The American Booksellers Association Isn’t Thrilled With Amazon’s Horrid Greed Either

Via James Spinti-

Dear Jeff Bezos,

We’re not shocked, just disappointed.

Despite your company’s recent pledge to be a better corporate citizen and to obey the law and collect sales tax, you created a price-check app that allows shoppers to browse Main Street stores that do collect sales tax, scan a product, ask for expertise, and walk out empty-handed in order to buy on Amazon. We suppose we should be flattered that an online sales behemoth needs a Main Street retail showroom.

Forgive us if we’re not.

We could call your $5 bounty to app-users a cheesy marketing move and leave it at that. In fact, it is the latest in a series of steps to expand your market at the expense of cities and towns nationwide, stripping them of their unique character and the financial wherewithal to pay for essential needs like schools, fire and police departments, and libraries.

But maybe we’ve misunderstood.

Even though you’ve spent millions on lobbyists, fired affiliates in seven states, and threatened to shut warehouses to avoid collecting sales tax, maybe you really mean it now when you say you support a level playing field.

It’s up to you to show us.

In the meantime, indie retailers remain the heart of countless communities — offering discovery, energy, support, and unique experiences. See you on Main Street.

Sincerely,

Oren Teicher, CEO
American Booksellers Association

Nicely said.

Amazon Responds to My Departure

I mentioned yesterday that Amazon’s scheme to have folk walk out of local stores and order stuff from them was the last straw for me.  I sent a letter to Jeff Bezos and here’s the reply I got today:

Dear Jim,

I’m Aaron DeFoe of Amazon.com’s Executive Customer Relations. Jeff Bezos received your e-mail and asked me to respond on his behalf.

The Price Check by Amazon app is primarily intended for customers who are comparing prices in major retail chain stores. The goal of the Price Check app is to make it as easy as possible for customers to access product information, pricing information, and Customer Reviews, just as they would on the Web, while shopping in a major retail chain store.

We appreciate your feedback and have routed it to the correct teams internally.

We hope to see you again soon.

Regards,

Aaron M. DeFoe
Executive Customer Relations
Amazon.com

Tastes very much like a form letter but that’s ok. I still won’t be going back. I can’t support the unfair undercutting of others. Competition is cool. Undercutting by underselling at one point in order to make profit elsewhere stinks of dishonesty.

[Though I did like being addressed as Dear.  Quite different from what I’m usually called].