Amazon Rising

[Sydney's Mom]

I just finished watching this CNBC show--nothing new. Warehouses are sweatshops (that pay $12.50 per hour), and Amazon has ruined the book industry. The part about books was especially light on facts, and accused Amazon of running everyone else out of business. Of course B&N and Target and Walmart didn't have a thing to do with it. But apparently King, Rowling and Patterson all hate Amazon. Kind of interesting, just to see the inside of the Amazon warehouses, but not worth an hour (or 45 min after you ff through the commercials).

[JSWolf]

So why do King, Rowling, and Patterson hate Amazon?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So why do King, Rowling, and Patterson hate Amazon?

Because they've made millons upon millions of dollars through the old system and see Amazon as enabling change *away* from that system? Because the old system strongly favors high-profile authors over mid-listers and newcomers and Amazon doesn't do so quite as much? It's easy to "curve fit" their statements to public data and concoct theories but they would be just speculation.

It doesn't much matter if they are simply misinformed or just too vested in the old system, the fact is they have expressed strong pro-publisher opinions repeatedly, even when the publshers have been known to be in the wrong, and can't be considered unbiased commenters.

[mr ploppy]

I would have thought all 3 of those writers would have enough control over their publishers to have their books removed from Amazon if they really wanted to.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I would have thought all 3 of those writers would have enough control over their publishers to have their books removed from Amazon if they really wanted to.

Ironically, that is where they make a LARGE portion of their income.!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I would have thought all 3 of those writers would have enough control over their publishers to have their books removed from Amazon if they really wanted to.

They also get paid massive royalties and they are not about to give up 40-50% of their income in futile gestures.

Remember, they all get better than average royalties/payments, and Amazon doesn't just provide the channel for a third of BPH sales, they are also the most *profitable* channel by a lot so something like half of BPH net profits (and name author royalties) come via Amazon.

For all the bile swilling around, that is Amazon's trump card: Hachette needs them but they don't *need* a Hachette contract. They don't have to agree to no-discount Agency. And Hachette won't agree to anything else, apparently. Hence the deadlock.

[DiapDealer]

It never ceases to amaze me how out of touch some people seem to be regarding manual labor positions and the exertions and uncomfortable environments they invariably entail. Have people really never experienced this kind of work, or are they just so far removed from it that they can no longer relate to these "inhuman conditions" they hear about? Are we so pampered and air-conditioned that we simply can't imagine wiping sweat from our brows or rubbing liniment on sore muscles earned from our jobs?

No doubt it would be fantastic if humankind was never-again expected to break a sweat for long hours and little pay to put food on the table. But until that utopia arrives, lets stop pretending that Amazon's warehouse conditions are even remotely noteworthy among similar, manual-labor environments around the country.

NOTE: "Some people" was not intended to mean the OP of this thread. It was mostly directed at the media outlets who insist on giving this "sweatshop" tripe continued coverage.

[Sydney's Mom]

When I was young, I worked for minimum wage (it was less than $2/hour) in an unairconditioned factory. My brother worked for $15/hour outside, in construction. He was the one who stayed home in bed, because it was too hot. I agree--$12.5 an hour in the middle of Kentucky sounds terrific. The fact that there is always someone waiting to take your place is telling. The family that quit because of the "inhuman" conditions, proudly said they never shop at Amazon anymore. Sorry, you go from a job that pays $12.5 an hour to unemployed--how much can you buy?

[Sydney's Mom]

It really urked me that the references to Rowling, King and Patterson, and the shots of all the shuttered bookstores, was all blamed entirely on Amazon. Like I said, light on facts.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

It never ceases to amaze me how out of touch some people seem to be regarding manual labor positions and the exertions and uncomfortable environments they invariably entail. Have people really never experienced this kind of work, or are they just so far removed from it that they can no longer relate to these "inhuman conditions" they hear about? Are we so pampered and air-conditioned that we simply can't imagine wiping sweat from our brows or rubbing liniment on sore muscles earned from our jobs?

Warehouse work is perfectly OK for many people. I know a guy who would kill to get his warehouse job back. I have personally worked in a machine shop, a gravel pit, and on construction jobs. When I was young, I bagged groceries and cut lawns too -- happily. I have never had a job I did not like. I always appreciated the money and found ways to challenge myself. I made good friends and had good times after work.

My oldest is entering the workforce right now. I tell him everyday to find ways to enjoy his work. If he can enjoy what he is being paid to do, he will live a happy life.

I work with too many 'exploited' and 'underpaid' individuals who grouse but never take the initiative to find a new position or start their own business. No doubt they would be unhappy either way.

[pidgeon92]

My dad was a welder, and installed furnaces and water heaters. Can you imagine welding when it's 100 degrees? Or repairing a furnace for hours when it's 10 below? Or working in standing water in the middle of winter fixing a broken water heater? He did this work for 35 years, so I would have the luxury of working in an air-conditioned office. I appreciate him more and more as people complain about "inhuman" conditions.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

My dad was a welder, and installed furnaces and water heaters. Can you imagine welding when it's 100 degrees? Or repairing a furnace for hours when it's 10 below? Or working in standing water in the middle of winter fixing a broken water heater? He did this work for 35 years, so I would have the luxury of working in an air-conditioned office. I appreciate him more and more as people complain about "inhuman" conditions.

One of the best summers of my life was the summer I worked at the gravel pit. When business was good, I worked a 60# jack hammer for 8 hours a day. I had a great tan and was in a lot better shape. When things were slow, we screened gravel. My job was to drive a dump truck under the screening factory, climb out the window into the screen and prod the gravel through with a pole. When the truck was full, I climbed back in, backed up a man made hill, and dumped the screened gravel. I got to try my hand at a back hoe (which is very difficult to maneuver) and welding. It was a great experience.

[DiapDealer]

Fact is: I liked most of the sweaty-assed, back-breaking jobs I've had better than the desk-jobs. The assignments made sense. "Move that over there." And I didn't have to sit through half-a-day of meetings getting advice on how best to "move that over there" from people who had never moved anything anywhere.

[jersysman]

I would start looking at the motivation of those individual(s) responsible for this piece. What is their gripe with Amazon? I saw a preview of the piece and knew I would not like it, so I didn't watch. Was the biggest complaints the environment where the work was being done or the pace of the work? I think that since we as a country have lost a lot of manufacturing jobs, there is a difference in the mentality of the workforce.

[Skydog]

Bingo :thumbup:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Fact is: I liked most of the sweaty-assed, back-breaking jobs I've had better than the desk-jobs. The assignments made sense. "Move that over there." And I didn't have to sit through half-a-day of meetings getting advice on how best to "move that over there" from people who had never moved anything anywhere.