[Mediterraneo10]

> Whatever the intent of Goodreads initially, once Amazon bought it, it became a subtle funnel to drive sales of books, ideally through Amazon.

Goodreads was originally a "subtle funnel to drive sales of books", as any book listing there offered links to buy it through various online retailers, and Goodreads got a cut of those sales as the referrer. However, since most people were buying through Amazon (which had already succeeded in marginalizing its competition), Amazon was paying Goodreads a fortune each month in referral fees. In the end, Amazon felt it was cheaper just to buy Goodreads out entirely than maintain the status quo.