DO NOT give your money to Jeff Bezos. He has plenty. Make a list of the books you want to buy as gifts and buy or order from a local bookstore...if you want those stores to continue to exist.
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As also an author and avid reader I try all other avenues first. There’s great online bookshops (including https://thriftbooks.com for budget friendly).
For self-publishing I’ll be buying ISBNs (like $20/ea), to support other platforms for main distribution, and still have on Amazon
Amazon changed the world, for writers and readers, by keeping so many books on their virtual shelves. I sort of love them. But if we don't stop them monopolize the field, the range of books published will shrink and bookstores will disappear.
Also let's not forget some people are struggling financially in these trying times and Amazon often has the cheapest prices as far as books. You can get a 20$ hardback for 12-15$ on Amazon.
I've used this before, however the books that arrived were not in good condition at all and I paid what I would have paid on Amazon for them. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism and poor people deserve new things too.
That sucks I haven’t had that problem with sellers there before.
And I hear you, but not sure if Amazon warehouse workers would agree that just cuz no ethical consumption exists under capitalism that there’s no spectrum. Amazon is on the worse side.
Telling people to spend more money on the same things when they can't even afford food because it's more sound to your mind is just as bad as telling those warehouse workers to just find another better job.
Or location. I don’t even have Walmart where I live. There are no physical bookstores. I buy from small independent sellers when I can, or use the library when I can, but I get a lot of the old Victorian novels and stuff I read for under $2 on Amazon.
In the past month, about half the stuff we ordered from Amazon needed to be returned due to either damage or poor quality. If you have to get in your car to return shit, you might as well do your shopping in person as well.
Better yet, google the author's name, and check out their website. Authors often sell books directly, cutting out the middle-men, which often means cheaper for the customer, more money for the author, and less environmental damage from shipping to and from warehouses.
What do you think of the Goodwill pages on eBay? The ones that say, “this purchase benefits charity”? I still look at my local stores, but we only have one small store in my rural community.
my local barnes and noble charges an average of $25-$30 for a simple chapter book, doesn't even need to be a big name author. for those who are still struggling with money, amazon is the more feasible option. also it still supports the authors.
Asking helps. But their biggest incentive is a strong sales record for the author. Self-published, indy writers don't have that. Neither do most commercially published writers.
Another option: Show your person their local #library, help them get a library card, give them a tour of the online catalog, help them download the free library apps to checkout e-books, audiobooks, & stream free TV shows, movies, & music.
It’s the best gift that keeps on giving for a lifetime!
We are heading to our local book store to order six books for his family and grabbing White Elephant/Christmas Eve gifts from them as well. Love the experience of walking through a bookstore ❤️
Many, many, maybe the vast majority of local bookstores also sell through Amazon. Sure, boycott Amazon and put those little bookstores out of business. Great idea.
I order books online from Hive Books. Efficient & reasonably priced. In turn, they make a donation to a small local bookshop of your choice.
I won't shop at Amazon for anything.
https://bookshop.org in the UK. Nominate your local bookshop to get a share of the revenues. Nearly £4 million raised so far for them through these sales.
True. As a former store owner who had to close (along with 3 other stores) after the dismal holiday season back in 2018, in our local Iowa mall, I completely agree with this. And I know bookstores were the first to close in our area.
I stopped buying books from Amazon a decade ago, and rely heavily on my public library for most books, but I recently heard about PangoBooks and wanted to try that out.
If you go to an independent bookstore and they don’t have the book you want they will probably be able to get it in a few days. Have patience and revel in the fact that you are helping a small business thrive
No, they don’t. Independent bookstores (as well as chains) buy books directly from publishers, same as Amazon, but A has created such a monopoly they can pressure publishers to sell to them at a fraction of what bookstores pay. Retail price on A is often less than what a bookstore pays wholesale. 🙁
All I ask is that Governments stop Bezos from avoiding paying tax.
The time I would spend dusting physical books, and pounding the pavement searching for items I need can be more productively used. This is progress, we didn’t stop using tools, because it was unfair to rocks.
I know 😔 But my only local book within easy distance for actual browsing on a daily basis is a Waterstones. It’s a beautiful Waterstones and they are not as “bad” as Amazon, but they are part of the reason why local booksellers went out of business so I feel conflicted.
The issue I have with this is none of my local bookstores stock my books because the small press houses I'm under don't use the right distributor. The same goes for my local libraries. I'm sure I'm not the only author in that position, even as someone who sells more print books than ebooks.
