I've been thinking about the statement:
Quote:
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These sanctions have driven down Hachette authors' sales at Amazon.com by at least 50 percent and in some cases as much as 90 percent.
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If Amazon's sales represent roughly 60% of the market that means the "sanctions" represent roughly 30 - 54% of the gross revenue.
If I break down the "sanctions" they are all services or value add that Amazon is providing.
1) Discounts (presumably out of Amazon's percentage of the revenue)
2) Fast shipping on physical books. (Amazon isn't stocking physical inventory of many Hachette books so isn't committing to 2-3 day delivery)
3) Preorders (Leverage Amazon's customer base)
4) Recommendation engine. (Allegation of lower rankings and recommending other books)
I don't consider removing any of these services as sanctions but Authors United has done a good job of giving Amazon ammunition that they should be getting more then 30%. I know that Authors United don't want to sully their hands and minds with the financial aspect of selling their consumer goods but it boggles my mind that they can't see this. Somebody that managed their money for them needs to sit them down and explain the facts of life. They should be asking Hachette some tough questions about the percentage they are taking relative to the value add.