Amazon fucks up again

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It’s not great secret that Amazon.com has been acting like a pack of ruthless sociopaths for the last few years. What good does it do to pursue your own self-interest if you define it so narrowly that the people you do business with hate you so much they can’t wait for the chance to slip a poisoned knife in your back? I’m not talking about competitors; I mean your suppliers and customers.

Nevermind this article here, which details how Luxembourg-based Amazon.co.uk only pays 3% VAT tax yet demands a 20% VAT tax payment from UK publishers.

At this point, they’re now turning on their customers. One woman discovered that her account had been closed and all of her books deleted. Why? Amazon doesn’t feel that it has any reason to explain. They take your money, they erase the goods they sold you, they act like shitheels when you ask for their reasons.

You know what sucks? I sell the Twenty Palaces prequel through every service I can, from Smashwords to B&N to this very site, but the overwhelming proportion of my sales come through Amazon. We’re talking 95%. Also, a few years back I spent a full month posting affiliate links exclusively to Indiebound and then a full month doing the same with Mysterious Galaxy. No one bought anything. They only bought books when I linked to Amazon.

This puts me someplace I really don’t want to be: Most of the money I’ve earned this year has come from a company that I’ve grown to hate. I feel dirty doing business with them. I’ve been a customer of theirs, too.

So how screwed up is it that I can’t wait from someone to come along and kick their asses?