Amazon's been flooding us with ads for their Kindle e-reader at 99 euros. Tempting price, right? That's like 4 or 5 hardcovers, maybe 10 paperbacks. For someone who reads a lot, that seems reasonable. Plus the whole pitch: carry your entire library in your bag, download classics for free, save shelf space with books you'll never reread anyway. So yeah, I went to Amazon's site, curious about this magical device everyone's talking about.
Then I hit the wall. Turns out buying a Kindle means I'm locked into buying ALL my digital books from Amazon. Their 99-euro device transforms me into what business types call a "captive customer" - exactly the kind of trap I avoid on principle. And here's the real problem: this model will eventually kill bookstores, booksellers, and a whole category of literature as we know it.
Let me tell you a story
Back when I was a teenager in the seventies, buying records meant visiting the local record shop where staff actually knew music and gave solid recommendations. Then big-box retail exploded. These giants jumped on the music market like sharks on fresh meat, slashing prices to levels no independent shop could match. Result? Every neighborhood record store vanished within a few years.
Bookstores survived thanks to France's Fixed Book Price law (thanks, Jack Lang!). Sure, books cost more here than in Anglo-Saxon countries, but we get rich, diverse publishing in return. We bloggers sometimes complain about too many books to read. Let's be careful we don't end up complaining about the opposite in a few years.
Here's what's coming
Once Amazon racks up enough market share with their Kindle and its captive customers, they'll push to kill the Fixed Price law. Free markets, competition, globalization, blah blah - they've already started by eliminating shipping fees. That'll be the death of bookstores, booksellers, reading advice, and a certain kind of literature.
Big retail's whole game is volume (cheese, shoes, books - doesn't matter) to maximize profits. Amazon's "recommendations" are just customer reviews and bestseller lists - they steer you toward what sells, not what you might actually enjoy discovering. In this economic setup, what publisher takes a risk on a Kobo Abe, an Edgar Hilsenrath, or a Coetzee when churning out Levy, Musso, or JK Rowling is so damn easy?
For thirty years, big retail has filled our plates with garbage. They'll do the same to our bookshelves if we let them. Book lovers who want to promote reading and good literature: you have two powers. One is your vote as a citizen. The other is your credit card as a consumer. Recent economic events show the first losing value while the second gains weight. If you want to choose the world you live in and the books you read, use your credit card wisely.