# Why are Christian Bookstores Allowed to Ban Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271 "2021-03-05T15:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 49
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271/49 "2021-03-05T17:01:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > IIRC, Amazon was pricing books below wholesale costs, knowing that they could afford to lose a few billion dollars a year if it meant they’d drive a lot of brick-and-mortar bookstores out of business and could then control the marketplace more effectively. See also: Wal-Mart’s earlier pricing practices: > **[Predatory Pricing in the Retail Trade: The Wal-Mart Case](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4613-1397-7_10)** > > In 1987, Wal-Mart began selling pharmaceuticals in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Consistent with its overall retail strategy, Wal-Mart sought to sell a high volume of pharmaceuticals at low margins. Wal-Mart’s explicit policy was to never be undersold... AND > **[Wal-Mart Settles Predatory Pricing Charge](https://ilsr.org/walmart-settles-predatory-pricing-charge/)** > > Wal-Mart admits no wrongdoing and will not pay a fine in a settlement reached with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection over a predatory pricing complaint filed by the agency last year. The company will, however,... This stuff is execrable on its face, and is separate and distinct from wielding outsized influence in deciding whether or not to carry a particular product. In this case, were there other books – if so, which, and how many – that were discontinued (even if only temporarily) at the same time as the extant volume ? If so, was it tied to profitability or ideology. If the latter, then maybe bringing market pressure to bear on Amazon is an effective means of encouraging them to curb the practice. There used to be [**clear channel AM radio stations**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station) that had outsized reach in relation to the competition. But nobody said that Nabisco had an inalienable right to advertise Nilla Wafers on those clear channel stations. I have lots of issues with the Behemoth Tech Firms, but this isn’t really one of those issues. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-christian-bookstores-allowed-to-ban-books/937271)._