Posted on 08/16/2023 9:31:55 AM PDT by Red Badger
Author and cartoonist Scott Adams has reportedly had his new book “Reframe Your Brain” blocked by Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, and he has apparently been banned for life from the platform.
Adams said that Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, used by independent publishers, “banned me for life this week, so my book launch for Reframe Your Brain might be delayed. Their stated reason is that I don’t own my own content, although they have documents proving I do.”
“I get no response when I ask who they think owns it. I can’t penetrate what I believe is their AI support system that is pretending to be human, to determine if it is a system issue or … something else. Will keep you updated.”
Someone commented on the post, saying that his book had also been banned from Amazon: “Welcome to Rejection by Amazon, Scott! They refused my book, ‘The Plague of Models’ as well. Mine is out on GooglePlay books, Barnes and Noble, and other distributors. Amazon is earning its anti-trust prosecution, IMHO.”
When someone noted that it could be a rights issue, Adams said when his publisher canceled him earlier this year, the rights were reverted back to him. “Looks like a leftover placeholder from the publisher who canceled me and returned all of the rights to me. That might be the problem, maybe not. I can't get an answer.”
Amazon recently received backlash from prominent author Jane Friedman after it was discovered that the platform had allowed books written using AI to be published under her name, without her permission.
Amazon initially said Friedman did not have the copyright to her name, but the platform ultimately took down the books.
“They’ve never taken on any care or responsibility for these things. It’s pretty much anything goes until there’s a total sh*tstorm surrounding it, publicity wise,” she said. “Authors are just banging their heads against the wall trying to get a human being with critical thinking skills at Amazon to recognize there is a problem here.”
Send Amazon a copy of Fahrenheit 451.
But they have the nicest chains and so cheap too so keep doing business with them!
Adams: “I can’t penetrate what I believe is their AI support system that is pretending to be human, to determine if it is a system issue or … something else.”
I sure sympathize. Their AI “support” system is absolutely horrible. It puts you in an infinite loop, suggesting irrelevant and useless “support articles” and, after you reply “No, those didn’t help” it puts you back to the beginning of the same loop. Over and over and over.
I have been a long-time customer of Amazon and they gave me a special hotline number that I can use to immediately reach a human, bypassing that horrendous AI “support” system. Adams needs to talk to them and keep telling the useless support people in the Philippines “Escalate, escalate, escalate.” Keep insisting they escalate until you get to somebody who has authority.
I received a defective patio cart from Amazon that was made in China. One part was bent and two parts had manufacturing defects (incompletely folded metal and missing holes). Amazon kept insisting I disassemble the cart, pack it up and send the ENTIRE table back to them. I explained to them there was no way I was going to disassemble it, they were selling faulty product, so send me an advance return replacement table. They kept refusing. I kept telling them “No, send me the parts. Contact the manufacturer.” then, when not getting any satisfaction, “Escalate.” I finally got to a person who agreed my approach was the best and they sent me a replacement table. I swapped out the good parts for the bad and returned the package to them.
I’ve learned with most companies that the support people have ZERO ability to do any independent thinking and have zero authority to make any business decisions. I almost immediately go to “Escalate” with every company.
To Amazon’s credit, they eventually do the right thing, but it takes way too much head-banging to get them there.
On a book related note, I had a book on Welsh grammar purchased as a Kindle book. The author published a new edition. I wanted to buy it. I paid for it. Amazon kept supply the first edition and would not publish the second edition nor refund the money they accepted for the 2nd edition. I tried to help the author to get a copy. Still no joy after 18 months.
Amazon is not always careful with merchandise. I ordered an antenna mount with 3/8-24 threads. It arrived with a hole punched in the internal zip-lock bag and a critical insulating spacer was missing. Another painful return and replace. The replacement arrived with the zip lock bag seal open. The good news is all of the parts "leaked" into the Amazon bag and I had a complete product.
Scott Adams is likely dealing with dumbass "woke" employees at Amazon. If Amazon doesn't fix this nonsense, they are going to lose lots of business. They aren't the only game in town. When Amazon sent the wrong toilet flush valve (I ordered what I wanted, not what they sent), I had to go to a real plumbing supplier. It was twice as expensive and took a week to deliver, but it was the correct part.
Would the number work for anyone? If so, can you tell it to me? Thanks.
.
I need to find out where I can get a copy of this book.
The local indy bookstore will order books for people if they don’t stock them. I’ll try them and encourage others to do so.
I can try Barnes & Noble’s site for the heck of it, but they were pushing gay novels for teenage readers in June, so I’m not dealing with them anymore.
Walmart and other sites say the book is out of stock. How can we buy the book?
At their "Support Options and Contact Us" page, scroll down near the bottom and you find in small print "Contact Us: If you want to talk to a person, Contact Us."
But clicking on that takes me back to a general page that loops you back to the AI system all over again. It is frustrating.
So, what’s the number, then?
Time to cancel Amazon.
If they are going to be so dishonest in their business dealings and censor non-woke/PC thought, the pox on them.
We’ve been avoiding using them for a couple years now.
Doing a search for this phone number and it will take you to pages "Help & Contact Us - Amazon Customer Service" and "How to Contact Amazon Customer Service: Email, Phone, Chat"
It also finds this CBS News article from Feb 2018 "Amazon customer service scam targets your financial data." Apparently if you Google "Amazon Support" you get lots of scammer phone numbers that will try to steal your money. The article has Amazon's actual customer support number that I posted above.
Amazon has banned many books—and many Freepers could learn a lot by reading them.
I’ve generally had outstanding experiences with returns to Amazon. Only three have been bad experiences in 20-25 years:
1. They sent a counterfeit hard drive. They paid the return and I got an immediate refund. But they are not vetting scammer merchants.
2. They sent me an obviously used Hoover vacuum cleaner (generic packaging, scratches and scuffs). They sent me a new one and let me keep the old one!
3. They sent me a defective patio cart a couple months ago which I assembled. It wasn’t until it was fully assembled that I found three parts (at the very end of assembly, naturally), that I found the defective parts. It took an hour on the phone to get them to send me a new cart so I could get the parts and return the package to them with the defective parts. They wanted me to disassemble the cart and repackage it! I told them there was no way in hell I was going to disassemble and repackage it. Idiots.
There are MANY complaints about Chinese manufactured product with defects and no way to contact the manufacturer to get parts.
Thanks very much. Hope I don’t need it, though.
So what I do went I have that happened that you have assembled somthing then find missing or bad parts and and can not get them to sent you the replacement parts
Order a second one.. once you get the new one.. take out the parts you need .. then put the bad parts from the old one in the new one and return the new one for bad parts for refund
Bottom line at that point you bought two of the of the item.. but you didn’t get two of the item. You got one completed item and one incomplete item.. and returning the incomplete one
Really it better for them to.. they get one back still fully packed and not touch except for a few parts that they can replace and and resell as a return .. vs a box of use parts that then can do nothing with
Scott Adams is such a self-promoting shlub IMO. He loves to tell about how smart he is. But the evidence is not conclusive.
He’s got “FU Money” to spare.
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