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ABA's IndieCommerce now removes Amazon's titles

09.02.12 | Lisa Campbell

The American Booksellers Association's e-commerce platform IndieCommerce has joined other US retailers in taking a stance against Amazon by removing Amazon’s physical books from its search listings.

Chain bookseller Barnes & Noble was the first to take the stance last week, followed by companies Books-A-Million and Indigo Books over the weekend. Now Publishers Weekly reports that the ABA’s for-profit subsidiary, IndieCommerce, used by independent booksellers, has deleted all the Amazon-published titles from its database.

IndieCommerce’s Matt Supko wrote to indie booksellers saying: “While Amazon is seeking to distribute its print catalogue through conventional means, it seems that they are simultaneously pursing a strategy of locking in e-book exclusives which other retailers are not allowed to sell. IndieCommerce believes that this is wrong.”

The ABA business has also created a new policy at the same time, which states: “Only publishers’ titles that are made available to retailers for sale in all available formats will be included in the IndieCommerce inventory database.”

B&N said it refused to sell Amazon-published titles because: “Their (Amazon’s) actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content” while Indigo said: “Amazon's actions are not in the long-term interests of the reading public or the publishing and book retailing industry, globally.”

In December, the ABA’s c.e.o Oren Teicher wrote an open letter to the Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos when the company launched an app telling customers to price-check items then purchase that product from Amazon to receive a discount of up to $5.

In the letter, Teicher said: “We’re not shocked, just disappointed. We could call your $5 bounty to app-users a cheesy marketing move and leave it at that. In fact, it is the latest in a series of steps to expand your market at the expense of cities and towns nationwide, stripping them of their unique character and the financial wherewithal to pay for essential needs like schools, fire and police departments, and libraries.”

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By David Gaughran

Does anyone see the contradiction inherent in the three largest bookstore chains in North America (and the ABA) banding together to refuse to stock titles published by "monopolistic" Amazon?

Thu, 09/02/2012 - 12:35
By transparency

Contrary to your report, it was the individual "mom & pop" indie booksellers who were first to come out against stocking Amazon imprints (in particular New Harvest)- the decision by the ABA is a natural progression.

Thu, 09/02/2012 - 13:05
By editorwhosseenitall

Without big companies uniting to counter Amazon's steady spread, it's all over for retail books outside of the tiniest boutiques. Individual customers in these cash-strapped times aren't going to spontaneously reject the discounts en mass. Size matters here.

Thu, 09/02/2012 - 13:20
By floobie

Bravo to the chains for joining independent booksellers in this boycott !
Saving a buck or two has massive hidden costs: in this case a loss of diversity in publishing, and a blow to communities (already suffering economically from taxes lost to Amazon).
Which matters more in the long run; a few bucks, or the survival of publishing, local retail, and community ?

Fri, 10/02/2012 - 04:44

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