4 ms·

Why do you think that Amazon is concerned that a database is enough to threaten their business?

tivert 3y ago
> Why do you think that Amazon is concerned that a database is enough to threaten their business? Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? >> It was a purely defensive move to prevent anyone else from acquiring or partnering with Goodreads, because their database of books and reviews could be used to instantly start competing with Amazon's book business. Amazon snuffed out that threat of competition in an instant. A catalog of user reviews is a pretty important feature for a successful eCommerce site. To the point where I've seen some "review sharing" between non-Amazon sites (the specific case was an eCommerge platform showing reviews from their own site and the manufacturer's direct-to-customer site). Goodreads was ready-made to provide that to a competitor, which would give them a shortcut around that moat.
- mikestew 3y ago
  Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? Do you really that the question was asked in good faith? I know, I know, HN guidelines, but that question was asked to rephrase the question in overly simplistic terms, willfully ignoring that there is more to Goodreads than a mere DB.
  - sdfghswe 3y ago
    It pains me to learn that I'm so dumb you can't even conceive I'm asking in good faith.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Weirdly I've rarely bought a book based on reviews on the selling site. I don't go to Amazon and browse for books, reading reviews. I go to Amazon when I've already determined from other sources which book(s) I want to buy. Maybe I'm in the minority.
  - dageshi 3y ago
    Amazon's carousel of books related to the book being viewed is fairly decent at finding books in the same genre you might like in my experience. I have found and read a fair few from that method.
  - mynonameaccount 3y ago
    Weirdly, I ONLY even look at books are best sellers. If I had to wade through books randomly, I'd rather not read a book at all.
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      I'm just saying I don't really rely on Amazon for reviews. I know what books I want, based on recommendations from people I trust, or sites like this one. I presume that any review on a seller's site is fake.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  On Goodreads, the Buy button allows you to buy from: - Amazon - Audible - Barnes & Noble - AbeBooks - Walmart - Libraries
  - tivert 3y ago
    > On Goodreads, the Buy button allows you to buy from: Interestingly, 3/6 of the places you list are owned by Amazon. And all those options are hidden behind a menu. I checked a few books on that site, the button itself is always either "Buy on Kindle" or "Buy on Amazon" (if Kindle isn't available).
  - scrum-treats 3y ago
    Amazon, Audible, and AbeBooks are owned by Amazon.
- sdfghswe 3y ago
  > Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? You think that to start an Amazon competitor you need a book database?
  - tivert 3y ago
    > You think that to start an Amazon competitor you need a book database? Obviously. I can't conceive of a modern-day online bookseller not having a book database, and one pre-populated with human-written reviews gives you a head start in that area.
blackoil 3y ago
Its not database but customer gateway that matters. If Goodreads has B&N link prominently some customers will move.
- atlasunshrugged 3y ago
  It also gives them significant power over authors (and therefore publishers). If you know that a huge portion of demand via Amazon purchases (where many people will purchase your book) will be correlated to the goodreads review, you're going to optimize for that platform. I've seen this before with friends who are new authors that send out their books and their biggest ask is to give it five stars and a good review on goodreads... which drives more traffic to Amazon and creates a flywheel for them. Plus, the direct integration after you read a book on Kindle to quickly give a book a star rating means that you want your Kindle version to be optimized/prioritized not just because of the market of Kindle readers, but because it'll send more traffic to feed into your rankings and therefore affect your demand more.
michaelmrose 3y ago
Presumably if it is effective enough people might start their search for a book on the site and if so why not finish it there? The vertical integration is fairly obvious you basically need a buy link and a way to deliver. With kindle if I understand correctly all you need is the email address required to send to it. If you had enough customers you could work with other ebook reader hardware as well.

> Why do you think that Amazon is concerned that a database is enough to threaten their business? Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? >> It was a purely defensive move to prevent anyone else from acquiring or partnering with Goodreads, because their database of books and reviews could be used to instantly start competing with Amazon's book business. Amazon snuffed out that threat of competition in an instant. A catalog of user reviews is a pretty important feature for a successful eCommerce site. To the point where I've seen some "review sharing" between non-Amazon sites (the specific case was an eCommerge platform showing reviews from their own site and the manufacturer's direct-to-customer site). Goodreads was ready-made to provide that to a competitor, which would give them a shortcut around that moat.

mikestew 3y ago
Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? Do you really that the question was asked in good faith? I know, I know, HN guidelines, but that question was asked to rephrase the question in overly simplistic terms, willfully ignoring that there is more to Goodreads than a mere DB.
- sdfghswe 3y ago
  It pains me to learn that I'm so dumb you can't even conceive I'm asking in good faith.
SoftTalker 3y ago
Weirdly I've rarely bought a book based on reviews on the selling site. I don't go to Amazon and browse for books, reading reviews. I go to Amazon when I've already determined from other sources which book(s) I want to buy. Maybe I'm in the minority.
- dageshi 3y ago
  Amazon's carousel of books related to the book being viewed is fairly decent at finding books in the same genre you might like in my experience. I have found and read a fair few from that method.
- mynonameaccount 3y ago
  Weirdly, I ONLY even look at books are best sellers. If I had to wade through books randomly, I'd rather not read a book at all.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    I'm just saying I don't really rely on Amazon for reviews. I know what books I want, based on recommendations from people I trust, or sites like this one. I presume that any review on a seller's site is fake.
andsoitis 3y ago
On Goodreads, the Buy button allows you to buy from: - Amazon - Audible - Barnes & Noble - AbeBooks - Walmart - Libraries
- tivert 3y ago
  > On Goodreads, the Buy button allows you to buy from: Interestingly, 3/6 of the places you list are owned by Amazon. And all those options are hidden behind a menu. I checked a few books on that site, the button itself is always either "Buy on Kindle" or "Buy on Amazon" (if Kindle isn't available).
- scrum-treats 3y ago
  Amazon, Audible, and AbeBooks are owned by Amazon.
sdfghswe 3y ago
> Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them? You think that to start an Amazon competitor you need a book database?
- tivert 3y ago
  > You think that to start an Amazon competitor you need a book database? Obviously. I can't conceive of a modern-day online bookseller not having a book database, and one pre-populated with human-written reviews gives you a head start in that area.

blackoil 3y ago

Its not database but customer gateway that matters. If Goodreads has B&N link prominently some customers will move.

atlasunshrugged 3y ago
It also gives them significant power over authors (and therefore publishers). If you know that a huge portion of demand via Amazon purchases (where many people will purchase your book) will be correlated to the goodreads review, you're going to optimize for that platform. I've seen this before with friends who are new authors that send out their books and their biggest ask is to give it five stars and a good review on goodreads... which drives more traffic to Amazon and creates a flywheel for them. Plus, the direct integration after you read a book on Kindle to quickly give a book a star rating means that you want your Kindle version to be optimized/prioritized not just because of the market of Kindle readers, but because it'll send more traffic to feed into your rankings and therefore affect your demand more.

michaelmrose 3y ago

Presumably if it is effective enough people might start their search for a book on the site and if so why not finish it there? The vertical integration is fairly obvious you basically need a buy link and a way to deliver. With kindle if I understand correctly all you need is the email address required to send to it. If you had enough customers you could work with other ebook reader hardware as well.