amazon fail, try Abebooks! also, contact info

[fannishliss]

I sent the below email to amazon to let them know my opinion that they FAIL with their withholding of sales rankings from selected adult material -- especially since they seem to be specifically targeting  GLBT literature as "Adult" while excluding het erotica from that category. 

If you are interested in alternatives, consider abebooks.com, which is a large network of independent used bookstores, that can get you almost any book in or out of print.  I have had wonderful luck getting books through them, usually within a week.   You will be supporting independent booksellers around the country -- and you can also shop locally by bookstore if you want (for example, I can shop at the DC area Wonderbook and Video, through abebooks, and they have free shipping :)

ETA:  I have learned that abebooks.com was acquired by Amazon in 2008, but I don't think they share a corporate philosophy -- it does make a difference to me to support small local bookstores all over the country, so I think I will continue to shop through Abebooks until they specifically do something wrong.......  another friendly commenter said that at her bookstore they recommend going through Powell's, so that is also an option.

For a sample interrogation, I went to search for Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" and "Dykes to Watch Out For" -- since we were just reading the second today -- and both those books still have their rankings, though they are lesbian and fairly explicit -- so it is quite confusing what Amazon actually thinks it is doing.

As a matter of principle, I do not support the exclusion of adult matter from their ranking system anyways -- it seems kind of hypocritical to sell it but not to rank how well it is selling   --  but it is clearly bigoted and wrong if they are targeting gblt material.

There is great information at rivers_bend

Here is also some good contact info that I copied from rivers_bend: 
if you want to write to Amazon go HERE and on the right side of the page is a button. You can sign in and write to them or skip the sign in step and just let them know you're not happy.

Or write to their CEO:
Jeffrey Bezos. The address is 1200 12th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98144-2734, United States Phone: 206-266-1000 Fax: 206-622-2405

Comments

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

I love abe books! When I was in Canada I bought all my books from them and have just recently started using them again. They're esp. good for hard to find and out of print books.

Boooo Amazon. *thumbs down* They're based in Seattle; you'd think they'd be a bit more progressive about this sort of thing considering the city itself is quite liberal (whooo, a blue state!).

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

(Here via googling 'AmazonFail'.) Hate to mention this, but just was told that AbeBooks is owned by Amazon and thought I'd pass on the word. :/