Amazon doesn't have a monopoly yet - but they're trying very hard to get there. In the US, the government will take companies to court if it can be proved they've done things to create a monopoly. The problem with any single company having that much power is that it can (and typically does) crush anyone who attempts to enter the market as a competitor. Amazon has already wreaked havoc on retail booksellers because they can rely on their other products for income, something book-only retailers cannot possibly compete with.
Exactly. Hachette and their fellow legacy publishers have been screwing readers and writers for a century. They have been fixing prices and profiteering on the backs of writers. Amazon are the best thing that has happened in recent memory for the welfare of writers and readers and I buy all of my books from them now. If Hachette and others are not happy then they should compete with them.
Mmm. That's an interesting comment to make. Would you care to elabourate for the sake of those on this forum who don't read those blogs to see where this viewpoint comes from?
