Amazon the Powerful

How do I feel about Amazon's power in the literary market? Uneasy.

Amazon has been at the top of the on-line literary market for quite awhile and they have enjoyed every minute of it. They've been able to set up the "rules" that each publisher has to follow in order to have their books sold on Amazon. Amazon flexed their muscles and took control of pricing.

Sure, each publisher has the option to not sell their books on Amazon, but in reality that would be a big mistake. Sales are so high at Amazon and publishers don't want to miss out on the opportunity to make a sale. This is how the book industry makes their money. No one wants to turn their back on a for sure sale.

The problem with all of this is that Amazon has gotten a big head over the years and they believe that what they say should be indisputable. They have forgotten that they are just one aspect of a publishers book sales and want to be treated as the highest priority.

The risks of Amazon's growing dominance is that they will treat more and more publishers in the same manner as they did Macmillan. Pulling down buy buttons hurts more than just the publishers sales: it hurts the author, readers, and the reputation of Amazon. Who wants to do business with someone/something when they're going to hit below the belt and ignore all possible harmful side effects.

Amazon may continue to do business in the same manner, and they will probably continue to be successful. But, it's the publishers who decide to take a stand on all of the "rules" (Macmillan and Hachette) and make their own demands that will change the way Amazon works. I doubt that Amazon will fall any time soon, but I do think they're going to have to do business in a different way in order to fill the needs of their book buying customers. They can't continue to remove buttons and think that's a good way to handle disagreements.

If their business model doesn't change, that's when Amazon's power will really get scary.