You can also use Amazon's website just to find what you're looking for, and then order directly from the dealer. You can do this with anything, not just books. And it's better for the dealer, because THEY don't have to give Amazon a cut.
Good! I'll check them out. Have to admit it's tough paying twice as much for a book that Amazon's discounted, but maybe thriftbooks lives up to its name.
Amazon doesn’t pay taxes and many of their employees are on government assistance because their pay is so low.
Amazon puts smaller businesses, that pay taxes and employ local citizens, out of business. Those taxes are then lost.
You are paying more in taxes to cover all of it. You’re not saving.
Sorry: when Amazon can sell me the specialist books I need for sometimes 50% less than my local bookstore, and deliver them to me in 24 hours rather than 6-8 weeks, then I’m afraid my local bookstore is going to lose out everytime!
I'd never say never. There are areas in which Amazon can't be beat. But when you want a readily available, commercially published book, why not support your local bookstore instead of Jeff "No Endorsement" Bezos?
1/2. It’s not that I don’t support local shops, as I do. However, 90% of the books I buy can’t be easily obtained from mainstream or local bookshops, as they’re too niche, or I can get them much cheaper via Amazon. (Cont…)
2/2. On top of this Amazon is just so much cheaper. I can sometimes buy two books for the same price as one from a regular bookshop. No one would be sensible spending twice as much as they have to, to keep any local store afloat, I’m afraid. That’s just bad financial acumen for the customer.
Can someone make an Amazon or Book store alternative on the #ATProto ? We need to start moving the internet to include this as part of the standard stack. Make it convenient for people to find local bookstores and support them.
Lmao, I mean if it were standardized and as easy to add to cart as it is on Amazon, and also interested with the broader ATProto eco system.
If it was as simple as this people would already be doing it, but evidently ordering on Amazon is far easier then this. It might seem negligible but humans
Always support local business. Your money and support should go to your neighbors instead of corporations. I also check to see where my money will go to avoid supporting businesses that have home offices in Texas or Florida.
I prefer buying from my favorite independent bookstores. In addition to books & cards, I've attended author events at their stores & gotten to see some of my favorites. Yes, more expensive than the broligarch place, but events, staff & community worth it. 📚
Also stop buying everything from Amazon! The cause of all these places going out of business!just because when you look for an item on the internet it is all Amazon!!
Try other sellers prices. Probably lower!!
Hope Amazon workers win their strike!!
It’s not just books, it’s everything
Drop Amazon!
I did the day the Post declined to endorse
That one act alone could have changed the outcome
We vote daily with our money, attention, and engagement
Pay attention
Also Amazon does not appear in auto-suggest anymore 🤔 at least on my phone
Also, if you read ebooks, please buy directly from indie authors. Ask them if they sell their ebooks through Payhip, Ko-fi or whatever. We'd love to be independent from Amazon.
Also on this note,try to buy from parent companies & not Amazon.scroll Amazon to find but when you order go to company https://site.you will never receive an impostor or get a used item from them.Amazon has sent me fakes,used items in past.also,company sites frequently give better deals &freebies.
I think it's understandable to use what you must when physical ability or locale makes shopping locally difficult. I would like to amplify - https://Thriftbooks.com is *not* owned by Amazon, and I've had excellent service from them each and every time I've ordered from them.
No. you can find another online store if you don't want amazon. local bookstores have little value. when you buy online you still support the author of the book (this is what matters), the postman etc...
I’ve never used Amazon in my life .. I warned folks but they just rather destroy brick and mortar for convenience and create an evil oligarch.. you get what you pay for
I usually buy my books used off of ebay, etsy, or mercari. Used to be a used book store around here, but that was a while back. There's still this "library" thing but there are people in there...
Need to be careful with going after Bezos and ignoring that he provides full time employment to 1.5 million people/families. They’ll be hurt if your goal is to drive Amazon out of business.
I cancelled my prime account after the WaPo decision to suddenly stop endorsing a presidential candidate. You can find anything you want on Amazon somewhere else.
We have no bookshops anywhere near our small town. Only charity shops selling murder, war, killer & horrid ‘romance’ badly written - possibly AI? - formulaic rubbish. Local library is rarely open briefly & has few books. To get new or interesting books, we HAVE to use Amazon!
https://Bookshop.org is a great alternative to Amazon--you can choose a small book store to support. Today they have deals on books on their gift guide
I've just searched on here, but books are much more expensive even even than in big shops like Smiths. In theory, supporting this would be good, but sadly, I couldn't really afford the gifts I was hoping to buy without getting into debt. Thanks anyway.
