Bookseller Feedback Wanted on Antitrust Action Kit

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The American Booksellers Association is seeking feedback from booksellers who have used the Antitrust Action Kit (ACT) to urge their state or federal officials to investigate Amazon for antitrust violations.

Booksellers who have used ACT are encouraged to contact David Grogan, ABA senior public policy analyst, at [email protected], to let him know if the kit was helpful, and, importantly, if they received any responses from their lawmakers.

ACT was created in March 2016 to make it easier to ask lawmakers to investigate Amazon’s business model for antitrust violations. It provides state-specific letters urging members of Congress, state legislators and attorneys general, and governors to investigate Amazon for violations of antitrust laws.

The template letters provide parallels between Amazon’s business model and corporations that have been charged with antitrust violations in the past. The letters also cite state-specific data from the Civic Economics study “Amazon and Empty Storefronts,” which provides key information about jobs and state revenue losses as a result of the company’s growth. In 43 of the 50 states, Amazon’s business practices have resulted in retail job losses.

Booksellers who have not yet sent letters to their state or federal lawmakers regarding Amazon’s business model are encouraged to do so now.