Amazon

Just before we left to spend the day with friends I was alerted to the situation at Amazon (thanks rakshanda!).

Wild Raspberries has been stripped of its sales ranking; at one point last year 35,000 in Amazon overall and 6th best seller in gay romance.

Drawing Closer hasn't yet, or it hadn't, and I've screencapped that for proof.

I had time to dash off a quick letter to Amazon which hasn't been replied to yet, unsurprisingly given the day and the fact that I bet they're swamped.

So furious about this hypocrisy and the motives behind it.

If you're an author of a GLBT book featured there and your sales rank has gone, there's a post here where meta_writer is collecting all the affected titles:

http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html

ETA

This is what Amazon told one person who wrote in:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage


This is the email I wrote to:

connect-help@amazon.com

You can google this page:

http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/amazonrank/

And there's a petition here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/in-protest-at-amazons-new-adult-policy

I am totally baffled about this from a cold, business POV. They've unleashed a storm of outrage that will hit them in the pocket; I spend easily $1000.00 a year there as I do all my birthday/Christmas shopping for the people back in the UK through them as well as buying many books and DVDs. The loss of my thousand dollars won't affect them but multiply that by the thousands of other people who'll boycott them and it might register as a blip.

So what have they gained?

Who have they pleased?

Who will spend more money there as a result?

Damned if I know. A few homophobic extremists who, in the US, no longer have an administration sympathetic to them? That's about it.

They've lost respect and revenue and gained nothing.

Smart move, Amazon. Real smart.

ETA 2 Amazon told Publishers Weekly that it was a glitch.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6651080.html

The facts do not seem to support that as it seems to have been going on since February and is so very specifically targeted.