Well, if you haven’t heard yet, Amazon has offended the writers’ and POD publishers’ communities with strongarm tactics.

Amazon says POD publishers must use Amazon’s Booksurge publishing if they want to have their books listed as being in stock, as opposed to being limited to the “Buy Used & New From These Sellers” link. (Link 1 Link 2 Link 3) The downside to using that link is that buyers don’t get free shipping, and last time I ordered multiple items through that method, Amazon charged me individually for each item, resulting in a confused/worried call from my credit card company, who thought perhaps there was fraud going on.

Now, I’ll be the first to tell you I think this policy stinks. I thought it was strange when they bought Booksurge, but I took a look at their terms and decided they were unfavorable to an author/publisher. They persisted in emailing me for quite some time afterward, and probably would have called, but I’d used a pseudonym unconnected with my Amazon account and without a phone number, precisely because I didn’t want to deal with pushy salespeople. Booksurge didn’t have a very good reputation before Amazon bought it, and it doesn’t seem to have gotten any better with time.

There are a couple of things that bother me about the current hysteria.

1. The shrillness of many of the blogs and web articles on the topic, flailing to an angry froth without saying anything more coherent than “This is terrible! It has to be illegal!” Yes, people need to be riled enough to take action of some sort, but that action could be as simple as a boycott. If everyone switches to B&N or Borders or one of who knows how many other book retailers, then Amazon’s strongarming fails. Angela Hoy suggested earlier that authors switch their links to B&N - which is a competitor of Amazon’s - which means it’s not in a monopoly position.

Authors and POD publishers could simply ignore Amazon’s fiasco. Call it a boycott, call it a strike if it makes you feel better, but say no, and walk away. Let them turn off the “Buy Now” button, if that’s what it takes. Make sure your URL is prominent somewhere on the product page (cover image, title, review, something), and make sure your website has an explanation (perhaps in an FAQ page) as to why your book isn’t being offered with a “Buy Now” option. They can’t force you to sign that contract. Why don’t we see what happens?

2. The failure to take into account what makes people shop at Amazon. People go there for the discounts. Think about it from the point of view of a shopper: would you rather pay full cover price or 45% off? When you shop, don’t you do the same thing?

Now think about how Amazon stays afloat. How can they offer such discounts? By insisting on discounts from the publishers, most likely. That’s what’s gotten Wal-mart such a horrible reputation with suppliers, and the reason they stop carrying merchandise so often (totally another rant, there).

Something I learned when working retail is that most merchandise is sold at roughly twice the wholesale price. I was a little surprised, but retailers have to cover all their expenses somehow. Markup is how a retailer survives, and when a retailer has built its entire business on “Sale! Lowest Price!” it has few options. That markup has to be thin, so as to maintain the low price position, but it has to be enough to cover the costs of operation.

I don’t believe Amazon is doing anything illegal here. Stupid, bad PR move, but not illegal. Of course, IANAL, but it is their store, not ours, and if they want to shoot themselves in the head foot, it’s still their right to do so. Just keep in mind how much you’re willing to bend, and if this is too far, tell them no. I know I won’t be having anything to do with Booksurge, and I’m giving serious thought to removing Amazon links. YMMV.