Authors Blog

Writers:
Beware of Phony Amazon Websites!

Brand names are very important in modern commerce. They can provide confidence—or cause confusion, disappointment, delays, embarrassment or financial loss!

The confusion often results from multiple businesses using the same or similar brand names.

Cadillac car-maker General Motors is apparently not bothered by the existence of Cadillac dog foods.

However, in the 1970s, a former exec at a major recording tape company started a new business, intending to use the Toyota brand name on audio cassettes. The car maker's lawyers quickly killed the plan.

In the same era, a company advertised "Fischer" audio components in competition with the well-known "Fisher" brand.

And another audio business advertised "JVC" components, standing for "Japan Victory Components," in competition with the original "JVC" (Japan Victor Company" (a spinoff of the American RCA Victor business).

Now, a number of "author services" companies use variations of the well-known Amazon brand name and logo to try to harvest dollars from naive wannabe authors. Strangely, Amazon does not seem to care.

Comments from customers are overwhelmingly negative. BE VERY CAREFUL! There's probably nothing these pretenders can provide that you can't do yourself or get directly from the real Amazon.com KDP operation.

Below: from my misleading online conversation with the awkwardly named "Kindle Direct Publishing Firm."

Hi Michael! Would you like to Publish your Book Nationwide or Worldwide?

Worldwide (Would anyone not want worldwide?)

Perfect decision as sales are 3x higher in worldwide as compared to nationwide.
May I know the genre of your book?
Also if you can share the synopsis of the book it would be great. s with you.

Are you part of Amazon? If not, why would I use you instead of going direct to Amazon KDP?

We are an independent book publishing and marketing company. While Amazon provides a platform for authors to publish, they do not offer direct services to authors. As independent publishers, we assist authors with essential services such as line editing, developmental editing, formatting according to international standards, and professional book cover design.

Most importantly, we publish books worldwide across more than 10 major platforms, offering broader exposure compared to limiting distribution solely to Amazon KDP.

The major publishing platforms we provide include Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Noble, IngramSpark, Google Books, Apple Books, Walmart, Lulu Books, and more.

I hope I have answered your query, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask me.

How does Amazon feel about you using the Amazon and Kindle names? It seems quite misleading.

What will you do if Amazon tries to stop you? Do you have another name ready to use if Amazon stops you from using its brand names? Are you prepared for the future?

It's important to clarify that we do not claim to be Amazon. Our reputation is built on the positive reviews, our portfolio, and the high quality of work we provide, rather than on any association with their name.