Zlert to close on August 31st

As you may be aware, Amazon.com has been in dispute with several state governments here in the United States, over the collection of taxes. In many states, Amazon, because it has no physical presence, does not pay local taxes on items it sells to residents.

Several state governments, in order to get around this legal restriction, have passed laws treating Amazon affialites as an Amazon "physical presence". Amazon, in response, has simply withdrawn recognition of those affiliates in states that have passed such laws.

As you may be aware, Amazon.com has been in dispute with several state governments here in the United States, over the collection of taxes. In many states, Amazon, because it has no physical presence, does not pay local taxes on items it sells to residents.

Several state governments, in order to get around this legal restriction, have passed laws treating Amazon affiliates as an Amazon "physical presence". Amazon, in response, has simply withdrawn recognition of those affiliates in states that have passed such laws.

Zlert is an affiliate located in one of these states. As a result, Amazon.com withdrew their recognition of our site as an affiliate several months ago. What that means to us is that we no longer receive any commission from Amazon.com for items you purchase via our site. That, unfortunately has put a severe dent in our income.

Zlert does not make any profit, we breakeven at best. We have been operating at a loss for the past few months. With no resolution to the dispute between Amazon.com and the states, it's simply not possible for us to continue.

The site will therefore close on August 31st. All alerts will stop from that date also.

We would like to thank you all for your patronage over the past few years. We hope that it has been a useful service for you.

Updates

A few minor changes to the site today. One of which is that the default ad (for the "All" category) on the left hand side of the home page is now for the currently best selling book rather than DVD. We find that people who use the site regularly are more interested in books than movies.

Improvements

We've implemented a few improvements to Zlert to start off the new year.

The most visible change is to our search results for books. For most books a "Show other editions" link now appears on the right. This allows you to see all the various editions of a book. For example, paperback or audio CD versions. Hopefully, this will let you find just the copy you are looking for.












The second improvement we've made is to "Release Date" alerts. With Release Date alerts, you set up a reminder for when a new item is released. Up to today, you would simply get a reminder on the release date that was scheduled when you set up the alert. The only issue was, what if this date changed in the meantime? Most don't, but a few do. We now keep track of the release date for you, so you get the reminder on whatever date the item comes out.

Lastly, we made some tweaks to our Search alerts, to improve alerts that match books by a particular author, or movies by a particular director etc.

As always, feedback is very welcome. We are always striving to make our alerts and the site more useful. Let us know if there are any new features or alerts you would like to see. Thanks and have a happy New Year.

Michael Jackson

One thing to note about Michael Jackson's demise, is that sales of his music and DVDs have been going through the roof.

One thing I like to do is view top sellers in different categories. Zlert makes this straightforward. Just select a category on our home page and type "+TS" in the search box. Try that with Music or DVDs for Amazon.com. Michael Jackson related material nearly fills every slot on the top ten.

Release Date Alerts

We've just added "Release Date" alerts. You now have the option to receive an alert on the date an item is released, not just when it is available to purchase.

For example, suppose you do a search under "Books" for the author Dan Brown. Right now, you'll probably come across "The Lost Symbol", his new book, due out in the Fall.

You can purchase it now if you want (Amazon won't charge you until they ship it). Suppose though, you just want to be reminded about it when it comes out? Just select the book to set up alerts, and under "Availability changes", check the box beside "Is released".

We'll send you a reminder on the day it comes out.

You can also click on the icon to add it to your calendar.

Also, if you receive an alert from us that lists an item that will be released in the future, there will now be an additional link "Remind me when released", allowing you to set up a release date alert directly from your email.

Let us know what you think. There's a "Feedback" link at the top of virtually every page on Zlert.

I see Beingfrugal.net, a blog about saving money, recently gave a mention to Zlert in their "News of Note" section. Thanks Lynnae!

Paperback alert change

Companies that control content, such as movie, record and book companies tend to charge a premium for new releases.

For movies, they want you to watch it on the big screen. DVD and online releases come later. For books, the vehicle they use for premium pricing is the hardcover. Now hardcovers are nice n' all, they keep the pages in better shape. I don't think, though, that your average book publisher is concerned with preventing pages becoming dog-eared. It's simply a tool to charge you more for the exact same content as that in the paperback version.

Now, this model of tight control may change as these companies power is eroded by digital technologies (à la the Record companies). For example, down the road, DVDs may be released at the same time as the movie on the big screen. For now though, with books, you can pay anywhere from $5 to $12 more for the hardcover.

I enjoy reading. I do not, though, like being forced to pay more for the exact same content. I wait for the paperback. How do I know when the book becomes available in paperback? I set up a paperback alert on zlert.

We've made a change to the paperback alerts. Previously you would receive an alert when the book was available to be purchased on Amazon. In practice though, this was often well before the book was released. 5, 6 or 7 months before it actually shipped.

We think it's better to be alerted on the release date itself. Then you know the book is out and you have the option to buy it then or when you finish reading your current book. So, from now on, paperback alerts will let you know on the day the paperback is released. Happy reading!