(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) The publisher of the critically-acclaimed and MAGA-embraced blockbuster book Tucker accused Amazon of deliberately trying to sabotage its success.
All Seasons Press confirmed its intent to “make formal representations to the Federal Trade Commission, after the book’s sales rankings appeared to be negatively affected by both Amazon and industry data firm Bookscan,” the National Pulse reported Wednesday.
The allegation ran parallel to a push this week from Facebook and Instagram to cancel Mark Levin’s latest book. Meta’s legal muscle notified the publisher of the multiple New York Times bestseller that they are banning ads on their platforms for Levin’s book, due to be released Sept. 19, because they don’t like its title, The Democrat Party Hates America.
“Just another example of their censorship,” Levin wrote in a X post, and threw down a mocking challenge to Meta chieftain Mark Zuckerberg.
“I’d be happy to meet you in a UFC ring anytime, little fella,” Levin posted in reference to a proposed cage match between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. “Maybe I’ll put the book in Chinese and ask the Chinese regime to post it, in which case Zuckerberg would dare not block it.”
Facebook and Instagram have blocked my book from being advertised on their sites because of the title. Just another example of their censorship. Maybe I’ll put the book in Chinese and ask the Chinese regime to post it, in which case Zuckerberg would dare not block it. By the…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) August 14, 2023
In the dispute between Amazon and the publisher of Tucker, the company said that certain media outlets ran reports “suggesting sales of the biography were far below expectations. But the biography’s publisher has explained that the numbers were incomplete, specifically pointing the finger at Amazon for questionable sales practices,” National Pulse reported.
The nefarious duplicity alleged included Amazon listing the book as “sold out” but then failing to report those “sales” to Bookscan.
The publisher claimed Amazon was “E-mailing preorder customers to ask if they wanted to cancel their orders, then requiring them to go on a desktop computer, rather than a mobile app or website, to proactively confirm they still wanted the book or face automatic cancellation,” according to National Pulse.
Amazon also allegedly was “Fulfilling orders received after launch before customers who pre-ordered the book,” all of which the publisher claimed negatively impacted book sales.
Based on the results of it own customer survey, All Seasons Press claimed to have found that 40% of Amazon preorder customers had not received their copies 10 days after launch.
“It begs the question: is Amazon intentionally trying to sabotage Tucker sales and bestseller status?” the company asked.
