Amazon's used-books business does not take business away from the sale of new books, CEO Jeff Bezos said in a letter sent to Amazon booksellers Sunday evening.
The letter was written in response to a statement made last week by an association of published authors. The Authors Guild accused the online bookseller of damaging the publishing industry, and recommended its members stop linking to the Amazon Web site.
The Authors Guild opposes Amazon's policy of placing listings for used books next to listings for new books of the same title. In a letter written over a year ago to Amazon's Bezos, the Auction Guild said, "With one mouse click, customers depart the new book’s screen and enter the used book Marketplace,...If your aggressive promotion of used book sales becomes popular among Amazon’s customers, this service will cut significantly into sales of new titles, directly harming authors and publishers."
Last week, the Authors Guild went further and recommended that its members "de-link" their Web sites from Amazon. "There's no good reason for authors to be complicit in undermining their own sales. It just takes a minute, and it's the right thing to do."
Craig Stark, a full-time bookseller on eBay and Amazon, received the letter from Amazon and said he felt the Authors Guild was way out of line. "Any writer in his right mind ought to be thrilled that copies of his latest novel are being circulated by way of robust re-sales at Amazon, whether they’re going for a penny or a hundred bucks. This is what builds readership and, by extension, a successful career, not the forced purchase of high-priced, retail copies." Stark moderates the book forum on the AuctionBytes Web site.
Another online bookseller, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "To suggest that sellers of used books at any level have any kind of fiduciary responsibility to an author is not smart, as it does more harm than good in terms of establishing an author as viable, readable and collectible. And many of the smaller dealers have been extremely instrumental in maintaining the reputation and standing of some authors. I think the whole thing is a tempest in a tea pot and quite silly, really."
Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, sent the letter to tens of thousands of people who have sold used books on the site. In the letter, Bezos recommended that booksellers write an email to Paul Aiken, the Executive Director of the Authors Guild, "explaining how the sale of used books actually helps the entire book industry. You can email the Authors Guild's Executive Director, Paul Aiken, at staff@authorsguild.org." Bezos suggested that readers also send a copy of the letter to Amazon using the email address defend-used-books@amazon.com.
As of 11 am PST on Monday, Amazon had received copies of over 4,000 letters that had been sent to the Authors Guild, according to Bill Curry, an Amazon spokesperson. While they hadn't yet counted the types of responses, they expect them to be "overwhelmingly supportive" of Amazon's stance.
Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Authors Guild, was unavailable Monday for comment.
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