Amazon.com, the giant online retailer, has too much power, and it uses that power in ways that hurt America.
O.K., I know that was kind of abrupt. But I wanted to get the central point out there right away, because discussions of Amazon tend, all too often, to get lost in side issues.
I hadn't come across the term monopsony before reading this piece. I'm glad to read a PK column that's a bit outside the box, as he sometimes starts to sound like a broken record (even if he's right, I don't need to read the same 500 words twice a week). The piece he linked about Paul Ryan's book is interesting, and I would encourage anyone to read it. I think it sheds some light on the way they do business. They are clearly playing a power game, and that example is illustrative.
_Insomniasexx_ suggested The Everything Store to me and I second her suggestion. It's a great read for anyone who wants to understand what an inverted economy looks like. He uses the word "monopsony" a lot.
Anyone: alternatives to Amazon's chokehold on online book sales? I mean legitimate, hard copies in the mail stuff. Not gutenberg. Preferably also not stupidly expensive. I'll support the so-called monopsony before I'll bankrupt myself. EDIT: also, I acknowledge that this is a bit of a problem but as usual Krugman didn't convince me of a whole lot.
Hey mk, any update on The Great Diaper Payback?Anyone: alternatives to Amazon's [unmatched record of pleasing customers, even Amazon critics] on online book sales?
There are alternatives, but the easiest way to find them is to use yet another company that has served so many people so well that columnists fret with vague misgivings of its potential to perform unspecified ill deeds.
I think his columns would be a lot more compelling if they switched format. My favorite NYT columnists are Greenhouse and Edsall. They're also academics writing for the popular set. The difference is that they don't write at regular intervals. They write once every two weeks on average, I'd estimate, and they get to write way longer pieces. Krugman suffers from the problem that he has to bang something out every Monday and Friday, and they are usually only about 500 words. If he took his time and wrote 2000-2500 word columns, I think they'd be a lot more interesting and informative. Often, I have deja vu when I read him, and it gets annoying....as usual Krugman didn't convince me of a whole lot.
I agree. I'm also slowly growing used to the Vox, WaPo wonks, etc. style -- opinion pieces, yes, but where every third word is a link to a fact or to further reading. Saturation with substance. Krugman just pontificates at you. I'd rather have access to information from both sides and make up my own mind.