Did Amazon Cash In Big On Oprah Viewers' Confusion?

from the mistaken-identity dept

theodp writes "In mid-December, the NY Post credited an endorsement from Oprah on her 'Favorite Things' show for making Planet Earth the best-selling DVD set on Amazon. And Amazon just reported that the $54.99 boxed set was one of its three best-selling DVDs this holiday season in terms of units sold. It'd be ironic if the huge sales numbers can be attributed to The Oprah Effect, since the David Attenborough-narrated version of Planet Earth sold by Amazon certainly wasn't the same as the Sigourney Weaver-narrated version sold by the Discovery Channel Store that was actually on Oprah's List. That the Amazon version wasn't just-what-the-Oprah-ordered wasn't evident from the Amazon web site, although some customers tried to warn potential buyers. Wasn't Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos all about warning customers that they're getting the wrong video, even at the expense of sales? Will breaking the don't-mess-with-Oprah rule come back to haunt Amazon in the form of refund requests?"

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