Overstock.com’s was founded in 1999 with the purpose of selling surplus office goods after the burst of the dot-com bubble, and like many companies from that era, it went through plenty of turbulence.

But the site has gradually drifted away from outlet goods and is now selling everything from rugs to name-brand women’s apparel. It has, in the process, become a stable billion-dollar business.

It’s always been dwarfed by Amazon (s AMZN), which had $61 billion in revenues last year. But Overstock says it’s now ready to take on the goliath. Its first strike? Overstock’s decision this week to undercut Amazon’s prices on some books by 10 percent, which forced the mega-etailer to quietly bring down its prices as well. We asked Overstock CEO Patrick M. Byrne (pictured above) why he thinks he can go toe-to-toe with Amazon.

What was the impetus for challenging Amazon on pricing in books?

We have sold books…

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Booksellers furious that Obama is giving jobs speech from Amazon warehouse

30 July 2013 by particularkev

Gigaom

Obama is giving a jobs speech Tuesday at Amazon’s(s amzn) warehouse in Chattanooga, Tenn. — infuriating booksellers and publishers, who see this as evidence that the Obama administration is in the tank for Amazon (especially following the Department of Justice’s win over Apple in the ebook pricing case).

“No American monopoly has ever been so cozy with the government,” Dennis Johnson, the founder of independent publisher Melville House, wrote on his company’s blog.

Book trade publication Shelf Awareness cites angry letters from the publishing industry. In one, sales rep Bruce Joshua Miller cites Amazon’s alleged mistreatment of workers at a Pennsylvania warehouse with no air conditioning and writes, “This visit comes at a time when Amazon, despite losing money in the most recent quarter, is attempting to further damage brick-and-mortar stores by lowering discounts to unprecedented levels.”

Publishers Lunch sensibly points out (paywall) that “Obama has also visited independent…

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Article: Bookstores Combating Showrooming

27 July 2013 by particularkev

The link below is to an article that takes a look at how bookshops/bookstores can combat showrooming, a practice where books are viewed in a shop and then purchased online.

For more visit:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/how-booksellers-can-combat-showrooming_b74866

Amazon reports loss on revenues of $15.7B; highlights Kindle success

26 July 2013 by particularkev

Gigaom

In a quarter when Amazon’s (S AMZN) stock price hit a record high, the company delivered a loss in its earnings report Thursday afternoon even as revenues rose. Earnings were -$0.02 per share, or a loss of $7 million, on revenue of $15.7 billion, compared to earnings of $0.01 per share, or $7 million, on revenue of $12.83 billion this time last year.

Analysts had expected earnings of $0.06 per share on revenues of $15.7 billion.

Amazon’s operating income, which analysts watch closely because they worry about Amazon’s razor-thin margins, fell 26 percent to $79 million. This time last year, it was $107 million.

Amazon’s stock rose to a record $308.69 earlier this month. This wasn’t precipitated by one big event, but July was a good month for Amazon in part because a U.S. federal judge found Apple (s AAPL) guilty of conspiring with publishers to fix ebook prices at…

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Amazon launches interview series on Kindle Singles; first up: President of Israel

26 July 2013 by particularkev

Gigaom

Amazon (s AMZN) on Thursday launched “The Kindle Singles Interview,” a series of “major long-form interviews with iconic figures and world leaders.”

First up is an interview with Israeli president Shimon Peres by journalist David Samuels, a contributing editor at Harper’s Magazine. The interview, which retails for $0.99, was produced in association with Tablet Magazine, an online daily that focuses on Jewish news and culture. An interview with the president of Israel does not seem like a particularly splashy way to launch the series, but this program could be a way for Amazon to team up with various media outlets and get more content from them in the future.

Kindle Singles, which Amazon launched in 2011, focuses on “compelling ideas expressed at their natural length” and sells works that are generally longer than a magazine article but shorter than a book, most priced between $0.99 and $2.99. There are now 400…

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European Commission and Penguin finally wrap things up in Apple ebook pricing case

26 July 2013 by particularkev

Gigaom

Over six months after the European Commission reached an ebook pricing settlement with four publishers and Apple (s AAPL), the EC has approved a similar settlement with Penguin. Penguin, which was trying to clear the decks for its upcoming merger with Random House, had offered its proposed settlement terms in April.

According to an EC press release:

“Penguin offered substantially the same commitments as those proposed by the other four publishers and made legally binding on those companies in December 2012…They include, in particular, the termination of on-going agency agreements and the exclusion of certain most-favoured-nation (MFN) clauses in Penguin’s agency agreements during the next five years. Penguin also offered to give retailers freedom to discount e-books, subject to certain conditions, during two years. After a market test (see IP/13/343), the Commission is satisfied that the commitments offered by Penguin remedy the competition concerns it had identified.”

The…

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Article: Amazon

26 July 2013 by particularkev

The link below is to an article that takes a look at Amazon and its weaknesses.

For more visit:
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/is-amazon-invincible/

Article: Amazon & Money Making – Shock, Horror!!!

22 July 2013 by particularkev

There has been plenty of Amazon bashing over the years, with seasons of particular ‘violence’ against the business. I know plenty of people seem to have an issue with Amazon, however I have to confess to being a fan of Amazon (I’m also a fan of Google, Microsoft – Apple not so much). The link below is to an article that reports on another example of Amazon bashing.

For more visit:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/07/21/the-guardian-discovers-that-amazon-wants-to-make-money-on-books-and-does-not-approve/