To you
It’s not happening anyway.
Typically, companies - like mine - have real estate folks who are evaluating populations, traffic patterns, demographics and more to determine - where more stores should go, etc.
yes, and if their biggest competitor completely closed all their stores, those calculations would be very different than they are now.
Bookstores have to adhere to strict embargoes on many books. The most egregious example of Amazon dismissing this regulation occurred in 2019 when Margaret Atwood’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released.
Indie bookstores received copies with bright orange stickers all over the box, warning of severe penalties if the book were put on sale prior to the release date. (Note, we get books like this every month, but they usually don’t generate the interest this one did).
Amazon broke the embargo and sold books early. They claimed it was an error but no one in the industry believes that. So all of a sudden, this book that people couldn’t wait to get their hands on was available overnight from Amazon and POOF there went hundreds of sales at indie bookstores. THis still happens but the books are not as high profile, so it doesn’t get traction in the press.
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Then the publisher should take action.
lots break rules.
Weber grills were price protected. Yet I got mine at Lowe’s on sale. Are they and He Depot unsavory too ?
The amount of people using these companies show most see the value.
I don’t buy books so I take no stand. But I think they are ruthless but that doesn’t make them law breakers.
Since we are talking about ethical… Amazon employs an army of lawyers who provide advice regarding what could happen if a particular contract is breached. You bet it was not an accident but a very calculated decision. Legal? A breach of such a contract is a business, not a criminal matter, as one of my bosses used to say. Ethical? Not everything that is legal or borderline legal is ethical. The publisher apparently got something for the breach of the agreement (according to the NPR article linked). The other booksellers? The contract was not between them and Amazon so no, they had pretty much no remedies. Unfair business practices? Sure smells like that, but it is where the government needs to step in - and chances of that happening are like those of a snowball on a preheated Weber grill.
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I don’t have an Amazon account. There are a couple of things I want that they carry…and my husband has prime, so I just ask him to order them. We don’t get much from Amazon. Not our favorite company.
So you pay all that money to have prime and you “don’t get much from Amazon?”
That’s my husbands decision and account. He spends enough and saves enough on shipping annually that it is worth it. And he has TV too.
We ordered Corelle pasta bowls from Amazon. When they arrived, we could tell there was at least one broken (you could hear glass rattling in the box that was simply a corrugated cardboard box with all the bowls stacked together, with maybe a thin piece of foam or cardboard between them. We told Amazon that one of the bowls was broken. They told us to keep them and they’d send us a new set, so now instead of 6 bowls, we have 11! It’s come in handy to have that many, but not what we had planned. Fortunately they do stack.
It’s weird what they want returned and what they want you to throw away or keep when you are unhappy with the order. I mostly am not thrilled with Amazon but it does save driving they they do have more sizes (especially unusual sizes) than local stores. The delivery people around here are mostly decent as we have parking on our street and they leave most packages at our front door (and so far no porch pirates in our neighborhood).
Hahahahaha how quaint. That is the whole point. The publisher only cares about selling books. The 800 pound gorilla does what it wants. Believe me, our pub rep got an earful about this, from us and every other indie. But at the end of the day, they want to sell books.
They have no incentive to punish Amazon.
Buy local campaigns have been incredibly beneficial to many small shops, if they are located in areas where people want to support that. Indie shops donate to local fundraisers, provide books at a discount to schools, and curate books for you while also helping you find the book that is perfect for you. They dont serve up something by an algorithm written by someone 2000 miles away.
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I have no issue with independents succeeding. But if someone is doing something more efficiently, at a level more would choose, then I don’t fault that organization.
I don’t buy books - but when I did or college prep guides, it was either B&N or Amazon. Amazon even does a lot of college text books.
The same argument can be made against Home Depot & Lowes who drove many independent mom & pop hardware stores out of business. And the large grocery store chains that drove away all the corner markets and butcher shops. Also, the fact that we can now shop almost all retail stores online and get exactly the size and color of what we want versus wasting gas to go to a mall and not find what we’re looking for. Sure, the retailer gets our money either way, but online shopping jeopardizes retail jobs and the rental of retail space.
At the end of the day, for many people, price (and now the convenience of having things delivered by Amazon) are the driving forces in consumer behavior.
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Definitely love/hate and I’ve wanted to cancel our Prime membership every time they raise the price (doubling in 20yrs doesn’t feel like too much in the abstract but when I think of my dwindling satisfaction it does).
My main frustration is that Prime was founded on Two Day Shipping (and I believe they would even refund the cost of the item if it was late?) so if you really needed something urgently you would order on Amazon because you could very nearly guarantee it would be there. That guarantee was worth more than the “free shipping” but now there is zero trust in ‘two day shipping’ at all. You know its not coming if it hasn’t even shipped yet but it will still tell you its arriving ‘today’ and without fail right at 8pm EST and you’ll get an email that says “your order is delayed” and that’s it. Not even sure if they say sorry anymore. I actually find Walmart is giving Amazon a run and quite often will compare delivery estimates and choose Walmart (whose shipping is free without paying $140 annually) but haven’t cancelled Prime yet - I just need to actually click the button and do it.
I agree. But I also think it’s sad . . .sometimes absolute market efficiency makes for a very dull world. I much preferred when I could go to a local butcher and chat with him about what I needed and he could recommend a cut of meat, or order something for a holiday.
I liked going to the local hardware store where the owners or staff would help you figure out what you need. The local ACE hardware is still a little like that.
Going to a local bookstore, the staff are well read on all the stock and can recommend books to you based on what you like to read.
Shopping purely by price and with large institutions that do everything by volume has removed the expertise and human connection.
I am so glad my town has independent restaurants to enjoy; that is another category that can be take over by corporate entities.
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I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood which has no big box stores, only a few chains and lots of small businesses. Even the supermarket is local, family owned. I shop there regularly as well as the co-op, the ACE hardware store, the independent bookstore, the locally owned coffee shop, etc. And I am able to walk to all of those.
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Unfortunately, that’s the exception today. Are prices competitive or higher? In reality, people do have budget concerns and while it’s nice to hit a Farmers Market and/or shop local, in my experience there is often a cost delta. And sometimes a selection limitation.
On the other hand, in the case of food, sometimes it’s fresher which is why I love the Farmers Market, which is a collective group of small vendors.
Speaking of hardware stores, there is a giant Home Depot in the neighboring town. There is also a much smaller hardware store about half a mile away from that HD. The smaller store’s parking lot is always packed! The folks who work there are super friendly and knowledgeable. The store stocks typical hardware items plus many things either not sold in HD and/or of better quality than HD contractor’s grade. That’s our first stop for uncommon hardware… and if something can’t be found there, it is Amazon time.
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Probably a bit higher. But I don’t have to drive so there is that. I am aware of people’s budget concerns. I also shop the farmer’s market.
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Curious about not having prime (which I only have because I split with my mom):
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what is the level to get free shopping without prime?
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what’s the difference in shipping time?
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can you still do free returns? I assume not.
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can you still keep wish lists? Amazon photos (if you pay)? Subscribe and save?
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is prime video just off limits or do you pay more for the movie?
I’d love to give up prime!!
We have free prime shipping with our son. It’s been that way for at least 10 years now. We don’t get the tv option but get prime shipping.
I read that is going away October 1. No sharing of amazon prime at different addresses.
Maybe this is our sign to break up with amazon.
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