If it is determined that the markets involved are national in scope, it may be more appropriate to refer this matter to one of the federal antitrust agencies for review.
Therefore, we think the next it makes sense to start over, now directing our emails toward the Department of Justice. The form below sends an email to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice that is almost exactly the same as the one used for Washington state.
If you would like to contact the Dept. of Justice directly, here is the info:
- antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov
Mail- Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530
Phone- 1-888-647-3258 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or 202-307-2040
1 comments:
To some extent, Washington's AG is simply trying toss this hot potato to the feds to get it out of their hands. Amazon is a Washinton state business, they have the authority to act without the feds. And since Amazon sells in every state, so does every state AG.
Remember how long federal action against Microsoft took. Formal federal antitrust action takes a long time, time many authors and small publishers don't have. The antitrust division of the Washington AG and Amazon's corporate HQs are close enough together, the two could walk to a restaurant and meet for lunch. An informal discussion about the legal and economic implications of what Amazon is doing would give far quicker results.
And keep in mind that any state AG can act on this matter, based wholly on sales in his state or complaints of unfair practices from any author, publisher or pod print shop in the state. For a politically inclined AG, it's a can't lose situation. They're in his state and, with few exceptions, Amazon isn't.
Keep in mind other allies we have. Other bookstores, online and not, are not fans of Amazon. Both could place a notice that their customers could read, one that describes Amazon's action and that encourages people to shop elsewhere.
Also, Amazon is no friend of organized labor. Those who have connections with such groups, might want to see if unions might want to take a stand against Amazon's tactics. If Amazon's threats to extend BookSurge's dominance into traditional printing are carried out, that'll be taking away union jobs in printing.
Remember, the goal isn't to find the One Perfect Solution, that ends this foul policy. It's to keep trying approaches until we find one or several that work. And at the same time we should be making sure that each week brings at least one instance of bad news to the attention of Amazon execs. In the end, they're the ones who must become so worn down by this, that they not only abandon this policy, they never implement it again.
Keep in mind one possibility. When Microsoft started Microsoft Press in the 1980s, its management was given two years to show a profit. It's now the third year since Amazon bought BookSurge and they may be burdened with a similar dictate from above. This behavior certainly displays desperation. Keep pushing, looking for any chink in Amazon's armor, and this entire scheme could collapse like a house of cards.
But we have to keep the pressure on. Each morning, Amazon execs need to feel a quiver of fear when they look for the day's news. Amazon may be an 800-pound gorilla, but they're a clumsy one with poor eyesight.
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