I checked my out-of-print books at Amazon and the print versions are still “available”. However, their message to customers is that there is only one copy left, and on backorder. If there is only one copy left, where’s the money for the other ones? How are they sold? In batches? I’m not getting anything because my book is out-of-print, so where’s the money going to?

There is no copy at Amazon. Their listings are database driven and often inaccurate. Ingram’s printing division prints many P.O.D. books that are ordered from Amazon and then ships the copies directly to Amazon’s customers, even using Amazon.com return address labels. Amazon does not stock those P.O.D. books, which explains why those “in stock” notices on their site with regards to those P.O.D. books are bogus. Of course, contacting Amazon about these types of errors on their site usually only leads to a form email from them that does not resolve the situation.

Amazon does not remove old book pages from their site because doing so would wreak havoc with their customers’ purchase histories. Also, Amazon profits from allowing people to sell copies of used book on their site.

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