By Edward Nawotka, Editor-in-Chief
Waterstones’ partnership with Amazon to sell e-books took many by surprise. Some see it as a deranged self-defeating deal with the Devil while others view it as a brilliant near-term compromise. What do you think?
Is Waterstones’ Partnership with Amazon Deranged or Brilliant?
- Deranged (63%, 34 Votes)
- Brilliant (30%, 16 Votes)
- Neither (please explain in the comments) (7%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 54
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3 Comments
You could see it as selling out to Amazon, but at least this way Waterstones has a chance of stopping further decline.
Whether it was a wise move will only emerge later.
Not brilliant, because of the obvious pitfalls of dealing with the devil, but also neither deranged, because unfortunately the world flocks to Amazon and its’ Kindle, because it got there first and because Amazon is the go-to site for not just books but practically everything else.
The world needs a globally responsible monopolies commission body with powers to step in and boot Amazon out of a number of product sectors, to allow for free competition. Otherwise it will end up owning the world, and controlling it as well.
I don’t see it as deranged. It is a move based strictly on commerce. It may not totally backfire on Waterstones but it will definitely hurt everyone else. It will begin the biblical deluge from which there will be no receding as everyone will eventually flock directly to Kindle. It was perhaps a predictable move and a regrettable move — not a wise one.