Support your independent bookseller

[msmemory_archive]

But at what price? I'm not sure I'm ready to support my independent bookseller charging me $30 more for a book, plus tax, than Amazon does.

Comments

[cat9.livejournal.com]

Are you talking about Scappi? Because I had exactly the same thought...

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yikes! OTOH, I do like to poke around the used bookstores sometimes. For new books I usually go through Barnes & Noble (because they don't force POD people to use propriety software), and for used I either go through them or Alibris, which at least supports some independent booksellers somewhere...

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on what you want to buy.

Do you want to buy a book? That will be $X, either way.

Or do you want to buy a book and buy into the promise of continued service from your local bookseller? That will be $30 in addition to the purchase of a book.

I don't give to charities but I do spend a little more to buy locally when I can. I think it amounts to the same thing for me - voting with my money. I can vote to save the whales once a year, or I can vote to save the booksellers in increments every time I buy a book. Or I can vote to grow my children by putting the money I saved into nutritious food for them (and that is where it is at right now - the kids are higher on my list than both the bookseller and the whales).

No judgment here - I have the same struggle when I buy books and other things. And added to the equation is the fact that it takes about 2 gallons of gas to go to town and back, which often makes mail-order appear to be the more environmentally attractive option. But only if you can overlook the fact that locally, I use my own cloth bag, but Amazon uses brand-new cardboard boxes and plastic wrap.

Locally, you pay more but get instant gratification...assuming it's in stock...and by mail-order you pay less but you wait. Locally, your money stays in the community but you pay tax...mail-order, no tax, but your money goes out of state.

It is such a complicated conundrum. I am sure I am not helping at all. (Oops.)

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

The guideline I've generally used is if I find a book I want by browsing in an independent bookstore, I buy it there, even if it turns out I could get the book for less, online. I figure I'm rewarding them for being there to bring the book to my attention.

If, on the other hand, I already know I'm looking for a particular book, then I'll give them a chance to be competitive (and immediacy of delivery and lack of shipping charges weigh in their favour), but will not pass up bargains online, just because there's a local source.

And the local shop looses any advantage when they offer to order something for me, because they don't have it on the shelves. If they can't put it in my hands that moment, I'll order it directly, myself, if that means I'll get is faster or cheaper.

[mare-in-flames.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty nice slice for them even assuming they had to order the book from Amazone themselves....

Usually....

[bunnyjadwiga.livejournal.com]

I buy enough books that I can afford to support my local bookseller by buying books that aren't significantly cheaper via Amazon.

Poison Pen Press, though, has traditionally been my "Achilles heel"...

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's why WalMart and CVS and Home Depot are winning, even though everyone acknowledges that they're evil.

Yeah, evil. Competition is one thing. Competition made the USA great. The WalMarts don't want to compete. They want to annihilate. Walmart envisions a day when you drive along the interstate and there's a huge complex the size of the Pentagon with a "W" on the top, and that's all. They don't want to be the biggest store. They want to be The Store.