Novelist sues Amazon over listing of fake, overpriced editions of his books

A novelist has filed a case against Amazon after the writer discovered fake editions of his books on Amazon. The fake editions of the books written by the author advertised on Amazon mentioned them of being hundreds of years old, reported Business Insider. John C. Boland has filed a case against Amazon as he found the fake editions of the books that were sold by third-party sellers on Amazon at a high price, reportedly between $907 and $987.

The lawsuit mentioned that the sale of one book was 144 times its list price of $7, reported Business Insider. Reportedly, the novels written by John C. Boland were advertised on Amazon as being published in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Furthermore, a book written by Boland with a list price of $15 had a fake 1602 edition listed by three separate third-party sellers. 

Fake edition of books on Amazon 

Boland told The New York Times that if a seller claims to have a 1602 edition and was selling it at a price of around $1,000 means that the book existed before he had written it and he was now a "plagiarist", as per Business Insider report. Reportedly, one novel written by Boland was being sold on Amazon for $1008, however, the price of the book was $7. Boland discovered fake listings of eight of his books and another eight which he claimed rights due to his publishing company Perfect Crime Books. 

Boland has alleged Amazon of breaking its publishing services agreement which they had with him. Furthermore, he highlighted that the fake listings defamed his name and has requested the court to prohibit Amazon from having third-party sellers on its site for selling fake editions, reported Business Insider. Meanwhile, the company has refused to accept the allegations made by Boland, however, Amazon spokesperson acknowledged the presence of fake editions on Amazon. The spokesperson added that they were investigating the matter.

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