More troubles with Amazon!

I am appealing to all authors who read this to check their own title listings and the availability of the same books on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, for I am becoming increasingly aware of a growing problem with the Amazon brand and their trading activities.

Recently – well, at least in the last two years or so - Amazon are putting every title listed with Nielsen Book Data on their websites. Fair enough, this gives all authors the publicity. However, it is what happens after that which is at best misleading.

There are a number of titles of mine on Amazon that are listed as being ‘out of print’ when they are not – nor are they listed as being ‘out of print’ with Nielsen Book Data - specifically Memphis Belle - Dispelling the Myths. This has the effect of anyone checking on Amazon for one of my titles – and a lot of people now use that as their first point of contact when ordering a book – see ‘out of print’, and don’t bother going any further, and I lose a sale.

The other aspect to their trading activities – and one that I am trying to sort out now – is that they have some of my titles listed as holding a number ‘new – in stock’ that someone has placed an order (and paid) for my Boeing B-17 - a 15 ton flying Fortress – published by Pen and Sword and distributed in the USA by Casemate from October of this year. The book was ordered on November 5th 2011 – they was then told on December 5th it would not be available until January 4th 2012, and then told two days later it would not be shipped until February 5th 2012. How can something that is ‘in stock’ on their website take that long to ship?

This is not the only instance like this I have, and I am already aware that other authors have experienced the same problem and blamed it on their publishers. I can understand them doing that, if I was just an author, I would do the same, but I’m also a publisher as some here know – and I can categorically state we turn out orders around in 48 hours usually – but we have NEVER dealt with Amazon, so how can they then put our titles ‘in stock’?

I’m asking others to check if this has happened to them in order to discover the scale of what appears to be happening – frankly, at the moment I don’t know what can be done, for also Amazon do not appear to have any way of contacting them other than for placing orders. But at least if it has happened to you – or you’ve been messed around with by Amazon this might give you reasons to try to order a book you are interested in by another way!