Comments on: Quo Vadis, Amazon?

By: Tracy

Tracy — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:30:19 +0000

I suspect that long term Amazon is training a new customer base to want digital and buy digital. Selling ebooks is a way easier business than stocking and shipping paper books all over the place. Digital sales also have the potential for a better profit margin. This is likely Amazon’s dream and goal.

By: Anthony S. Policastro

Anthony S. Policastro — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:34:04 +0000

I would have to agree with Evan’s assessment of Amazon. Now wouldn’t it be nice when you searched for a book on your Kindle and it said not available in Kindle format you could order the print edition right from you Kindle and have it delivered anywhere you want?

Because of the small and slower access to the Kindle catalog on a Kindle, I would keep the catalog with Kindle books only. But, if the book was not in the Kindle format I would have just those books presented as print books and be able to purchase it from the Kindle.

By: The Daily Square – From Her Fingers Edition | Booksquare

The Daily Square – From Her Fingers Edition | Booksquare — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:30:51 +0000

[...] Quo Vadis, Amazon?Evan Schnittman on Amazon’s apparent strategy to steer customers to the Kindle store and keep them there. Yes, indeed, why is a company so devoted to choice in other areas trying to force customers into a single choice? [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:20:35 +0000

Great post. I too have noticed the absence of other versions on the Kindle side of the Amazon store. I wonder if it is an attempt to show publishers/authors that if a book is not in Kindle edition then it won’t be seen (and therefore won’t be purchased) by a growing set of consumers. While some consumers (those who know exactly what book they want) will then search and buy on the print side of Amazon or search for the book elsewhere, others may simply find an alternative book in the Kindle format.

By: Evan

Evan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:38:17 +0000

They are books, not dead tree editions.

As to ebook pricing, I think you fail to understand the impact of low ebook pricing. Its the death of ebooks and the sooner publishers establish control over pricing and payment terms, the sooner they can rescue this fledgling industry.

Finally, I don’t think Amazon is hiding anything nor do I think they are inching up prices. They are testing pricing and seeing what works. Don’t confuse price testing with price manipulation.

By: Aaron Pressman

Aaron Pressman — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:23:46 +0000

I think you may be off-base here on your assessment of what Amazon is up to by not including results for dead tree versions of books when you search the KINDLE STORE either from a Kindle or the Kindle section of Amazon’s web site. Originally, Amazon did display print versions available on the Kindle pages for books. From the point of view of customers, there’s both a good and a bad reason explaining why Amazon changed the layout and neither is really about losing sales. Amazon is not in business to forgo any sales. They constantly change and tweak everything on their web site to maximize sales.

First, the positive. Almost always when I’m on my Kindle and I want a new book, I want a Kindle ebook to start reading. I don’t want search results showing me non-Kindle books because I’m looking for something to read on my Kindle. It’s actually annoying to click through to a search result that isn’t available on the Kindle. When I’m on Amazon’s web site and I go to the trouble of limiting my searching to “Kindle books,” I REALLY only want a Kindle book. In a minority of cases, when I’m looking for a specific book, it’s trivial to broaden the search by clicking on the “any department” line.

I think there is also a nefarious rationale for why they changed the policy. Amazon has been creeping up the prices of ebooks and frequently displaying a made-up “digital” list price. With some older books, they’ve actually priced the ebook edition above the price of available paperbacks. By “hiding” the prices of those competing, dead tree editions, Amazon is hiding information about relative pricing and doing a disservice to its customers. This is tilting a sale towards digital and away from print but only in cases where there’s a Kindle edition available. It’s not forgoing a sale completely, as you suggest.

You final point about the coming wave of competitors is right on. I think the growing and, hopefully, heated competition will improve things for us customers.