Where to go when the giant has “issues.”
Earlier this week, a pale-blue banner (see above) began appearing on the Amazon website. The text within it read:
We’re sorry if you’re currently experiencing issues with the Amazon site. We’re working to fix it as quickly as possible.
The announcement came after a week in which folks reported having trouble ordering print copies of Minute Men: Execute & Run from Amazon.
[See previous post: We Broke Amazon!]
Order Delays
One of the great things about Amazon Prime has been its ability to deliver a single print book within two days, sometimes sooner. That’s great for folks who like the full experience of reading on paper. For such readers (and I am one of them) reading a book on a screen is a bit like drinking fine wine through a straw. The effect may be the same, but the full flavor is lost.
Unfortunately, it now seems that some Amazon Prime orders are being delayed, with several readers reporting waits of a week or longer.
Other Troubles
And as if that weren’t enough, recent reports of an Amazon data center outage in Northern Virginia indicate that Amazon’s problems go beyond keeping books in stock and delivering them on time.
According to a report in The New York Times:
An outage at Amazon Web Services on Monday took hundreds of services across the globe offline, demonstrating how extensively the internet relies on the cloud service provider owned by Amazon to run smoothly.
I have no idea if the shipping problems are connected to the outage, but such issues underscore the problem of relying too heavily on one provider–especially one that for years has been driving out competition.
Fortunately, when it comes to ordering books, there are still alternatives.
Other Booksellers
Folks who have ordered print copies of Minute Men: Execute & Run from the above suppliers report being pleased with the results.
Most folks name Barnes & Noble as a good alternative. Its answer to Prime is a program called Premium Membership, which offers free shipping and a 10% discount on almost everything B&N sells. The yearly subscription price is reasonable: $39.99 compared to Amazon Prime’s $139.00. Of course, you don’t get streaming, but I’m not sure Amazon TV is worth $100.00 a year. Netflix’s ad-supported standard service is cheaper.
Folks also have good things to say about Thrift Books, a bookseller that offers a standard 20% discount with no membership fee. Thrift also offers free shipping on orders over $15.00. Delivery might be slower than you get from Amazon Prime or Barnes & Noble Premium, but the 20% discount and no membership fee easily balance that out.
Word is that Books-a-Million is likewise a good alternative. Their Millionaires’ Club offers shipping similar to that of Premium and Prime, and it’s only $25.00 a year.
What Do You Think?
Have you ordered from any of the Amazon alternatives mentioned above? If you did, what was your experience? Were you pleased with the service? Do you have other booksellers to recommend?
Please let me know by posting a comment or sending an email (the address is at the bottom of this page).
Until next time, make every minute count … and keep reading!
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