Dear Reader,
You are receiving this message because you completed the survey which asked the question, “Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry,” and you also expressed an interest in boycotting Amazon’s online and brick and mortar book stores.
The results of that survey may be found here.
When I posed this question several weeks ago, I had no idea how strong opinions were on both side of this issue. 65% of the respondents were in favor of boycotting Amazon’s bookstore—indeed several had already launched a personal boycott. 28% of the respondents were against a boycott. Some were very strongly against it.
Since you’ve already expressed an interest in boycotting Amazon, I won’t spend time making a case for a boycott now (here is a recent video where I discuss the adverse impact of Amazon). However, it is worth considering the main arguments against a boycott. While I’m sure there are those who will never change the mind against boycotting Amazon; we might get a few converts by addressing their needs. Here are the three biggest issues I’ve observed from the comments.
1 - Amazon is Inexpensive, Easy to Use, and They Deliver Books for Free
As you may know, Amazon can afford to sell books at a loss for the foreseeable future. Amazon also has the power to wring discounts out of publishers, large and small, that are unavailable to any other bookseller. As a result, it is impossible for any independent bookseller to compete with Amazon on solely on price.
2 - I Read Kindle eBooks
Unfortunately, there is no standard eBook format. The format that is most popular is Amazon’s Kindle, which commands 83% of US eBook business. The rest of the shrinking eBook competition is essentially shared with Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google. Worse, many authors have chosen to give Amazon exclusivity for their eBook sales. For all practical purposes Amazon is a monopoly for eBooks.
3 - Amazon is Too Powerful to be Impacted by a Boycott
I have no idea when, how, or even if a boycott of Amazon will take place. In fact, some feel Amazon is simply too powerful to be impacted by a boycott.
What I do know is that part of the reason that Amazon is dominating is that we are not exercising our options. We can free ourselves, of our dependency on Amazon, by choosing or creating alternatives that may actually be better.
There too many organizations, unions, guilds, publishers, authors, booksellers, distributors, and readers who understand the adverse impact Amazon’s near monopoly has on the business of books for us to stand by and do nothing about it.
