Leading book retailers, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Canada’s Indigo Books, have announced they will not sell any of Amazon’s books. These decisions came after Amazon announced that it had begun its own publishing program. Amazon has cut out the traditional system of publishers publishing books and then working with booksellers in order to market them. Amazon, which already created a lot of stress for publishers with its decision to produce Amazon-exclusive e-book titles, now publishes and sells its own books and major publishers and retailers don’t want any part of it.

Soon after Barnes & Noble, BAM, and Indigo Books made their announcement, the American Booksellers Association joined them by having its subsidiary, IndieCommerce, remove all Amazon titles from its listings. IndieCommerce functions to provide independent booksellers access to the latest titles via an online database.

According to Publishers Weekly, IndieCommerce Director Matt Supko wrote, “While Amazon is seeking to distribute its print catalog through conventional means, it seems that they are simultaneously pursuing a strategy of locking in e-book exclusives which other retailers are not allowed to sell. (We) believe this is wrong.” Supko added that IndieCommerce has written a new policy that says it will only include title by publishers that make their books available for all retailers in all available formats. Effectively, this means that independent booksellers will not be carrying Amazon’s titles.

The Christian Science Monitor has reported that Amazon plans to open its own bookstores, modeled after Apple’s store format. The small stores will feature fewer titles and will likely be aimed at selling Kindle and Kindle Fire e-readers.

Publishers Weekly: PublishersWeekly...aba-says-no-to-amazon-publishing.html

Christian Science Monitor: CSMonitor.com/...Indigo-Books-a-Million-boycott-Amazon