Amazon, that upstart online bookstore, turns 25 (Photos)

Since its launch 25 years ago, Amazon's reach has extended well beyond an online bookstore. And while it may seem obvious today, at the time Jeff Bezos was working to get his idea to the masses, many investors thought it would be no match for bookstore giants like Borders and Barnes and Noble. "He talked to several institutional investors and they basically all turned him down," said Tom Alberg, an early Amazon investor. "The big rival and dominant figure in the book industry in those days was… Continue reading at 'Silicon Valley Business Journal'

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-07-05 17:38:09 UTC ]
News tagged with: #online bookstore #obvious today #investors thought #bookstore giants #institutional investors #tom alberg #big rival #dominant figure #book industry #bookstore

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Amazon, that upstart online bookstore, turns 25 (Photos)'


German-language Authors Join in Battle Against Amazon

Austrian, Swiss and German authors have sent an open letter of protest to Amazon, protesting the use of 'authors and their books as a bargaining chip to exact deeper discounts.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why We Need Independent Bookstores More Than Ever

Publishers simply cannot function without independent bookstores, notes Tom Roberge of New Directions as he reflects on the Amazon/Hachette battle Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Responds to German Authors' Protest

Over the weekend, the 'New York Times' reported on a letter of protest, from authors in Germany, about a terms dispute between Amazon and the local publisher, Bonnier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon responds #german authors #terms dispute #local publisher


Amazon's Whispersync comes to UK

Whispersync for Voice, Amazon’s feature which allows for synchronised reading and listening... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Russell Grandinetti: Kindle champ takes on the books trade | Observer profile

Why are some of the world's most widely read authors now at daggers drawn with Amazon? The answer lies in Jeff Bezos's chief lieutenant, now the most powerful man in publishingEarlier this year, Amazon threw a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to celebrate the launch of Alpha... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #important moment #book industry


George Orwell estate 'appalled and wryly' amused at Amazon's 'doublespeak'

'This is about as close as one can get to the Ministry of Truth and its doublespeak: turning the facts inside out to get a piece of propaganda across,' Bill Hamilton, executor of the Orwell estate, said. Amazon recently wrote a letter criticizing publisher Hachette, with which it is engaged in a... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facts inside #bill hamilton #orwell estate #ebook prices #orwell quote #paperback books


George Orwell estate 'appalled and wryly' amused at Amazon's 'doublespeak' (+video)

'This is about as close as one can get to the Ministry of Truth and its doublespeak: turning the facts inside out to get a piece of propaganda across,' Bill Hamilton, executor of the Orwell estate, said. Amazon recently wrote a letter criticizing publisher Hachette, with which it is engaged in a... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facts inside #bill hamilton #orwell estate #ebook prices #orwell quote #paperback books


Obama on Martha's Vineyard: Will he stop by an independent bookstore this summer?

Obama angered some in the independent book world after he praised Amazon's business practices in 2013 and skipped his usual visit to a Martha's Vineyard indie bookstore later that year. Will he pick up some books during his Vineyard visit this year? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookstore #business practices


Child hits back at indie authors in Amazon debate

Author Lee Child has come out swinging in the manner of Jack Reacher on The Passive Voice website... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orwell estate hits back at Amazon's corporate 'doublespeak'

Internet retailer accused of using tactics from Orwell's 1984 in war of words with the publisher HachetteRepresentatives of George Orwell have described Amazon's selective quoting of the Nineteen Eighty-Four author as "dystopian and shameless" and "as close as one can get to the Ministry of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher hachette #ebook terms #ebook pricing


Amazon launches credit card reader

Amazon has released a new device for local businesses to take credit and debit card transactions... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lee Child: Amazon's Readers United letter 'disingenuous'

Amazon is using “authors as collateral damage and using customers as pawns”, author... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lee child #collateral damage


Is the “Amazon War” Ultimately Pointless?

In Bloomberg View Leonid Bershidsky suggests the 'war' between Amazon and publishers is ultimately pointless, since the future of reading lies elsewhere. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore Sales Fell 7.9% in First Half of 2014

Bookstore sales for the first six months of 2014 were down 7.9% compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore sales #9% compared #preliminary estimates #census bureau


Amazon launches second campus store

Amazon is to launch its first ever staffed customer order pickup locations at the campus of an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Purdue Opens Amazon-Branded E-Store

As the start of the fall semester nears, the college bookstore market is heating up with the launch of a second Amazon co-branded online school store at Indiana's Purdue University. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #purdue university


Florida Bookstore Day will be held this November

The celebration echoes California Bookstore Day, which was held for the first time this past May. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon misrepresents Orwell and takes on Disney, as the pricing war intensifies

In a statement about its dispute with publisher Hachette, Amazon cited '1984' author George Orwell – while failing to understand the author's words, critics charged. Meanwhile, Amazon appears to be entering into a dispute with Disney. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher hachette #amazon cited #critics charged #amazon appears


Florida Bookstore Day Set for November

The brainchild of Tiffany Razzano, founder of Wordier Than Thou, the inaugural event will include at least 30 bookstores across the state. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #inaugural event


Amazon vs Hachette: readers and authors take sides in publishing dispute

The tussle between Amazon and the publishing conglomerate has been raging since spring. Heres an update on the fightA corporate boxing match broke from the ring and swelled into all-out rumpus last weekend, as readers and authors took sides in Amazon and Hachettes fight over the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online retailer #contract negotiations #giant corporations #lower price