Michael W. Gardner, CPA

Michael W. Gardner, CPA Certified Public Accounting, a full accounting service that provides Business, Accounting and Tax Services. Solutions to IRS problems.

10/23/2024

There is something hurting the little guy that is completely legal but shouldn't be. I call it the monetization of small business. A company fictitiously name "Grandfater.com" has developed a significant following online. In fact, they have achieved notoriety and are the go-to website for the database they maintain.
A large company with a lot of cash buys them up for much more than the market value. Why would they do that? They have a lot of smart people working for them. What they know is that know is that the users of Grandfather are now invested in that website and will not leave easily. So, they raise fees for the exactly the same cost they had before and all that increased revenue drops to their bottom line and is all profit.
In many other arenas that might be called extortion, but in buying and selling businesses it is legal. Paying more for something already in use without any increase in quality of service and without any option to opt out of the new pricing structure.
How do you solve this? The only thing on the books that i know of is anti-monopoly legislation. The breaking up of monopolies is a government function. Our government can make the legal illegal simply by recognizing that paying more than market value is a prerequisite of such schemes. Capping payments for market Acquistions to market value would be a good first step. The limitation works by removing the incentive to sell. You can't blame people for selling their companies at such windfall.

Everything said here is my opinion and is not intended to disparage anyone or any company.

10/23/2024

We have too many monopolies in this country. Top on the list is KDP out of Amazon. There used to be a company called "Create Space" where you could direct publish on demand for little to no fee. As the publisher they took a cut of sales representing cost and a little more. Amazon bought the company, and I am disappointed in the results. I feel like some of my work has been stolen because I do not have a right to remove content that belongs to me.
There has been a significant increase in cost to publishing quoted to me yesterday as $350 per book. That price is in addition to the cost and profit should you be fortunate enough to sell one of your books when their algorithm making finding a newly published book very difficult.
They do give discounts. To change my e-mail address on a library of ten books they would only charge $2,000. it seems that if you put enough of those $350 together it can add up to some serious money.
Like I said, "I feel like this is a monopoly." and I am not talking about a board game. To demonstrate my point, can you refer me to another site that could compete with KDP?

FYI, I reject or disavow any attempt to stop me from the disclosure of my beliefs regarding this activity and if served with a cease and desist I will publish the communication. I make no legal claim about operation of any department of Amazon, I'm not crazy, and my comments are entirely my opinion.

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