We’ll get to the guy in the photo in time. But first the main point. For months, TeleRead and others have been hoping to see the actual number of Kindles sold, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and friends are mum despite their hype. I can understand the competitive reasons for not disclosing the information, but what about Amazon’s investors and the need for confidence in America’s stock markets? Not to mention the DRM-saddled Kindle owners with a compulsory interest in the company’s survival.
Amazon’s shares have soared in a year from about 50 to around 139 as of closing on Tuesday, and the market cap is a whopping $60 billion. Maybe that’s deserved despite the trailing P/E of 82 and the forward one of 54, a bit pricey even by Google standards. But aren’t investors entitled to hard information about the numbers of both Kindles and K books sold, including perhaps on Christmas day when Amazon said Kindle-book unit sales outdid p-book sales? Good on the MediaBistro crew and others for encouraging publishers to reveal their Kindle book numbers; let us know, too! Hey, probably it won’t happen in a major way. But the offer is out there, and one publishing worker (real, I suspect) has already come forward to blogger Mike Cane with stats short of the hype. A pattern? Or just an exception.
I’d encourage the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to show the same healthy curiosity and at least informally ask for the hardware and book statistics, and in fact, I’ll contact SEC’s public affairs people and see what Chair Mary Shapiro has to say if anything. For inspiration, maybe she can take a look at the guy in the photo, Bernie Madoff, about whom some uppity people complained to the feds and the mainstream media without meaningful and decisive action before investors lost billions. Madoff? A pillar of finance—the chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange? Oh, don’t be ridiculous! No, I am not in the least comparing Jeff Bezos to Madoff or the Enron thieves or saying Amazon has broken any laws; rather, I’m just reminding Amazon and the SEC of their respective responsibilities. We’re talking about the routine discharge of the SEC’s duties, not necessarily about criminal wrongdoing.
Beyond ordinary stock-market investors, consider that the global book industry is moving forward with e-investments based in part on Amazon’s numbers. The facts may well support the Amazon PR. If so, then everyone will be the winner with greater public disclosure—ideally voluntary, without the SEC getting involved. Jeff can say, “Look, told you so!” and the stock will hit 200.
While Amazon is at it, maybe the company can also level with us about the bizarreness happening in its catalog databases. Why, after killing the unwanted DRMed edition of The Solomon Scandals at my request and my publisher’s, did Amazon let some conspicuous links end up featuring the phantom edition rather than the real Scandals (both an e-book and p-book)? The spurious listing is the one I currently see after searching for Solomon Scandals on the Amazon Web site in the “All Departments” and “Books” modes and clicking then on the respective bolded links (Amazon at least got the featured link right for the Kindle Store). Many casual browsers may think my book isn’t even on sale in the U.S. I’m 99 percent certain right now that Amazon didn’t sin on purpose; we’re all fallible. But this is just one of a bunch of issues I’ve had. Shaky databases, just like unreleased Kindle numbers, do not shore up confidence in the Amazon. Some skeptics might even wonder if there’s a direct or indirect connection between Amazon’s shyness with numbers and the database difficulties that have reduced my book sales. I don’t know.
Okay, enough for now. I’m going to catch up on a late dinner, then go on a walk in the halls of my apartment complex and revisit a nonDRMed book on my Kindle via the valuable text to speech feature. Meanwhile in the back of my mind, I’ll be rooting for Jeff Bezos to do the right things, be more specific with his Kindle hardware and software numbers, ‘fess up to his database mess and tell us what he’ll do to correct it.
Disclosure/reminder: I am a very small long-term investor in Google, which I bash when it deserves it—as in the case of the proposed book settlement. I lack any Amazon connections except as a customer and as a writer whose novel is sort-of sold there.
I’m really tired of your anti-DRM rants, and your anti-Amazon rants relating to your book.
GIVE IT A REST!!
Thanks for the feedback, Richard, but I love the text to speech and the other positives of my Kindle ((TTS is great for walks and treadmills). That’s one reason I care so fervently about these issues at the practical level.
It’s frustrating to have the risks of DRM. I remember when the Rocket eBook format was going to be for the ages. By trying not to buy many DRMed books—some I can’t resist because of the TTS and the chance to fit them into my schedule this way—I’m protecting the long-term value of my e-library. I’d love to give Jeff still more business. That means his use of the industry standard of ePub and his backing off as much as he can from DRM which makes every format proprietary.
As for the details relating to my own book, I’m just one of many writers and small publishers getting substandard treatment from Amazon. Whether it’s the royalty splits or my well-documented problems with my listings, Amazon has been a disappointment. I wish Amazon weren’t so big. Then I could ignore the negatives.
But who knows? Maybe better alternatives are on the way. It’ll be fascinating to see what the e-book landscape is a year from now.
Happy Kindling or whatever the word is,
David
While the SEC is at it I really want/need to know exactly how many bags of Thomas’ English Muffins Harris Teeter has sold in each of the last three quarters.
I also want/need to know exactly how many 6″ lag bolts Home Depot sold in the third quarter of FY2009.
Yes…by all means let’s get the SEC involved in this sort of stuff rather than catching the likes of Bernie Madoff. Oh that’s right…the SEC did not catch Madoff even tho they had received repeated warnings about him.
I guess they were too busy asking Sears how many Kenmore washing machines they sold each of the last four years.
HeavyG says it best. It’s a very bad idea unleash the govt. goons on a company that’s busy changing the world for the better.
Amazon has a right to its secrets, and to advocate using government power (which is backed by violence) to force it to reveal them is basically the same as stalking Jeff Bezos as he walks to his car and forcing him to give it up at gunpoint. Respect the company’s rights please!