and made them harder
to find in a site search, it elicited strong reaction from booksellers, others
in the book industry, and the book-buying public concerned about censorship.
Reacting to the outrage, an Amazon spokesperson called the delisting the result
of "an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error," which it was
working to correct. And, contrary to claims that the delisting was aimed primarily
at gay and lesbian titles, Amazon said, the error affected 57,310 books in a
broad range of categories, including Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive &
Sexual Medicine, and Erotica.
But Amazon's explanation that a glitch was responsible for the problem, rather
than a policy decision, has failed to satisfy many who continue express their
opinions via Twitter
as well as to the news media, including the New
York Times.
On Tuesday, April 14, the American Booksellers Association posted
a statement in BTW that offered members who wished to respond to
the situation guidelines that warned against calls for an organized boycott
-- something that could be construed as a restraint of trade under antitrust
laws. However, ABA's statement, which was put together with the help of the
association's legal counsel, said, "You, as individuals, are certainly
able to make whatever unilateral decisions you feel are appropriate, and we
encourage you to do so. As individuals, you may also wish to support political
groups that seek to ensure equal protection of all persons and/or to ensure
freedom of expression. You can also use this situation as a marketing opportunity
to promote the differences and the diversity of ideas available at independent,
locally owned businesses compared with large, corporately owned chain retail
establishments."
And that's just what a number of ABA member store have done -- taken the opportunity
to highlight just what sets them apart from Amazon.
Portland, Oregon's Powell's Books is offering
a special promotion on online sales. Mimicking the Twitter #amazonfail hashtag,
Powell's has created a coupon for the "#powellswin
deal!" which explains:
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At Powell's, all books are created equal. We hold this truth to be self-evident.
Whether any given title is deserving of a wide readership, we leave that decision
to you, our customers.
In the spirit of such freedoms that perhaps we too often take for granted,
today we're offering friends a special, winning deal.
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The special offer gives customers 20 percent off one order of $20 or more until
11:59 p.m. on April 16.
Vroman's in Pasadena, California,
put together a display of titles that "Amazon Doesn't Want You to Read,"
and via the store blog encouraged customers
not to just turn the page and move on. Patrick Brown, Vroman's webmaster and
blogger, wrote:
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This is more important than that, and now is the perfect time to think about
whether you want to trust one company to dominate the book market, or any
market, for that matter. The benefit of having a rich, diverse ecosystem of
vendors and suppliers has never been more obvious: many sources of information
equals choice, and choice equals freedom. It's actually your freedom that's
at stake here, and putting things back the way they were, fixing the notorious
'glitch,' won't change that. Because your freedom was at stake long before
this recent de-listing experiment. Anytime you limit yourself to fewer suppliers,
especially of something as vital as information (and if you purchase a Kindle,
you're effectively doing just that, limiting yourself to a single information
provider), you're putting yourself at the mercy of that provider.
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WORD in Brooklyn, New York, took
the opportunity to explain to customers and visitors to its website just how
their store bestseller is calculated. Noting that it's still not clear just
what happened with the Amazon delisting, a statement on the WORD website explains:
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We wanted to take this opportunity to assure our customers that the problem
of books with 'adult content' not being ranked is not endemic across the book
industry. In the interests of transparency, our bestseller list is calculated
as follows:
1. On first day of new month, run sales report for previous month.
2. Type top ten bestselling titles on a list.
3. Print out list on yellow paper.
(Possible glitch: the manager forgets how to count. If this happens,
we'll be the first people to let you know.)
As you can see, it is a simple process and any book can be a part. We invite
customers to test this assertion by buying dozens of copies of whichever adult
title they like best to drive it to the top of our bestseller list. No one
would be more amused than we by an April bestseller list composed of gay erotica
and perennial bestseller Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
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And Norlight Lit Life,
the blog of Northern Lights Books
& Gifts in Duluth, Minnesota, concludes:
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In any which way, it is a demonstration of why no one entity should be given
the control over the distribution of so many diverse voices and viewpoints.
So, with no accusation nor malice, I invite you to use this as an opportunity
to consider how many algorithms and single-company policies you've allowed
to make selections for you rather than speaking to a friend, colleague, or
someone who dedicates themselves to the sale of a particular media in an independent
store that specializes in a media and may be very close to your community
(like, say maybe an independent bookseller!).
Search books, bookstores and many many things independent at IndieBound.org.
Authors, Publishers, Bloggers, Organizations, etc...: You're NOT tied to Amazon
either. There's no reason for you to be at the mercy of their rankings, policies,
algorithms, or glitches. Become an IndieBound.org
Affiliate!
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And that's just what many are doing. This past week, the IndieBound.org Affiliate
Program, which launched the first of a planned series of improvements that make
it easier to use and ensures that affiliates receive credit for additional sales
generated through the visit, not just for the landing page, has seen a big bump
in sign-ups. As ABA's Chief Marketing Officer Meg Smith said in today's
related story: "The IndieBound.org Affiliate Program is the best way
for bloggers to express their commitment to free speech, diversity, and shopping
local." --Rosemary Hawkins
Topics: News - Bookselling, About Bookstores,
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