[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I'm not picking on this comment; it just neatly sums up the fallacy.

Amazon is not in the business of "refusing to sell books" to anyone: in fact, what they sell are books that speak the Kindle platform language. Most (not all, but most) e-books from Amazon are available from other vendors, typically in ADE ePub. No one is deprived. You want to buy Pepsi, they sell Coke: that's the way it is.

25% of Amazon's Kindle ebook buyers don't have a Kindle -- most are not pirating the DRM, most are reading on devices that aren't Kindles -- like an iPad, a Galaxy Tab, a Blackberry, a PC, a Mac etc ... and every one of those devices is "agnostic" when it comes to e-books, offering apps from ePub and Kindle formats.

Amazon would make a HUGE error supporting ePub on a Kindle: one of the best things about the purchase flow is that it is so simple -- all files are in just one format. Anyone who has ever bought from Smashwords, Fictionwise, BooksOnBoard, etc., have been faced with several hoops when all you wanted was Slaughterhouse Five. (And no one is "forced" to buy from them, either.)

It's not a fallacy at all. Kindle does not offer the features that I want, therefore I do not own a kindle. I have no desire to "go read a kindle book on my computer, my phone, or any other device." If I wanted to do that I would not have purchased a dedicated ereader. Under my icon is a list of devices I read books on. Please notice that there is only one device listed.

I don't care what is supported on a kindle because I do not own a kindle. I wanted Amazon to sell books that could be used on the device that I purchased that has the features that I want.

Originally Posted by Catlady

OK, from now on, please assume that the statement "I can't buy from Amazon" means: "I can't buy from Amazon without violating their TOS and possibly violating copyright law by stripping DRM and converting the format to one my reader can handle, and why would I want to do that...

By not allowing me to read a book I chose on the device I chose, Amazon is refusing to sell me books (unless I'm willing to break the law). That is Amazon’s decision – and I’m sure the Amazon army will be screaming this from the rafters – and Amazon’s right. I was annoyed at first, now I could care less. But it is my right as a consumer and customer to comment on it.

And before the Amazon army rushes in to defend, let me say this – for years Amazon has built a customer base by selling a lot more than books - of course I wanted to buy ebooks from Amazon! I’m an Amazon customer for God’s sakes! Does anyone else here understand that Amazon is more than a bookseller? The reason I wanted to buy books from Amazon is because I used to buy everything else from Amazon. It would have been easier for me to continue that purchasing pattern. I no longer shop at Amazon as frequently as I used to because I now have different shopping patterns. That’s Amazon’s loss, not mine.
It is not like complaining that BN or Sony doesn’t sell books to me – it’s like complaining that my local Target doesn’t carry my favorite brand of conditioner. Which I did and now they do. If they did not, I would shop at Wal-Mart to get my conditioner - and now I have no real reason to go to Target anymore, do I?