Can neighbourhood bookstores compete with Amazon? Part 2 of BBX Podcast out now 

People who don't understand Amazon's competitive advantage act like Amazon invented something new that's driving the book marketplace somewhere customers want to go but independent bookstores are dragging their feet. Instead what Bezos did with Amazon is simply brought back old school capitalism ala The Gilded Age. Amazon started out not paying state sales taxes. Then they applied their economy of scale and venture capital to sell books AT A LOSS! to gain market share. Once they reached a critical size, they were able to harvest public subsidies and influence local, state and federal governments in ways that local book sellers can not. This is not innovation. It's seizing the opportunity created by a deregulated America to push where principled business leaders won't go. There was a good discussion of this in Ralph Nader's recent podcast episode. www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/winning-and-losing-in-one-click-america/