Didn't the GP already answer the question you asked of them?
>> It was a purely defensive move to prevent anyone else from acquiring or partnering with Goodreads, because their database of books and reviews could be used to instantly start competing with Amazon's book business. Amazon snuffed out that threat of competition in an instant.
A catalog of user reviews is a pretty important feature for a successful eCommerce site. To the point where I've seen some "review sharing" between non-Amazon sites (the specific case was an eCommerge platform showing reviews from their own site and the manufacturer's direct-to-customer site). Goodreads was ready-made to provide that to a competitor, which would give them a shortcut around that moat.
I don't go to Amazon and browse for books, reading reviews. I go to Amazon when I've already determined from other sources which book(s) I want to buy.
Maybe I'm in the minority.
I have found and read a fair few from that method.
- Amazon
- Audible
- Barnes & Noble
- AbeBooks
- Walmart
- Libraries
Interestingly, 3/6 of the places you list are owned by Amazon.
And all those options are hidden behind a menu. I checked a few books on that site, the button itself is always either "Buy on Kindle" or "Buy on Amazon" (if Kindle isn't available).
Do you really that the question was asked in good faith? I know, I know, HN guidelines, but that question was asked to rephrase the question in overly simplistic terms, willfully ignoring that there is more to Goodreads than a mere DB.
You think that to start an Amazon competitor you need a book database?
Obviously.
I can't conceive of a modern-day online bookseller not having a book database, and one pre-populated with human-written reviews gives you a head start in that area.