Why Amazon Should Play Nice With Local Bookstores

Online stores, recommendation sites like Goodreads (which Amazon (AMZN) bought in March), and other sites in the virtual marketplace for books can’t produce the kind of sales driven by customers browsing physical books in a physical place. If too many brick-and-mortar shops are shuttered, the publishing industry will suffer, and Amazon’s book business could be victimized by its own success

That’s the thrust of a recent article on Salon titled “Here’s How Amazon Self-Destructs.” (Of course, the headline ignores the breadth of products Amazon sells, but for anyone who has labored to make a small business thrive while competing against behemoths, the story will resonate.) Read more...