Commentary: Colin Robinson

1,548 views · Published 13 July 2010 · 2:37 · Indexed 17 October 2026

Channel: The Nation · 2010 · News & Politics

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Since its launch 15 years ago Amazon has grown to be, by some measure, the largest bookseller in the world. According to its founder Jeff Bezos, this ascent has been achieved  by giving customers what they want: convenience, wide choice and low, low prices.

Of course everyone likes the availability of two million books on the site. And who could complain about discounts of 50% or more on bestsellers?  But look beneath the surface and a less rosy picture emerges.  It turns out that the way Amazon does business can be seriously damaging for the health of publishers, authors and, yes, those beloved customers too.

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