It might vary book to book, but I spot checked one book (The Serviceberry) and the WHSmith price and the https://Bookshop.org uk price was the same. I definitely recommend subscribing to their mailing list to get alerted of sales for the best deals. Any bit we shop away from Amazon is a win!
I have the same problem, the nearest bookstore is 1hr away.
Thrift shop books here are mostly in French and not my interests for the remainder.
Shipping in Canada is brutally expensive.
The books I want are a lot more expensive on this site, unfortunately. (£20+ instead of £12.50 & over £20 instead of £15 elsewhere.) I would use independent bookshops if there were any near here, or online ones - if I could afford it!
I wish I could but the 100-400+ books I read a year ain’t in my budget like that nor do I have the space to store them😞 I switched to the kindle app and kindle unlimited so long ago that I’d go mad without reachable reading material. I still do buy the books I want to collect from small book shops
I've had terrible experiences with people working at bookstores being difficult when i wanted to find specific books. Sometimes you just want to cut out the BS and get the books you want.
We spent some time downtown at our local bookstore before seeing a movie last night and I was reminded again how blessed we are to have such an amazing establishment in our community. Purchased three of my favorite childhood stories for our friends who are expecting their first baby next week.
I'm lucky enough to live in a city with a lot of local bookstores that remain open and locally supported. I confess, I order several items a year from Amazon, but never books.
With all respect, some authors self-publish their books with Kindle Direct Publishing (yes, actual bound and beautiful-to-hold books), and only sell on Amazon.
Present company included. (See profile for details 😉)
Amazon aren't even good at delivering books now anyway.
It won't be long before they're just bouncing them off your door as they cycle past.
250 points if they nail your postbox tho!
you can use your friends and relatives gift lists on Amazon. Go to the store, take out your phone and open the amazon page with the lists on it. Find the book (or other item) then mark it 'purchased elsewhere' on the list.
https://uk.bookshop.org is one of my favourites for book buying as they actively support independent bookshops. You can even nominate a particular bookshop to support.
I found this site recently - https://bookshop.org/ . Allows you to choose an independent bookstore for a bit of support, as part of the purchasing process.
The little independent bookshop around the corner from my alma mater is thankfully still going strong and now I’m back in the area I make a point to buy something once a month.
Also if ur loved ones want to contribute to ur sickening, gluttonous book accumulation hobby (like mine do), https://bookshop.org has a wishlist feature that u can also choose an independent shop to support with— makes it easy on them!
I ordered a Jane Austen book for my daughter for Christmas from Amazon and when it arrived I couldn't find the name of the publisher. Hidden on the last page it stated it was 'printed by Amazon'. I was so annoyed at myself that today I went to the local bookshop and bought another Jane Austen novel.
Where you have to trawl for the book(s) you want, which are often not “as new” (Not my first rodeo) and for which the author gets nothing.
Equally, buying from the second hand online book stores does nothing for the high street shops which the original poster was asking us to support.
FYI, The Regulator Bookshop in Durham NC is fun to shop at. Small shop full of interesting authors. Give it a try. Online and on 9th St. Near East campus at Duke.
I’ve been avoiding anything related to Amazon since February 2017. Shop local, shop small is my year round goal. Although, when I need to go big box, I head to Costco, where they seem to care more about their employees.
Here's a great online bookstore: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/mission
They offer a wide selection of used/new books to booklovers worldwide at affordable prices. Every purchase raises funds for libraries, literacy programs, and book donations.
Pick your favorite local bookstore, or that great bookstore you visited when you were out of town. Otherwise your purchase will go into a fund that supports independent booksellers.
Thrift Books is a fantastic online bookseller! When I quit Amazon, I discovered TB was a far better choice. Great selection, fast shipping, terrific reward program, AND wonderful customer service!
I think it’s mostly about just being mindful of where your money goes and using Amazon as a last resort. It’s different to buy a book that is only available there where you are still supporting an indie author, as opposed to buying bestsellers that your local store has dozens of online.
and don't buy from Amazon. They are now making Prime Members agree to allow them to sell your data to third parties. My concern is that now he may wind up giving information to trump's goons about what an individual said that was negative.
Boycotting Amazon is fine and all, but you should support the journalists at the Washington Post, regardless of your feelings re: the endorsement fiasco.
I would love to do this but I have received polite service exactly twice from indie bookstores, every other time has been rudeness or was just ignored. I'll shop online thanks.
