Dive Brief:

• While Amazon has told its customers to go elsewhere for books published by Hachette Book Group’s imprints, its competitors are making that easier.

• Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and several independent booksellers are advertising the availability of their Hachette titles and discounting them as an added enticement.

• Books-A-Million in particular is touting its longstanding relationship with Hachette, saying that 60% of its titles are published by Hachette, and promising significant discounts on recent Hachette releases and pre-orders.

Dive Insight:

Amazon appears to be taking the long view in this dispute, which in many ways is a retail first. Its war with Hachette is garnering bad press, including heavy criticism by authors, consumers, and thought leaders. And its devil-may-care, go-elsewhere attitude toward customers looking for Hachette titles is something few retailers would ever attempt.

It remains to be seen whether Amazon will even win, but there seems to be a lot at stake. If Amazon continues to be viewed as bullying the publisher at the expense of consumers, its reputation could suffer beyond its book business.