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Trade secret: I'm a librarian, and when a patron wants to know when the next book by an author is going to be released, we look it up on Amazon. If they ask for a book but can't really remember the title or the author, we can almost always find it on Amazon.
That is not an argument for their good business practices. I just like the website.
You might want to let your accountant know. Tax evasion is a serious crime. You can still pay your back-taxes. Amazon makes it easy to get years worth of order history to assist you in this.
""If the seller is not located in Ohio and does not have substantial nexus with Ohio, the seller cannot be required to collect and remit Ohio use tax. However, the purchaser will still owe Ohio use tax on the purchase of goods or services, unless the purchaser has a statutory basis for claiming exception or exemption.""
Are you originally from Delaware or Oregon and new to Ohio? I can't imagine you didn't know your own tax laws. Delaware and Oregon are the only two states that do not have use tax on online purchases.
I havwe to say that Amazon has been one of those companies which truly alters how 'business'' is done throughout the world. They have been game-changers since their inception. Just as the Internet radically changed things with its 'virtual' worlds so did Amazon whenn it comes to the book business.
Before Amazon, book publishing was an 'old boy' network and existed on some corporate mountaintop with its own closed culture. Today the book industry doors have been flung open and those in that industry have to pay attention with what's going around them. In my opinion, I thought they did absolutely nothing to stop the relentless rise in the price of books.
When Amazon came along they not only changed that situation but arguably brought reading and those who like to read into the 21st century. The world of books have been changed irrevocably because of them.
WalMart initiated the business practices of setting prices for suppliers. I don't see the difference between the two organizations. I use Amazon only to get my Kindle books through my libraries and my donations go to them.
amazon (it's properly all lower case) has consistently refused to censor politically unpopular works. If it's in print or often out of print amazon has it and will sell it. Could anyone make that claim about any other bookseller, particularly local booksellers? I recall one worthy in Evergreen, Colorado who broadcast to all that she would carry nothing on weapons in her store.
It's irrelevant whether you buy works on arms. But do you wish to deal with sellers who may not wish you to read material that they don't like?
Take the test. Search for any book you wish on amazon, particularly controversial; you'll find it. Search for something obscure and nearly unknown; you'll find it. The only people who hate amazon are either those who preach the doctrine that there are things that people shouldn't read or the sheep who follow that doctrine.
amazon is the intellectual freedom store.
The other part is you get books which are new, six months old, a year, two years and twenty. The last brick and mortor book store I checked out had nothing over two years old, with hardbacks, and a year for paperbacks. I didn't find anything I was interested in.
Also, I know several people who run used bookstores. They sell not only on amazon, but ebay and other online sources. That is what keeps the stores open for the walk in traffic. I'm sure this is true for quite a few. And if for some reason I had to sell off some of my books, I'd do it through Amazon since I'd know they went to someone who wanted them.
For those of us who don't live near a lot of stores its a blessing that any book still around can be found somewhere online.
I don't see why its bad that they track my preferences either. I've gotten a lot of books I enjoyed I wouldn't have know of since they were suggested. Bring it on.....
I noticed the politically unpopular too, which is exactly how it should be.
I work for Amazon, and was hired at the age of 61. It's challenging, and obviously, not for everybody, But in nearly four years, I've seen no evidence that the rules aren't imposed evenly and impartially.
Amazon, like Microsoft, lucked into a position from which it can play a dominant role. But the advantage and wealth reflected in the high values of its stock exists only on paper -- it sells at many times the actual "book value" of its physical assets, and new innovations might erase much of that value, and in a relatively short time, some day.
That's the way the game of capitalism is played, and Big Brother cant do anything but mess things up.
I like Amazon. I live out in the sticks now and there isn't a decent bookstore within an hour's drive each way from here.
When I lived in Minneapolis I purposely tried to get books from the local stores, in order to support them. I would drive there with high hopes and ask for whatever book I was interested in. If it was a best seller they were out and if it was obscure they never heard of it (accompanied by a dubious little frowny face from the clerk) but after some tapping on their computer, they found they could order it for me for full price plus a wait. I usually drove back home without my book, having wasted a huge chunk of my day, when I could go on Amazon and have what I wanted with three minutes of browsing, a nice discount no matter how popular or obscure the book, and a wait of a few days at most.
I like reading the reviews not only of books, but of clothing and cookware and a lot more. If I need to get a payment from someone who hates PayPal (probably the OP among others) I have them send me an Amazon gift certificate for whatever amount they owe, and we're square. I love my Kindle too.
With everyone else keeping tabs on me, I couldn't care less that Amazon knows I like licorice allsorts, need protection from mosquitoes, and enjoy Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, all of which anyone could glean from a five minute conversation with me.
Bottom line, they provide a service, and at this point in time, they do it better and cheaper than anyone else, so I am gong to continue to buy a lot of stuff from them. A lot of stuff.
I havwe to say that Amazon has been one of those companies which truly alters how 'business'' is done throughout the world. They have been game-changers since their inception. Just as the Internet radically changed things with its 'virtual' worlds so did Amazon whenn it comes to the book business.
Before Amazon, book publishing was an 'old boy' network and existed on some corporate mountaintop with its own closed culture. Today the book industry doors have been flung open and those in that industry have to pay attention with what's going around them. In my opinion, I thought they did absolutely nothing to stop the relentless rise in the price of books.
When Amazon came along they not only changed that situation but arguably brought reading and those who like to read into the 21st century. The world of books have been changed irrevocably because of them.
I have a friend who runs a used bookshop. He would have closed it long ago without being able to sell online. He used several other sites before but lists over half his sales on amazon. Since the online sales support the costs of a brink and mortor store, and used books are sold at a discount, he still has a place for people to come and peruse and talk with friends while shopping for books. He sells at conventions as well, and book faires, but the steady business is online.
And not only have they opened up the access to published books, they have afforded those who wrote a book the chance to self publish with a market. Quality may be uneven but there are ratings too. People have unofficially published online since there was an online but in a public market the good will rise and the unmotivated won't write another one.
I used to buy stuff on ebay, and has a 'system' for bidding and getting what I wanted, but would much rather just click on add to cart and be done with it. I'm finding the more obsucre stuff like old fanfiction is easier to find on ebay.
I buy a few things online from walmart and most of the rest except for food from the store from amazon. When you live in a small town its like having the world come *to* you.
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