The Freakonomics Blog points out how some marketers take a book to the top of the Amazon Rankings.
For $10,000 to $15,000, you, too, can be a best-selling author. New York public-relations firm Ruder Finn says it can propel unknown titles to the top of rankings on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble with a mass email called the Best-Seller Blast. Popular authors such as Mark Victor Hansen of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series recommend your book in messages to fans, and offer a deal: Buy the book today and you’ll get downloadable “bonuses” supposedly valued at thousands of dollars — such as recordings of motivational speeches and contact information for important people. Orchestrating even 1,000 book purchases in a single day can drive a title from obscurity to the top of the charts.
And then starts a debate if it this is cheating.
Well I think it is called gaming the system, which ofcourse is not exactly cheating, but comes in the grey market which is not exactly legal nor exactly illegal.
However, the real question that will determine the answer to this question is that : If I know that the author used manipulation techniques like these, would I still buy the book.
The answer becomes more clear when you consider the Gray markets here in India. You can get a cellphone which is a lot cheaper than the market, ofcourse without a guarantee. But most of the stuff that gets there is good, and I’ve hardly had problems with any of the stuff that i’ve bought there. Since there is a demand, the market exists.
PS. I don’t have a login there, so can’t post comments. Maybe this is where I point out that forced registration sucks. I don’t want reasons, it just sucks. Too much control, is a problem.
(Link)