Thursday, February 4, 2010

thoughts on Amazonfail

In case you've been living under a rock or have actively been avoiding reading about it, last weekend Amazon got mad at Macmillan (because Macmillan dared to suggest that maybe Macmillan should set prices on Macmillan's ebooks, not Amazon) and in a fit of pique, Amazon yanked all of Macmillan's books--print as well as ebooks--so that no one can buy them. At least, not from Amazon. That was last Friday, and by Sunday Amazon was acting all wounded and claiming that it was just acting in the reader's best interests--I guess because all those print books from Macmillan and its imprints were full of POISON and Amazon didn't want anyone to die. The pro-Amazon camp says that Amazon just wants to keep ebook prices low, conveniently not noticing that Macmillan wants to increase Kindle ebook prices by a few bucks upon initial release and then drop the price to well below $9.99 once the book's been out for a while.

On Monday, Amazon said maybe it could probably, you know, act like a business and not a bunch of toddlers, and that they'd probably be making the changes Macmillan requested. But as of today, as far as I know Amazon has not reinstated the sale buttons on Macmillan books.

That was it for me. I'm no longer an Amazon customer. This past weekend I ordered three books from B&N, three books from Powell's, and one book each from indie presses (um, and indie press guys, I'd kind of like to receive an email that you know why I sent you my money and that you're going to send me my books real soon now). I received the B&N order today--New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear (published by Subterranean), When the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer (published by Tor, which is owned by Macmillan), and How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier (published by Bloomsbury, and I'm still not real happy about their recent cover fiascos, but that's not the author's fault). I've also changed all the links on the Skunk Cat Book Reviews page to reflect B&N instead of Amazon.

So that's how I feel. Amazon's acting like a giant baby and there are lots of other book vendors out there.

7 comments:

Fox Lee said...

I've never liked Amazon - they creep me out. It's nice to be so repeatedly validated lately ; )

PS: Ha! My word verification is "deep helo." That sounds oddly sexual.

Cate Gardner said...

Go you!

K.C. Shaw said...

Natalie--Either that or someone with a low voice picking up the phone. "helo?" Oh, okay, it's misspelled.

Cate--Thanks!

Danielle Birch said...

You go girl. I actually haven't ordered anything from Amazon for a while. I've been ordering from The Book Depository - free postage.

K.C. Shaw said...

Free postage is always awesome! It means you can order an extra book.

Jamie Eyberg said...

I order as little as possible from Amazon and have for years. They have edged up the prices on everything that isn't book over the last couple of years. Barnes and Noble is a much better shopping experience anyway.

K.C. Shaw said...

I was really impressed at how fast B&N got my books to me even with free shipping. They sent it in two packages to ship faster, and one was even delivered to my doorstep.