DISCUSSION

Is Bookshop.org a compelling Amazon alternative?

March 13, 2020Written by Tom Ryan

Source: Bookshop.org

Twenty-five years after Amazon.com launched as an online bookstore, a start-up is aiming to bring some of online’s revenue stream back to independent booksellers. Bookshop.org, supported by the ABA (American Booksellers Association), was founded by Andy Hunter, a literary entrepreneur who recognized that, while many independents have seen a revival in sales in recent years:

Amazon already sells more than half of all books;
Online sales will be expanding; and
The majority of indies have a meager online business.

Mr. Hunter wrote in a letter to booksellers, “I believe indies need a piece of online sales to safeguard their future.” Seeing bookstores as the “physical roots of book culture,” fewer stores mean less reading, and that’s “bad for individuals, society, and the future,” he said. Bookshop.org, a B-Corp pledged to focus on purpose over profit, intends to support indies in numerous ways:

Ten percent of all profits will be divided among independents every six months. Participating independents must support Bookshop.
Independent booksellers that sell through Bookshop (sharing their Bookshop link on social media, email newsletters, on their websites, etc.) earn 25 percent commission of the list price of any sale, well above the normal 10 percent affiliate fee.
Publishers, authors and bloggers that link their “Buy Now” button to Bookshop receive 10 percent of any click-through sales versus 4.5 percent from Amazon. The New York Times, The New York Review of Books and Conde Naste were among those expected to sign on with its January launch.

The site posts a running count of money raised for local booksellers — $14,162.51 as of this writing. The big challenge is price as Amazon tends to offer 30 to 40 percent off popular sellers. Bookshop.org is experimenting with 10 percent discounts, but doesn’t want to significantly differ from in-store pricing. Mr. Hunter has a modest goal of reaching $30 million in annual sales. The hope is to reach “socially-conscious Amazon customers” that may sometimes seek online convenience over a visit to their local bookstore. Mr. Hunter told Forbes, “If we were to get one percent of Amazon’s book sales that would be a massive level of support for bookstores.”

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