Are you kidding me? You actually bought into that line? Their public-faced reason (although when you look at it, it's not about customer service, but still about their profit line) might ALMOST be tolerable if, in fact, BookSurge wasn't well documented as being one of the worst-quality POD printers available, serviced by slow, unresponsive customer service. Let me get this right: they are "improving" customer service by forcing POD authors to go through their subsidiary that is best known for its lack of customer service? Please, Heidi, for the sake of your own professional reputation, take a 2nd look at this. There is a reason that every writer's organization in the country is standing against this move.

No, I didn't "buy into" anything. Yes, it is about profits, but profits are dependent upon logistics. Third-party POD publishing blows logistics out of the water. If third-party POD prevents Amazon from offering premium services -- which impact ALL product categories, not just books -- then it has a right to control that source of supply. On the quality issue, yes, BookSurge USED to be a poor-quality publisher, but that was before Amazon purchased the company three years ago. From what I've seen, its poor reputation is largely dependent upon experiences from the pre-Amazon days. Is it a premium "publisher" today? No. Are things much better? Yes. Just because the associations are in an uproar doesn't mean they are right. They are doing what their members want them to do, and their members' reactions appear to be driven by emotion, not thoughtful responses to the full range of issues on the ground.

I think the best approach for publishers is to share their concerns directly with Amazon. Some of the complaints are valid. As with all new policies, this one has some kinks and unintended consequences. Those who will work with these policies daily are best qualified to share what those consequences may be. Driving publishers out of business won't help Amazon's bottom line.

How are publishers being pushed out of business? Amazon's whole point is that these publishers are selling such low volumes that they don't merit keeping books in stock. So if AMZ has to order on demand, it puts a chink in the workflow. If a publisher is selling volumes that low, then it's either in trouble already or it's making its money on book packaging, not on book sales. The only way the Amazon decision could hurt those POD publishers is if it hurts them in the eyes of customers. "If you can't get me on Amazon, why should I publish with you?" My company, Strong Tower Publishing, prints POD through Lightning Source (LSI), whose customers are traditional publishers and more committed small presses and self-published authors. So far, my Amazon status hasn't been affected -- nor any other LSI clients, either.

The cost of changing over to BookSurge is prohibitive and extremely time-consuming for larger publishers. The change won't be a problem for me because I only have one book to convert and I can use CreateSpace. Publishers like BookLocker, who recently filed a class-action suit, are facing huge conversion costs.

I contacted Amazon, as I'm sure other publishers did, and they have made adjustments in their programs. There are specials and lower cost options available,and I've heard that rumors about BookSurge quality are left over from before Amazon bought the company.

Complaints about BookSurge quality are generally left over from the pre-Amazon days. All of the equipment, personnel, and business practices have been overhauled. There may have been some rough patches immediately after the takeover, during the transition, but those seem to be resolved. And, yes, there are large conversion costs, but they are largely internal to the publishers. BookSurge has waived the set-up fees for many -- if not most -- existing publishers in order to encourage the conversion.

"My company, Strong Tower Publishing, prints POD through Lightning Source (LSI), whose customers are traditional publishers..."

if you're a publisher, your customers would be readers, not "traditional publishers"...or did I miss something?

I'll tell you what CreateSpace has done: taken self-publishing and POD printing back lower than it ever was in the eyes of reviewers and the public. The absolute garbage I find on Amazon from CS is amazing. I just read a book on design from them (actually, Amazon shoved it in my face) that had so many errors, my eyes started to bleed. The 'expert' whose only other previous book featured Comic Sans and images used from Microsoft against licensing restrictions, repeatedly called sans-serif fonts, san-serf fonts. Is spell check that difficult to operate?

That's only one example.

It's the first time in my life I wished it was possible to regulate self-publishing for quality.

It's going to hurt everyone.

If you thought the attitude towards POD printing methods and self-publishing was bad before, just wait a while.

Has anyone noticed that Amazon is now putting Sponsored Links on some author's book pages? The Sponsored Links, in some cases, are a link to search the author's address, telephone number and even names of family members by simply clicking on the link. The links have been posted without the author's permission and unless the author happens to check, without their knowledge. I know first hand as it was done on my book page. I asked them twice to remove it but they refused. I think it is a violation of the author's privacy.

I've published three books with Booksurge over the past year and have been ecstatic about both the service and the quality of the books they've delivered. One had been published previously by a traditional publisher and had gone out of print. They scanned it in (including the cover) and I frankly can't tell any difference from the original. I gave my latest book to Booksurge as a pdf and it is exceptional quality as well. My contacts there have been informed and responsive.