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I am of course basing my views on my own experience. Unfortunately most search engines have long ago ceased catering exclusively to the end user, and are now designed primarily to make money. In these days where "discoverability" is king and, at least for Indie books there is no gatekeeper, this is a very powerful role. It would not be entirely inaccurate to say that those who control the instruments of discovery, in this case Amazon and, of course in a wider context Google, are in a loose sense the new gatekeepers. Having attained this position, their main danger, apart from newcomers with something better, is that they misuse this influence to such an extent that their products become unusable to many. Anecdotally this is already happening to some extent both to Amazon and Google. But it seems only to a small extent so far.
For the moment, personally and for my genres and preferences, Amazon still works for me. I recognise that for others it apparently does not.
@Cinisajoy. I once again find myself in furious agreement with you. Indies must indeed be professional and not simply attempts to monetise mediocre fan fiction or worse. When anyone can self-publish of course there will be more trash. The trouble comes when the search, promotions and other discovery tools not only don't work but are openly manipulated in favour of such trash. In theory at least sales rankings free from manipulation should consign virtually all such trash to obscurity where it belongs.
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