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Authors Guild attacks Amazon's p.o.d. move

07.04.08

The US Authors Guild has hit out at Amazon.com's decision to push print on demand publishers to uses its p.o.d. printer BookSurge and is looking at the move for "antitrust and other legal implications".

In an email the members, the powerful author organisation wrote: "We, and many others, think something else is afoot." It added: "We suspect this maneuver by Amazon is far more about profit margin than it is about customer service or fossil fuels. The potential big losers (other than Ingram) if Amazon does impose greater discounts on the industry, are authors -- since many are paid for on-demand sales based on the publisher's gross revenues -- and publishers."

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International US amazon Authors Guild Home BookSurge

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By Yampy

Well, of course it's about profit. Amazon, like any successful company only has its own interests at heart. They have shareholders and directors who demand larger profit margins year in year out. Eventually it is not possible to maintain increased profits by standard means so they have to look at other areas where they can scrape back revenue. Reasons such as 'the environment' and 'better customer service' are simply shallow and trite excuses . We know - and they know - that greed is the only reason for such actions. But this type of honesty wouldn't help business no more than it helped Ratner when he truthfully called his products 'crap'.

07 Apr 08 09:23

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By June Austin

I too suspect that there is far more to this than meets the eye - all this talk about faster and better service and reduced book miles is a load of rubbish - printing with Booksurge will make not one iota of difference - unless of course amazon plan to install printing equipment in all of their US distribution centres - at the moment from what I understand they can print in only 3 at most. Make no bones about it - this is about amazon trying to monopolise the entire publishing business - if you think this is just about POD then think again, it about them wanting to control the whole thing.

07 Apr 08 19:06

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By Mary

June, I agree. And I have sent letters to my state's attorney general and consumer affairs departments, as well as the U.S. Attorney General, FTC and others. Writers will be hurt by this, as will publishers. We writers need to stand up and do what we do best: Write. Write like our livelihoods depend on it. They just might.

18 Apr 08 02:18

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