Ken Graham: FROM THE PUBLISHER

It’s Tuesday, Nov. 3 as I write this; the day this paper goes to press.

Yesterday I got an email from Amazon announcing new “countdown to Black Friday” deals. “It’s never too early for a good deal,” the email says. I completely agree. And it’s never too late either.

So the message is, if you simply can’t wait until the day after Thanksgiving to do your Christmas shopping a month before Christmas, why not get on Amazon.com now and do your Christmas shopping two months (almost) before Christmas.

But by sending me that email, Amazon clearly missed something important about my shopping habits: The...