New online bookshop unites 'indies' to rival Amazon

[left-of-center2012]

It is being described as a “revolutionary moment in the history of bookselling”: a socially conscious alternative to Amazon that allows readers to buy books online while supporting their local independent bookseller.

Bookshop, dreamed up by the writer and co-founder of Literary Hub Andy Hunter, allows independent bookshops to create their own virtual shopfront on the site, with the stores receiving the full profit margin – 30% of the cover price – from each sale. All customer service and shipping are handled by Bookshop and its distributor partners, with titles offered at a small discount and delivered within two to three days.

Initially starting with 250 bookshops, more than 900 stores have now signed up in the US. “We went from selling $50,000 worth of books in all of February, to selling $50,000 a day in March, then $150,000 a day in April,” said Hunter. By June, Bookshop sold $1m worth of books in a day. The platform has now raised more than $7.5m for independent bookshops across the US.

https://bookshop.org/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/02/this-is-revolutionary-new-online-bookshop-unites-indies-to-rival-amazon

[MaryMagdaline]

1. Great news for book Santas

My family tend to exchange books at Christmas. Sending this link to all of them.

[Ponietz]

2. Rec

Find alternatives, please. Don’t feed the ($0 taxes) dragon.

[Mike 03]

3. Booklovers rejoice

This is excellent. I'll be checking this site out ASAP.

[Binkie The Clown]

4. During a period of unemployment, I made my living as an Amazon seller.

I bought books in bulk, by the pound, by the truckload, at estate sales, library sales, etc. My two-car garage was stacked floor to ceiling, wall to wall, with books waiting to be sorted, graded, and listed. After a couple of years I stopped looking for a "real job" (I was 62 and almost ready to retire anyway) and continued to make a decent living wage selling books online through Amazon.

The upshot of the story is that Amazon has already "united indies", or, at least, given them a high-visibility venue, so while competition is good, and I hope this new venture succeeds, it's not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination.