German Amazon Shouldn't
Be Boycotted - it Should Be Broken Up (Die Zeit,
Germany)
"Ahh ... if only Jeff Bezos had
never created Amazon. In the publishing industry, this is already a long-running
exclamation. Since publishers and booksellers can no longer avoid it, the
American online retailer has begun to dictate its own terms. And as is usually
the case with such dictates, they are mostly one-sided. ... Even in a free
market economy, the rules should be designed to prevent an online
quasi-monopoly like Amazon from rising up in the first place. Or at least, to break
them up when they do."
Since working
conditions at Amazon were exposed, opposition has been mounting among publishers
and customers. But there's not much they can do against the monopolists.
Ahh ... if only Jeff Bezos had
never created Amazon. In the publishing industry, this is already a long-running
exclamation. Since publishers and booksellers can no longer avoid it, the
American online retailer has begun to dictate its own terms. And as is usually
the case with such dictates, they are mostly one-sided.
If only Amazon had never existed! But then, the company
would have undoubtedly been invented in Germany. The fact is, Amazon is more
beloved in Germany than almost anywhere else. A communication from the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission recently emerged that shows German Amazon
grossed $6.5 billion dollars in 2012 - 14 percent of Amazon's global sales.
And it is also clear why Germans so love Amazon: for
convenience and savings. It used to be that the most convenient place to shop
was at Thalia or Hugendubel, since one could be found on every corner.
Today, one can click through to Internet discounter Amazon.
Now an ARD television
documentary reveals that Amazon's warehouse staff is being horridly exploited.
Actually, they aren't even hired in the first place; they comprise an army of
temp workers trapped in a modern day form of slavery. Those of us living in the
land of cheap suppliers certainly suspected as much, even without the ARD report, but even so, the outcry is
great.
[Editor's Note: The ARD documentary said workers
brought in from crisis-hit countries like Spain to help at Amazon warehouses
faced bullying from security personnel, some of whom wore clothing associated
with neo-Nazi groups. In addition, Amazon reportedly paid workers less than advertised,
and their belongings were regularly searched in the temporary housing they were
provided.]
Art book publisher Christopher Schroer
triggered the report after writing Jeff Bezos an open
letter terminating his contracts with the devilish Amazon. This is certainly a
welcome step, quite honorable - but Schroer can
afford to take it. Economically, he writes that Amazon's business model never
worked for him. As such, his abandonment of Amazon will cost him nothing.
But for publishers who serve more than just a hand-picked
audience, it is likely more difficult to follow in Schroer's
footsteps. According to the most recent estimates from Buchreport,
Amazon controls about 20 percent of all book sales. Pulling out would bring
many publishers to the brink of ruin. The is only one way out: learn from
Amazon, then compete with Amazon.
Should we consumers
boycott Amazon?
Booksellers and publishers would have to work together and build
an online platform that provided service that rivals Amazon. Or better yet, a
platform which, thanks to the vast expertise of publishers and bookstores, has
ever more to offer consumers than Amazon. Some years ago with Libreka,
the Association of German Publishers and Booksellers ventured an awkward
attempt in this direction. That is something that can be used as a foundation upon.
And we consumers? If publishers can't boycott Amazon in the
fashion of Christopher Schroer, should we? Should we
not at last say "to hell with frugality and convenience," and become
critical consumers?
This assertion is made by many, but it is easier said than
done. There are good reasons convenience and frugality are valued. Above all, calls
for a boycott, with their moralizing overtones, ignore the political dimension
of the problem. Individuals are being called upon to correct a screw-up in
policy.
A better solution would be to toughen the anti-competition
law. Even in a free market economy, the rules should be designed to prevent an
online quasi-monopoly like Amazon from rising up in the first place. Or at
least, to break them up when they do.
