This plan (and post) has been in the works for a few weeks, ever since I first heard that Amazon was rolling back its DEI programs, but I'm just finally putting together a post on the issue.
In case you hadn't heard, Amazon rolled back their DEI policies a couple weeks ago to kiss the current administration's ass. They must be feeling the consequences of that decision since it's causing even more customers to pull back from using Amazon (they had enough of a fallout after The Washington Post refused to support Harris and again after Bezos started appearing all buddy-buddy with the current administration), as they are now claiming that they're still supporting DEI, just not officially.
In my opinion, that's total bullshit. They're trying to play both sides and keep everyone happy. But if you're not holding the line, what do you really stand for? It's a coward's move, plain and simple.
My plan to withdraw my dependence on Amazon started a couple of weeks ago, after the initial announcements, and is now in full swing. We are finding alterative sources for all of our major Amazon purchases. Some are easy (switching to Chewy for pet food, for example, or buying tech from Costco or Microcenter instead of Amazon) and others will take some additional creativity.
One major issue for me is my reading habits. I have two Kindles and I read a lot. Much of it is through the libraries, which I don't think gives Amazon any money. I do purchase ebooks sometimes, though, so I needed a way to convert my ebook buying habits to another source.
Enter Kobo. I purchased a Kobo reader, the Libra Colour. I will continue using my Kindle readers in ways that don't send any money Amazon's way, but for anything that costs money, Kobo is my new go-to.
As it turns out, there are advantages of having a Kobo reader:
- OverDrive syncs with my e-reader directly, which means I no longer have to jump back and forth between two different devices to check out ebooks and send them to my device.
- Kobo readers also sync directly with Pocket, which means I can save news articles to my e-readers by using the plug-in already on my browser.
- Kobo readers also sync with both Dropbox and Google Drive, providing a couple of different ways to side load ebooks wirelessly. Project Gutenberg even has little buttons to save ebooks directly to these cloud services, making it super easy to get free ebooks on my Kobo reader.
- Kobo has its own reading subscription, Kobo Plus, and it appears the selection is much better than Kindle Unlimited.
- The Libra Colour allows me to annotate directly on the page of ebooks, which will be great for revising my novels. (But if that doesn't work for me because of the small screen, I can continue to use the Kindle Scribe for that without sending Amazon any more money — although I'm also considering eventually getting the Kobo Elipsa 2E for its larger screen.)
There are also a few things that I will miss about the Kindle:
- No more automatic updating of Goodreads
- No more saving of highlights in Goodreads
- The option of annotating epubs in text boxes on the Scribe (why can't the Kobo offer both?)
- No more sharing ebooks with my husband
While I will miss these things, there are some workarounds. For instance, I've signed up with both Storygraph and Fable as alternatives to Goodreads. But more importantly, none of these things are worth sending money to a company that kowtows to the current administration by eliminating open support for DEI.
As an author, my decision may be a little different. I will still likely make my books available on Kindle, but rather than starting out publishing exclusively with Kindle, as I'd planned, I'm going to look into publishing "wide" from the very beginning. It's also worth noting that Kobo has its own authors program, and I will likely check that out as well.
One final switch worth mentioning is that I will be pulling back from the Amazon Affiliates program. For now I'll leave existing ads up on my blog, but eventually those will come down as well. I hope to find other affiliate programs to use instead.
There is, of course, always the hope that Amazon will realize they have impacted their bottom line more than they've saved face with the current administration. The article about "supporting DEI without saying DEI" does read like they are walking back their initial decision, perhaps under pressure from disgruntled customers. But unless they announce a full return to DEI and put the inclusion language back in their policies and on their website, I won't be returning to them as a customer.
There are admittedly some drawbacks making a major switch like this. Our dependence on Amazon was pretty extreme, spanning everything from everyday purchases to reading to music to viewing. Fortunately, the vast majority of the money we spend (or spent) with Amazon are based on convenience rather than necessity. Here are a few of the things I have or will be switching to other sources:
- Ebooks and reading subscriptions
- Music streaming
- TV streaming
- Grocery and necessity purchases
- Pet food
- Business purchases
If nothing else, this may save me some money on impulse buys, or at least funnel my impulse buys toward small businesses on Etsy and eBay. In other words, while the transition away from Amazon may be challenging, I suspect in the long run I will be glad for the opportunity to discover — and support — other options.
