WTF Amazon??? [rivers

Thank you to

zillah for pointing me in this very disturbing direction at

markprobst's journal this morning.
excerpted:

On Amazon.com two days ago, mysteriously, the sales rankings disappeared from two newly-released high profile gay romance books: “Transgressions” by Erastes and “False Colors” by Alex Beecroft. Everybody was perplexed. Was it a glitch of some sort? The very next day HUNDREDS of gay and lesbian books simultaneously lost their sales rankings, including my book “The Filly.” There was buzz, What’s going on? Does Amazon have some sort of campaign to suppress the visibility of gay books? Is it just a major glitch in the system? Many of us decided to write to Amazon questioning why our rankings had disappeared. Most received evasive replies from customer service reps not versed in what was happening. As I am a publisher and have an Amazon Advantage account through which I supply Amazon with my books, I had a special way to contact them. 24 hours later I had a response:

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

c_smith_author also wrote about it here in

meta_writer.

Further links here

ongoing list of affected books

I did a quick search of my own, and Am I Blue is one of the books which no longer has a sales ranking. This is a young adult book, written by many famous YA writers, and contains nothing remotely R rated. It's a five star book lauded by parents, teachers, and kids. And it is just an example of the "adult" books which aren't adult at all, but which have now lost their ranking, a move that apparently means it won't turn up in some searches, and which has other potentially serious ramifications as outlined briefly here:

What does the Amazon Sales Rank mean, and is it significant?

if you're still a little mystified, as I was, screencaps of where Sales Rank shows up on the amazon page:
First, the cap from Holes by Louis Sachar, a popular YA book made into a film several years ago staring Shia LaBeouf:

Then from Am I Blue edited by Marion Dane Bauer. Please note the target ages for this book on the first line.

This is totally unacceptable to me, and I will be writing to Amazon to tell them so, and also will no longer be purchasing books or anything else from them unless and until they decide to rectify this situation.

eta
Good Morning,

It has come to my attention that Amazon has removed the sales ranking from books considered "adult" in nature in order to prevent them from showing up in some searches and best sellers lists. However, your definition of "adult" includes such books as Am I Blue, which you yourselves rank as appropriate for Reading Level 9-12, and yet does not include such books as Playboy-Complete Centerfolds which I can see today is ranked number 4 in nudes and number 6 in erotic photography.

I hope that you can understand how I see this as targeting gay and lesbian literature, and not "adult" material at all.

This policy is completely unacceptable and I will no longer be purchasing anything through your site until such time as you rectify this hateful and miss-targeted policy.

Sarah [last name]

~~you can email amazon at connect-help@amazon.com although amazon connect isn't actually the appropriate place for these letters to go, they are going to someone.~~

eta again where you will likely get this reply:
Thank you for your interest in Amazon Connect. Due to the high volume of emails we are receiving, you can expect a response to your email within 2 to 3 business days.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Amazon Connect

IMPORTANT ETA 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

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Can I link to this?

I've found a number of far more "adult" titles that still retain their ranking. And I've written to Amazon. Good grief.

[link] [reply]

titles like Playboy-Complete Centerfolds? FUCKING BASTARDS. I am livid. LIVID.

and yes. you may link.

[link] [parent] [reply]

I cannot understand what they think they're doing. *headdesk*

Perhaps they were taken over by the religious ~~right~~ WRONG in the night?

WTF?

I am absolutely fuming.

I'm going to link this, as well, if that's alright by you.

And I'll also be writing a letter to indicate my boycotting of Amazon.com.

Link away. I'm adding a link to a post of further links.

I hope that there is an uprising.

The religious right in SEATTLE????

That is INSANE as well as infuriating. FAIL, Amazon.

MAJOR FAIL.

I cannot begin to imagine what they were thinking. I'd be annoyed if they were removing erotica, but at least their "adult" material excuse would make sense. this is just outright bigotry.

Hey, where do you go to write the letter? I'm having trouble finding a way to register a complaint, and I find that infuriating all on its own. Help?

I've edited to add the address someone posted which is: connect-help@amazon.com.

I don't know if it's where we should be sending things, but I'm guessing from the reply I got:
Thank you for your interest in Amazon Connect. Due to the high volume of emails we are receiving, you can expect a response to your email within 2 to 3 business days.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Amazon Connect

that they are getting lots of mail there, so will figure out they need to forward it to someone who cares.

Edited Date: 2009-04-12 05:30 pm (UTC)

I've eta'd again with MUCH better contact information.

A new policy book on Don't Ask Don't Tell, Unfriendly Fire, is now unranked, too. I saw the author on The Daily Show within the past month or so.

It looks like this is someone deciding that anything in the "Gay" category should be tagged adult. SO STUPID.

Also, when you search "All Departments" on Amazon for books like "The Filly," you get the Kindle version but no other version. The Kindle version has its ranking within Kindle sales. DUMB.

I cannot get over how unacceptable this is. Seriously.

It looks to be anything that is in a Gay or Lesbian category on Amazon. "The Gay Man's Kama Sutra," which is in "Books > Bargain Books > Health, Mind & Body" still has its ranking and comes up in a search for "gay."

