How Amazon exercises power with 1-click "Buy Now" button

[Alexander Turcic]

Like a genie unleashed from its bottle, the deep discontent accross the publishing world over Amazon's rising power is proving hard to subdue. Today, the New York Times has an exceptionally interesting editorial describing how Amazon plays rough in disputes with various (and in particular smaller) publishers.

The struggle comes at a time that Amazon’s power as a bookseller is increasing, with sales growing online in an otherwise tepid global book market. Some publishers fear that with the introduction of Amazon’s Kindle electronic reader, the company will rise into a position to be able to demand more concessions.

“The buy button is their weapon of choice and that’s how they impose market discipline,” said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, an American trade group that also briefly lost the buy icon, for titles sold from BackinPrint.com, a print-on-demand service for infrequently purchased works. “This is such a clear indication that once they have the clout they are willing to use it to the full extent that they can. It’s ugly with Amazon and will probably get uglier.”

Full article: Small Publishers Feel Power of Amazon’s ‘Buy’ Button

Related: Amazon sued by POD publisher, Is Amazon Blackmailing POD Publishers?

[axel77]

I never understood the rational to granting this one-click-patent to amazon. This patent is really so obvious it shows all that is wrong with the patent system. When somebody says, "I make a button that does this and that when clicked", is patent-worthy, there is something wrong in our society.

Maybe I should patent a "one click patent registration", so people can patent ideas with one click only...

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by axel77

Maybe I should patent a "one click patent registration", so people can patent ideas with one click only...

If you can pull that off, you should patent it! (By the way: Where did it say the button was patented? The "Buy with 1-click" text is trademarked, but that's not the same thing as patenting the button process.)

This is a strange issue, given the power of search engines today: If you think about it, Amazon is really no more to the consumer than a search engine with a built-in pay feature; as the rest of the web is diversifying everything, Amazon is somehow concentrating buying to its one portal. And there's absolutely no reason it has to be that way.

Today, you can buy directly on most sites, or use PayPal or something similar at others (like mine). If you already have an account there, you can get service almost as simple as Amazon's 1-click system (which requires you to set up an account with Amazon... not exactly an abbreviated process in itself, and opening you to ID risks and targeted ads).

So let Amazon morph into the 800-pound gorilla on the selling island. It will only discover that it's not that hard for its customers, and retailers, to swim to the next island. And when Amazon discovers that it is losing accounts, maybe it will see the error in its ways.

Speaking for myself, I haven't been molested by Amazon yet... I'm too small a blip on their radar screen... but I'm not so desperate for their support that I would stick it out, no matter what. If they get too ugly for me, I'm gone.

[IceHand]

Is it even legal what they are doing? It sounds very much like unfair competition.
I've been a happy Amazon.de customer for a while now, but if this continues I'll gladly switch to bol.de.

[axel77]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

If you can pull that off, you should patent it! (By the way: Where did it say the button was patented?

It didn't in that article, but it was a hugh story line some years back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click

So most other websites require you to make at least 2 clicks to circumvent this patent.

Okay here is my cynical patent Idea, following form:

I want by one click to happen this:
[______________________________________________] (textbox)

[OK] (1-click Patent it for me Button)

I agree, amazon has become like a general purpose search engine with a buy it option. Its just convenience, and personally I like it too. First I have to enter my credentials only once, second amazon has prooven itself pretty competent to solve as mediator when problems arise. The times I needed to call them because of an issue, they always handled it pretty well, taking even some costs upon them for your service.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by axel77

It didn't in that article, but it was a hugh story line some years back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click

So most other websites require you to make at least 2 clicks to circumvent this patent.

Whoa... that's subterranean.

Has anybody followed up by patenting "Buy in 2-clicks" yet? "3-clicks"? "Buy whilst facing Mecca?"

I, too, have had no problems buying from Amazon in the past. However, even Amazon doesn't carry everything... and not everything Amazon sells is top quality (I've got some dogs from them, too, that I've duly returned for refunds. Some things just should not be bought sight-unseen). So there are limits to their omnipotence.

[Ervserver]

Amazon has become the "WalMart" of the book selling industry

[lovebeta]

I never realized the importance of 1-click checkout until one day I saw my advisor made his purchase on Amazon -- he routinely spend more a couple thousand dollars on books each year. He did everything by 1-click and he would back off if he clicked the regular buy button.

I don't think I pity the publishers. It seems so far that the price cut has been passed to our consumers, why would I care?

[Smashwords]

IMHO, Amazon's potential impact on the book industry is all about disintermediation. Book supply chain participants between the author and the reader will see their positions in the chain eroded or eliminated one by one.

Today's model is roughly:
Author -> Agent-> Publisher-> Distributor-> Bookstore-> Consumer

Amazon is working toward:
Author-> Amazon-> Consumer

I blogged a little about this last night:
http://blog.smashwords.com/

[JSWolf]

I think Amazon is getting too nasty for their own good.

[Taylor514ce]

I can see all sides of the issue. If Amazon is trying to negotiate/bully with a publisher, then turning off a purchasing feature on their site seems like a pretty good tactic. If I am a small publisher trying to come to grips with a changing world, then I would be extremely upset and antagonized by this. As a consumer, I'm all for having lower prices.

I think the ones hurt the most are authors, though.

[Leep]

I agree that Amazon's big advantage to a consumer is one-stop shopping, and also use them frequently as a "big search engine". I did notice just this week that on their Kindle book site, they have taken away the "wish list" function which I often use to gather items to compare when browsing. Wonder if this was intentional to encourage use of the 1-click Buy button.

While I also hate to see one company monopolize any service, I like cheap prices. And before I knock Amazon too much, I have to remember how many years and how much capital investment it has taken Amazon to get where they are today?

[cstross]

It's not just about small publishers.

I am informed that Amazon.co.uk have been leaning hard on Hachette Group -- owners of Little, Brown and Orbit, among other major brands: they're one of the six major multinational publishing groups -- to increase their discount margin, which is already over 50% and larger than the discount Hachette give any other retailer. Their lever of choice is allegedly to remove the "buy" button from selected Orbit and Little, Brown authors' books. The books are still available via Amazon affiliates, but this directly pressures the author, and through them, the publisher.

I'm extremely surprised not to have heard about lawsuits and complaints to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on this subject, if it can be clearly proven.

Amazon is increasingly becoming a toxic enemy of authors and publishers, to say nothing of their alleged union-busting tactics, and I'd seriously advise everyone to try and use a local speciality store first before lining Jeff Bezos' pockets.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cstross

Amazon is increasingly becoming a toxic enemy of authors and publishers, to say nothing of their alleged union-busting tactics, and I'd seriously advise everyone to try and use a local specialty store first before lining Jeff Bezos' pockets.

Also, if you don't have a Kindle and are thinking of getting one, don't. It just gives Amazon more leverage to pull the same BS with eBooks. if you have to have a reader that read Mobipocket format, please get a Gen3 instead.

[Greg Anos]

Timer reminder - the patent goes away, September 2019, or 11 years and 3 months (or so). Use well the days, Amazon.