Philip Brewer - Showing Amazon How it's Done

When it comes to Christian “ministries” selling porn, they don’t come finer than J. Mark Brewer and his SSG/Third Space Books “charity. As I’ve said before, if you’re after whackin’ material he’s your man, which is more than can be said for your average insolvent Orthodox Christian bookseller.

Lesser known, however, is that his little brother Philip is actually managing this remarkable venture into the world retailing. Fans of the Brewer and Pritchard style of business expertise will be relieved to learn that Philip is every bit as creative as J. Mark. Just take, for example, a marvellous “All Shops Memo” Philip asked everyone to post on August 16th.

So fine an application of Christian principles to the world of business is this document that I can’t encourage people strongly enough to tell everyone they know to see it for themselves at http://spckssg.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/philip-brewer-says-immediately-post-this/#memo. Send the link to your friends: from the little touches like forbidding chairs so that staff have to spend their entire working day on their feet (point 13) to the inspiring confusion of commercial trade with charitable donations (point 4) - thereby creating a scenario I’ve no doubt the Commissioner for Charities will find as imaginative as his colleagues in the Taxation Office – Philip Brewer proves himself every bit his brother’s equal.

The true brilliance of Philip’s business acumen, however, is displayed in an even greater development. Despite Third Space Books actually being nothing more than an Amazon affiliate page operating as a frame inside an html template, point 5 instructs staff to claim that “we have hired Amazon to ship their order” after walking them through a nice little trick that leaves the Brewer’s with unfettered access to customer’s credit card details and Amazon password.

Sure, this goes against Amazon’s affiliate terms, but what are minor details like these when we’re talking about the Brewer’s Mission and Charity? No doubt Amazon will be delighted to know of Philip’s creativity, and I have already emailed to let them know of these initiatives on their behalf, since I’m certain they’ll be most eager to reward him appropriately.

Even better, add your voice to my call for Amazon to recognize Philip’s exciting new approach to their customer security protocols. Just go to the Amazon contact page here and tell them all about them. Make sure you include a link to Philip’s memo so the team at Amazon can see exactly what’s being done in their name, and don’t be shy about thanking them for allowing SSG/Third Space to hire them as a delivery service. Given the wonderful degree of respect the Brewer’s have for their customers and staff it’s the least any of us can do to thank them.

I’m Father Christian and I teach the Bible.