In a recent opinion piece on the NY Times website, authors and other prominent figures in the literary world get a chance to respond to Amazon’s recent app. For those who don’t know, the new app allows people to go into book stores and scan a product’s bar code, giving amazon a chance to prove that the item is priced lower on their website and shouldn’t be bought from the retailer. Simultaneously, it gives Amazon some pretty incredible competitive research. Anyone who did this last Saturday received $5 off up to three items, other than books, that are sold in bookstores.
While publishers, authors, literary agents, and other bookstores can’t deny Amazon’s presence in the literary world, they can and do feel a bit stunned by Amazon’s actions. More and more it’s become clear that Amazon’s agenda is to oust all other book sellers in the process of becoming the biggest and baddest. But what Amazon appears to be doing most, is cutting any human element out of bookselling.
It used to be that you went to a bookstore and a sales associate helped you locate a book or could make a recommendation based on other books you’ve read. Now Amazon does all that for you and you don’t even need to have a conversation. Just type in a few words and search. The shopping experience may be faster, easier, and cheaper, but it’s certainly not the same.
Authors remember when they first started and the audiences at their book tour readings were solely those who worked at the bookstore. Amazon, though able to sell books like hotcakes, could never provide the kind of support and community that many bookstores have over the years. After all, a computer can do a lot of things, but it can never fully replace an actual human being.
Amazon’s presence may change the landscape of book publishing and selling forever, but many could and would argue that it hasn’t changed for good. For more interesting insight on this hot button issue read the NY Times opinion piece.
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