Word is already out, obviously, if my many and varied flisties are any indication. I've emailed them with my intention to boycott and encourage boycott. Let's see what happens.

They run an INTERNET company FFS. Do they not understand that the internet is good for more than making buckets of cash? that it is rife with things like social networking and organized, intelligent, literate people?

Would you mind if I copy-and-pasted your letter? I think you worded it much better than I ever could and I DEFINITELY want to write to Amazon.

I wouldn't mind. I think we should write as many different letters as possible, but I know that I often feel helpless in the face of letter-writing campaigns and prefer to have something to cut and paste.

Thanks. :] <3

*delurking*

I hope you don't mind me linking this. I just found out about it after my family had our Easter brunch.

I'm now digging for heartburn medicine b/c, seriously, the level of fail with amazon's decisiion is biblical.

I don't mind. This news needs to get out to as many people as possible in the hopes that Amazon will drown in a sea of angry letters. This cannot be allowed to stand.

love your icon by the way!

WTF? I read this and got so angry. I buy ALOT from them, the lousy SOBs and to do this? And the fact that they are doing it so sneakily and then hemming and hawing about it? Fucking bastards. I just wrote them and hope they get FLOODED with mail by others. They should be ashamed of themselves.

I hope they get flooded too. I just wrote a snail mail to send out in addition to my email. This cannot stand without consequences.

I would also like permission to link to this. I will definitely be writing to and boycotting Amazon.com. I think this should also be brought to the attention of the media. This kind of thing is just intolerant, homophobic bullshit and they are trying to do this under the radar and hope no one really notices! So fuckin' pissed!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking about how to get additional and then national attention. Ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

You may certainly link.

You are right about the media. I have no idea how to go about doing that. I suspect the Rachel Maddow show would be interested. Can't see anywhere on her sites where you can contact her team, though.

My mind has been racing since I read this and I'm preparing my letter and my lj entry. I have some ideas. Would you and/or anyone else still monitoring this thread be interested in helping get the word out a bit further? If so, you can PM me.

For Maddow, rachel@msnbc.com

Someone who works for the show checks that address because it's the one she cites on her show when she needs further information on a story/issue. It should be the first line of contact if you don't have an actual contact who works for MSNBC.

However, your definition of "adult" includes such books as Am I Blue, which you yourselves rank as appropriate for Reading Level 9-12, and yet does not include such books as Playboy-Complete Centerfolds which I can see today is ranked number 4 in nudes and number 6 in erotic photography.

That's... so wrong.

*appalled and speechless*

It is crazy infuriating, James. I cannot understand what they are thinking. And, um, surely they know that the internet is good for more than selling shit? I wonder if it occurred to them for a second that twitter and lj and other sites would EXPLODE with this.

What the hell?! D:

The wrong is very wrong indeed.

I'm not buying anything from them again; they just lost a customer.
Honestly, what were they thinking? Assholes. *frazzles*

Thanks for sharing the info, as unbelievably disheartening as it is.

Thanks for this post. Email sent.

You are welcome. And thank you!

I just Facebooked the original link. *shrugs* That is so wrong.

very wrong. What were they thinking?

It's kind of like the LJ strikethrough thing, isn't it? But worse, because Amazon is so much bigger.

Pam's House Blend has posted the story
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/10393/amazon-lgbt-books-too-adult-to-be-ranked

Seriously?

Wtf?

This... sounds equal parts of hard to believe and too bloody weird to be anything but true. Thank you for letting us know.

amazon fails in so many ways.

Just yesterday, i went to the closing sale of my local independent bookstore, which has largely been run out of business by Amazon. I almost never buy from them -- I prefer to shop for books through abebooks.com, which is a large network of independent used bookstores that can almost always get you the book within a few days. I have had excellent luck with abebooks and that network supports local booksellers, rather than the large and faceless conglomerate.

Thanks for listing the good contact info and I will repost this info at my lj.

Cheers,
Liss

Hi! I hope you don't mind my butting in to say this, but I work at an indie bookstore, and was recently told by my manager that abebooks was actually bought by Amazon last August. We've now started reccing that people order their books through Powell's.

thanks for your comment -- and that information does seem to be verified a little lower down in Abebooks' website.

I feel a bit ambivalent tho -- I would like to continue to use abebooks, since it does support independent businesses all over the country and abroad -- and it doesn't use the ranking system-- it is pretty much a standalone company that was acquired by Amazon. hm.....

Powell's is cool, but I'd like to spread the wealth a little more you know?

Linked you to, if you don't mind. Also sent an email, hopefully, if enough people do so, then this tagging system will go down in flames...

Linking to this.

This is appalling.

Thank you for the additional links and contact info. I have been reading about this all day and just shaking my head in disgust.

I cannot get my head around what is happening here. I feel a bit stupid but am totally baffled - what is Amazon's problem?

According to various Twitters, it's been reported as 'a glitch' - however, Amazon UK aren't doing the same (so far, at least)...

Did they think no one would notice?!

rivers_bend

January