tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post1275572217078983503..comments2024-03-23T12:05:13.464-07:00Comments on Ideas: Should I Be Mad at Amazon/KDP?David Friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-6783596325226972842022-11-19T07:34:11.428-08:002022-11-19T07:34:11.428-08:00You could do better. You could write a more honest...You could do better. You could write a more honest form letter. Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15086899169091483248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-21291853294548191162022-11-18T20:47:56.199-08:002022-11-18T20:47:56.199-08:00There were people inside the company who cared, an...There were people inside the company who cared, and went to bat. It's an unfortunately consequence of the legal and operational environment that corps exist in that they couldn't tell you what they were doing, or how it turned out. Mostly because if they/we did, then actual malicious outside actors would glean knowledge to actually fraud. Sorry about that.<br /><br />Glad you got your account back.Mark Atwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01547843054590220545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-77512710302807461332022-11-18T06:36:47.350-08:002022-11-18T06:36:47.350-08:00You could do better. The problem is that it would ...You could do better. The problem is that it would cost money to do so. It's conceivable that either KDP or Amazon has razor thin margins, and can't afford to do better, or can't do better without raising prices more than the traffic will bear. But my experience suggests it's more likely that they simply want to maximize profits, and that over the shortest possible term. <br />DinoNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17319133631919484177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-45855645838784039202022-11-17T21:45:51.749-08:002022-11-17T21:45:51.749-08:00If the problem is computer generated, Amazon is st...If the problem is computer generated, Amazon is still ultimately responsible.<br /><br />But, if the problem is computer generated, here's an idea for KDP. The author submits his book to the KDP computer system. The computer reads the book and then outputs a diagnostic back to the author. If KDP is going to reject the book, it can do so beforehand, without going through the rigamarole of cancelling your account, taking your money, wiping out your work product, and leaving you in wonder as to what's wrong. The computer would tell you specifically what it doesn't like. Maybe it's a trivial problem that you can fix. Maybe it's deeper: "No libertarian ideas allowed." Whatever.<br /><br />This seems like a much smoother way to achieve KDP's goal (whatever it might be).<br /><br />Wiping out the whole account suddenly, without warning, seems to defy rationality. It's likely the problem is with one book. If that's so, why wipe out all the books? KDP should just cancel that book, and moreover send the (automated?) message outlining the objection. Specific enough so that the author knows what he can correct, or at least what the hell is going on.<br /><br />If this irrational, insulting behavior on the part of KDP comes to the attention of higher management, I have a feeling the people involved will add to the flow of people Amazon is laying off. In other words, the guys responsible for setting up the computer system will not have the option of blaming the computer.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-69209047111986506482022-11-17T14:30:04.623-08:002022-11-17T14:30:04.623-08:00One quick thought. I have, what I call my first la...One quick thought. I have, what I call my first law of political parties: if a democrat sees a problem they create a regulation, if a republican sees a problem they create a tax break, if a libertarian sees a problem they quit politics and start a business to help people with the problem.<br /><br />With all this nonsense going on I wonder if there is a great business opportunity to help people who get pointlessly banned to be restored, by way of some company collecting a lot of information about the way these various market chokepoints work, and helping people through them. There is certainly precedent for this in the various companies out there that help people clean up their credit report.<br />FraserOrrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09126782686117850140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-54964360518071544922022-11-17T10:46:31.166-08:002022-11-17T10:46:31.166-08:00You are correct that it’s pointless to hold a grud...You are correct that it’s pointless to hold a grudge against software. And you’ve already answered the easier question: you now know not to trust KDP to exercise its discretion reasonably, and to hide its reasoning as much as it can.<br /><br />I’m sure that’s enough to change your behavior, and there’s no need to grumble and cause yourself headaches from the aggravation. It’s not “forgive and forget”; more like “forgive and don’t forget,” but “forgive” is probably the wrong word to use for robots.Max Lybberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13935322217857952629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-17262531078220188892022-11-17T10:37:24.699-08:002022-11-17T10:37:24.699-08:00I think whether you should be mad depends on how m...I think whether you should be mad depends on how much they make from your book sales (after expenses, of course). If it is in the tens of dollars per month, then I think it is reasonable for them to rely on software, and you're getting what you pay for. If it is in the hundreds of dollars, then I think it is reasonable to expect a human to take responsibility for banning you and telling you why.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com