Budget problems in the State of Connecticut and questionable business practices at Amazon.com are complicating the redesign of the American Mafia history website. We have been a longtime affiliate of Amazon.com and have provided sale links for books, movies and other Amazon products that have generated many tens of thousands of dollars in sales for the Internet retailer. Our relationship with Amazon has ended, however.
One of the steps that the State of Connecticut has taken to close its budget gap is to require that Amazon charge sales tax on purchases made through in-state web affiliates, like our website. Amazon has steadfastly refused to charge its customers sales tax. In the wake of the new Connecticut rule, Amazon fired all of its affiliates in the Nutmeg State.
We will shortly take steps to create a working relationship with another online bookseller, like Barnes and Noble, in order to serve the dual purposes of keeping the website financially viable and providing useful product links to our web visitors. In the meantime, we must remove the MANY Amazon sales links from the website.
Update (14 Feb 2013): With our relocation to Vermont this past summer, we have reestablished a relationship with Amazon.com and will offer revised links to books through that company.
