Amazon Refuses To Sell Books, Movies In Standoff
International Business Times
Published Jun 11, 2014 10:53AM ET
Updated Jun 11, 2014 11:15AM ET
Amazon Refuses To Sell Books, Movies In Standoff
By Meagan Clark - In a tussle with suppliers, online retailer Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is refusing to sell what may be the biggest new releases of the summer: J.K. Rowling’s latest novel “The Silkworm” from Hachette Book Group and “The Lego Movie” DVD from Warner Home Video.
Amazon’s disputes with vendors are not new, but suppliers’ refusal to budge on their terms could change how Amazon conducts business. Amazon reportedly wants Hachette to let it lower prices for e-books, but Hachette has resisted. Neither Amazon nor Warner has released details about their dispute.
A Warner spokesman said it’s the company’s policy “not to comment on contract terms or any other proprietary information having to do with our partners.”
Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment.
Preorders for several Warner Home Video DVDs, including “300: Rise of an Empire” and “Winter’s Tale,” haven’t been available on Amazon since mid-May, though customers may sign up to be notified by email if and when the movies become available.
“Something weird seems to be going on with Warner Bros. pre-orders,” one commenter on Amazon.com posted May 20. “Loads of them are not available anymore, and all of them were removed pretty much at the same time… All of them Warner releases, some of them pretty big.”
“The Lego Movie” is scheduled for release June 17 in stores, including Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY).
"This has got to be the most eagerly awaited 2014 movie being released so far - kids movie, adults like it too, the first good 2014 film," another commenter posted. "Oh well, Amazon may be digging their own grave if they keep this up."
In the standoff with Hachette, Amazon is refusing to take advance orders and delaying shipments.
That means the “preorder” button on some book titles has vanished, leaving both authors and customers asking why.
Both companies are bound by a nondisclosure agreement not to discuss specifics of the dispute, but it is widely believed that the publisher and retailer are in disagreement about how much freedom Amazon will have to discount e-books.
“We have been asked legitimate questions about why many of our books are at present marked out of stock with relatively long estimated shipping times on the Amazon website,” Hachette said in a statement to CNN. “For reasons of their own,” Amazon is holding minimal stock of the books and restocking some books slowly, causing “available in 2-4 weeks” messages to appear when customers try to order,” the book publisher said.
Get The News You Want
The Amazon Books team posted a statement on the dispute at the end of May, saying: “Unfortunately, despite much work from both sides, we have been unable to reach mutually-acceptable agreement on terms… we are not optimistic that this will be resolved soon.”
Many authors depend on book sales through Amazon for about 40 percent of their revenue, according to industry researcher Codex Group. First-time authors like fashion blogger Shauna Miller could be especially hard hit. Her book “Penny Chic: How to be Stylish on a Real Girl’s Budget,” due out in September, is no longer available for preorder on Amazon. Other authors affected include Stephen Colbert and Malcolm Gladwell.
Amazon said it takes “seriously the impact it has when” business interruptions affect authors and said it has offered a deal to Hachette to fund half of an author pool that would mitigate the impact of the dispute on authors’ royalties. It’s not clear whether Hachette has taken up that offer yet. Hachette did not immediately return a request for comment.
Written By: International Business Times
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.