MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

cHex · 09-20-2011, 11:42 PM

One of the best things about Amazon is they give each of us the choice of taking our business elsewhere, if we prefer. Further, they let us change our minds as often as we like with no penalty. I am using this feature currently to buy books and stuff at different places for different reasons; sometimes I buy based on price, sometimes I buy based on convenience, sometimes I buy based on shipping time, sometimes I buy based on where I can sit and enjoy a nice cup of espresso, etc. I hope Alan Beatts will forgive me for the times when I choose Amazon.

Beatts states that "It is the right of the publisher to set the price of their books." While I can see where the publisher might insist on getting their price for those to whom they sell (wholesale price), I don't see any natural right for publishers to set the retail price at the expense of, for example, authors or retailers. Certainly authors and retailers can agree with publishers on some pricing scheme that allows for everyone to work together, even if that means simply specifying one's own cut and leaving the rest to the next in line.

And what is meant by "Amazon seeks to avoid sales tax?" Nothing more than that Amazon doesn't use its own resources to take taxes from buyers who are legally required to pay taxes and do the tax paying for them. From what I can tell, Amazon is scrupulous in paying all the taxes they owe, whether to federal, state, or municipal jurisdictions.

Next Beatts objects to Amazon for selling eBooks in a format that's bad for the customer. I hate it when people try to decide for me what is good or bad for me, be it a bicycle helmet, one artificial sweetener rather than another, or an eBook format. Surely there are some Kindle users out there that were aware they would be getting eBooks in .prc format before they made their eReader decision!

In the end, however, I'm taking Beatts' article in the spirit in which it was intended--to let the buyer beware. Thank you to MobileRead forums and other websites that allow one the opportunity of making informed decisions. And thank you to all the eReader manufacturers and publishers that keep things competitive enough that we have real choices.

09-20-2011, 11:42 PM	#57
cHex Zealot Posts: 127 Karma: 2843950 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Kindle Keyboard (K3)	One of the best things about Amazon is they give each of us the choice of taking our business elsewhere, if we prefer. Further, they let us change our minds as often as we like with no penalty. I am using this feature currently to buy books and stuff at different places for different reasons; sometimes I buy based on price, sometimes I buy based on convenience, sometimes I buy based on shipping time, sometimes I buy based on where I can sit and enjoy a nice cup of espresso, etc. I hope Alan Beatts will forgive me for the times when I choose Amazon. Beatts states that "It is the right of the publisher to set the price of their books." While I can see where the publisher might insist on getting their price for those to whom they sell (wholesale price), I don't see any natural right for publishers to set the retail price at the expense of, for example, authors or retailers. Certainly authors and retailers can agree with publishers on some pricing scheme that allows for everyone to work together, even if that means simply specifying one's own cut and leaving the rest to the next in line. And what is meant by "Amazon seeks to avoid sales tax?" Nothing more than that Amazon doesn't use its own resources to take taxes from buyers who are legally required to pay taxes and do the tax paying for them. From what I can tell, Amazon is scrupulous in paying all the taxes they owe, whether to federal, state, or municipal jurisdictions. Next Beatts objects to Amazon for selling eBooks in a format that's bad for the customer. I hate it when people try to decide for me what is good or bad for me, be it a bicycle helmet, one artificial sweetener rather than another, or an eBook format. Surely there are some Kindle users out there that were aware they would be getting eBooks in .prc format before they made their eReader decision! In the end, however, I'm taking Beatts' article in the spirit in which it was intended--to let the buyer beware. Thank you to MobileRead forums and other websites that allow one the opportunity of making informed decisions. And thank you to all the eReader manufacturers and publishers that keep things competitive enough that we have real choices.