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Turning the Amazon Contretemps Into a Positive for Indies
Printer-friendly versionWhen 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. |
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. |
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. |
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!). |
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