You do understand he is just a delivery boy for most of his content. His used links do sell from bookstores. It is an eventuality that all media will be shifted to other e sellers for movies and nonpaper media sooner than later. Delivery boy got lucky and then McKinsey divorced him.
Interesting thing happens occasionally at our local bookstore is they will order from Amazon to fulfill a request quickly for us if they don’t carry the book. That feels strange
Great idea, if you read actual paper books. If you rely on readers or audiobooks, not so much; particularly if there's a disability of some kind involved.
There are lots of places to get digital or audio books that aren’t amazon. Sure there are barriers, that’s by design of the wealthy and powerful. There is value in choosing smaller alternatives whenever you can.
I think there’s a difference between telling people what to do when there’s any sort of force behind it vs advocating for people to make certain choices on social media. There’s literally no consequence for anyone to do any differently, so why not advocate for the ideal?
Assuming I'm able to determine what the ideal is for someone else. I don't know your life, I wouldn't presume.
As for advocacy, I'm good with "I do this thing because this idea is something I value. What are your thoughts?" Using "I statements" is kinda corny, but there's a reason it's a standard.
Look what I found at a random bookshop recently. Also different story but my dad didn't read, but I found exactly 1 random science fiction magazine in his room. It was from the month & year of my birth. Maybe bought at a hospital while waiting for me.
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https://libro.fm/
I adore bookstores and libraries but, on the very best of days, you may find a third of what’s been written available in these places.
The access Amazon has given to authors and readers is unmatched.
For self-publishing I’ll be buying ISBNs (like $20/ea), to support other platforms for main distribution, and still have on Amazon
And I hear you, but not sure if Amazon warehouse workers would agree that just cuz no ethical consumption exists under capitalism that there’s no spectrum. Amazon is on the worse side.
Overall goal is find ways to spend less there.
On my website, readers can find links to buy my books at Amazon, Bookshop(dot)org, or from me.
Don’t forget that writing a reader review and sharing it on Goodreads or Amazon is a great way to support authors📚❤️📚
#books #booksky
It’s the best gift that keeps on giving for a lifetime!
I won't shop at Amazon for anything.
The time I would spend dusting physical books, and pounding the pavement searching for items I need can be more productively used. This is progress, we didn’t stop using tools, because it was unfair to rocks.
Amazon puts smaller businesses, that pay taxes and employ local citizens, out of business. Those taxes are then lost.
You are paying more in taxes to cover all of it. You’re not saving.
Art books are trickier to get.
I discovered a year ago there's this cute little shop in an old historic building in the area. Never would have found it if I weren't looking for it.
Support your local bookshop!
If it was as simple as this people would already be doing it, but evidently ordering on Amazon is far easier then this. It might seem negligible but humans
Kidding
Boycott is the best thing we can do.
No Walmart
No X
No HomeDepot
No Facebook
No Tesla.
No Amazon
No Cyber Monday
Just drop out of all the above.
Try other sellers prices. Probably lower!!
Hope Amazon workers win their strike!!
Drop Amazon!
I did the day the Post declined to endorse
That one act alone could have changed the outcome
We vote daily with our money, attention, and engagement
Pay attention
Also Amazon does not appear in auto-suggest anymore 🤔 at least on my phone
https://www.undergroundbookemporium.om
I can tell you the local store I had before they closed were NOT more ethical than Bezos... and now I don't have a local place.
Say you’re looking to buy some kites for Christmas
kites -site:amazon.com
Add -site:Amazon.com
Thrift shop books here are mostly in French and not my interests for the remainder.
Shipping in Canada is brutally expensive.
Just echoing people who go to WalMart or eat ChickaFila. Or vote republican.
There are several local bookstores here I already frequent.
I must stop relying on convenience!!
Present company included. (See profile for details 😉)
It won't be long before they're just bouncing them off your door as they cycle past.
250 points if they nail your postbox tho!
Equally, buying from the second hand online book stores does nothing for the high street shops which the original poster was asking us to support.
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/mission
They offer a wide selection of used/new books to booklovers worldwide at affordable prices. Every purchase raises funds for libraries, literacy programs, and book donations.
Pick your favorite local bookstore, or that great bookstore you visited when you were out of town. Otherwise your purchase will go into a fund that supports independent booksellers.
https://bookshop.org
Shop local
As for advocacy, I'm good with "I do this thing because this idea is something I value. What are your thoughts?" Using "I statements" is kinda corny, but there's a reason it's a standard.
https://Fontsbooks.com. We can order books we don’t carry in the store.