Great article summing up many of my frustrations with the biggest behemoth of them all: Amazon.com

WritersWeekly.com’s 4/22/09 headlining article “Thinking of Selling Your Books With An Amazon “Seller Central” Account?” by Jim Sala is – sadly and stunningly – extremely informative and, frankly, accurate. And I’m a wee little fish compared to Jim’s organizations and experience.

I’ve been trying to get Amazon.com to fix one RBE title since last July. Honestly, I gave up back in February. There is no one there not named ‘Singh’ and who doesn’t ‘answer’ emails with generic non-replies. It is the most aggravating, circular attempt at trying to help someone I’ve ever experienced.

My requests/attempts to change/update/repair the title information is not simply in the best interest of me or RBE. I’ve been trying to help them represent a product they are selling as accurately as possible for their own, our customers’, and my benefit. It hurts all of us to not have the correct information available.

I was recently considering the Amazon.com Seller’s and Advantage Programs. Their costs are too high for me to absorb right now, and – after all the interaction I’ve pursued with them – their claims are too preposterous for me to believe right now. I’ve really been concerned at what avenue with Amazon to pursue, as I sincerely do want to increase the presence of RBE and my authors and artists online. Was concerned, that is.

Thanks to this article, it has settled at least one part of the equation for me. I’m not going to pursue Amazon. I’ll take whatever presence RBE gets there simply through the LSI/Ingram publishing relationships I have. If they’re wrong, they’re wrong. I’ve spent days trying to fix them – days I didn’t have and won’t have again.

I’m switching my allegiance to Barnes&Noble.com – they’re aren’t perfect either, and I’ve much less experience with them, but they at least have answered emails promptly – and the answers weren’t signed by ‘Singh’.