War of words as authors take on Amazon

The horror writer Stephen King's new book, Everything's Eventual, has been in US shops for barely a fortnight, priced at $28 (£20). But Americans buying it from the internet bookseller Amazon now face this question: wouldn't you rather buy a used copy in near-perfect condition for $12.75?

Increasingly, the sales figures show that the answer is "yes", and the Authors' Guild has urged its members to erase links to Amazon on their websites because its "notorious used-book service" jeopardises their incomes.

"There's no good reason for authors to be complicit in undermining their own sales," its email said.

Amazon has sold secondhand books 2000, but internet book sales have slowed down recently, prompting the aggressive new sales technique. Instead of having to seek secondhand titles, customers are urged to buy them instead of new books.

Many are available within days of publication, and because Amazon puts sellers in contact with buyers for a commission it can earn a profit of up to 85%.

"The used book industry... is a different beast on the internet - this has the potential to undermine publishing economics," said Paul Aiken, executive director of the guild.

"This could turn the mainstream book industry into the textbook industry, where used copies are sold on campus, so publishers jack up the price of new books: except with a mainstream book, there's no professor ordering you to buy it."

Some titles are available secondhand even before the official publication date, raising the suspicion that critics are selling review copies.

But Amazon's spokesman, Bill Curry, said he believed that the service would help authors, because "it helps readers, and in the end, we're all dependent on them".