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Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

nytimes.com

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Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#11

Post by cafard »

pervycreeper wrote: post #7
ZenPro wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among Amazon’s tactics against Hachette, some of which it has been employing for months, are charging more for its books and suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author. If customers for some reason persist and buy a Hachette book anyway, Amazon is saying it will take weeks to deliver it. ^^ How is that a hit piece? If the allegations are true it is disgraceful.

>charging more for its books Still less than the list price (set by the publisher). >suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author Don't they do this for every item?

"Still less than the list price (set by the publisher)."

Amazon gets large discounts from publishers, in a case I know of larger than wholesalers or distributors get or got. It does not negotiate discounts so much as it enforces them.

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#13

Post by gabemart »

This sounds reminiscent of similar accusations regarding books from Lightning Source being sold on Amazon being given long delivery estimates.

Lightning source is a print-on-demand publishing service from Ingram that competes with Amazon's CreateSpace PoD service.

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/09/amazon-and-lightning-...

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#14

Post by matwood »

pervycreeper wrote: post #7
ZenPro wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among Amazon’s tactics against Hachette, some of which it has been employing for months, are charging more for its books and suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author. If customers for some reason persist and buy a Hachette book anyway, Amazon is saying it will take weeks to deliver it. ^^ How is that a hit piece? If the allegations are true it is disgraceful.

>charging more for its books Still less than the list price (set by the publisher). >suggesting that readers might enjoy instead a book from another author Don't they do this for every item?

Actually, the biggest item is changing availability. It is a book that is likely print on demand. Availability should always be 1-2 days tops. By moving the availability out weeks Amazon kills any purchase but the most determined buyer.

EDIT Also, if you read "The Everything Store", tactics like the above are common knowledge.

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#15

Post by pervycreeper »

nutjob2 wrote: post #12
pervycreeper wrote: post #3

Reads like a hit piece. People involved in legacy media perceive that they lack the nimbleness and cleverness of the technology industry, and they (rightly) feel threatened.

Almost all phenomena are best explained as a conspiracy.

total mischaracterization

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#16

Post by cstross »

This isn't the first time this has happened. They whacked on Hachette a couple of years ago in the UK (delisting titles on amazon.co.uk) -- I'm told that what made Amazon back down was Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series of all things. (The TV series was running, all the books were in the top 30 bestsellers, and it wound up costing Amazon a fortune.)

They've also done this to Macmillan and Penguin, to my knowledge.

It's worth noting that the Big Five publishers in the US have a combined turnover about a fifth of Amazon's, and individually none of them are even 10% of Amazon's size. Amazon's behavior towards its suppliers is basically bullying -- this isn't just in publishing -- and they're also tax dodgers (although I note the UK treasury has finally taken steps to close the VAT loophole they were exploiting to charge their suppliers 20% VAT while paying out only 3% to the Luxembourg government).

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#17

Post by cstross »

revelation wrote: post #10
girvo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm as pro-tech and pro-disruption as the next entrepreneur, but come on. Amazon is an 800lb gorilla, not a start-up struggling to find traction, and if the acusations in this piece are true (and what I can find suggests they are), then that's anti-consumer behaviour: Amazon own 1/3 the entire market for books. This affects us, the consumers, and hurts authors, all because Amazon pushed for better terms and Hachette…

This seems to be a very positive interpretation for Hachette, which is incidentally exactly what the article seems to push for, while claiming Amazon is acting maliciously. The interest of authors is very clear: sell as many books as possible. They are paid a meagre sum per book (a dollar, maybe?) so they really don't care about the price other than that it is as low as possible to stimulate sales, but they have no c…

They are paid a meagre sum per book (a dollar, maybe?) so they really don't care about the price other than that it is as low as possible to stimulate sales

Wrong.

We are paid a royalty which is a percentage cut of the sale price. Often a percentage of the net receipts the publisher gets for the books. So amazon's tactics come directly out of our pockets.

Hachette do not pay authors "a very low and fixed sum". We're in a profit-sharing arrangement with them. No profits for Hachette? No profits for the authors, either.

Please refrain from disseminating information on HN about a business you aren't actively involved in without first engaging in some fact-checking.

(Disclaimer: I am a full-time professional author and Hachette is one of my publishers in the UK.)

Re: Writers Feel an Amazon-Hachette Spat

#18

Post by robotys »

Amazon need to increase its profit. The best way without increasing price from the already steep discount compared listing price are have better discount from huge volume publisher. Publisher balk as their profit margin will be affected. Amazon increase price due to no better term. That is purely logical business decision.

However, the extending shipping time as a punishment part from amazon is not.

(Disclaimer: i work for publisher and a writer myself)

(Edit:typo)

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