05 November 2005

Could Amazon.com be evil?

I never thought so, until I was wending my way through their online book offerings the other day. One book I ran across was Greg Behrendt's "It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken." I was curious to read the reviews because his first book, "He's Just Not That Into You," was such a success. Before I could scroll down to the reviews, however, I noticed that Amazon, as they often do, had paired this book with another, offering a discount to folks who purchase both. What book do you think they would naturally pair with a book about breaking up? Nope, not that one. This one. Lest you doubt me, I cut and pasted this from the actual Amazon page:

Buy It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken and get A Woman's Guide to Sex at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

So, do you think Amazon is playing a cruel joke on a woman who has just broken up with someone, taunting them because sex will not be a regular part of her life in the immediate future? Or do you think Amazon is more jaded/optimistic than that, and actually believes the amount of sex in a woman's life increases in the aftermath of a breakup? Worst of all, do you think Amazon is sick enough to try to play on a woman's insecurities, figuring a woman post-breakup is bound to think she has lots to learn in the bedroom?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Lisa. The truth is ... Amazon sincerely expects you to buy both books because that's (more or less) what a lot of previous customers did. The automatic system reveals the relationships forged by many other buyers.

So imagine what those were thinking! I can't believe all of them are women.

Lisa said...

Perhaps not. But how many men buy "A Woman's Guide to Sex"? I'm not sure that it would be well-received as a gift for a woman from her man! :)