Buying Books Ethically (with Bookshop.org)
Christmas is coming, and we all know what that means, don't we?
Getting those Reading Piles topped up!
But where are you planning to buy those wonderful books for your friends and loved ones? Even in the Before-Times, so may people ordered online rather than in bookshops. And now with Lockdown, it's even more likely people will be buying their gifts over the internet.
So, does that mean Amazon?
No.
Amazon has doubled its profits this year, taking $5.2 BILLION in 2020. They don't need your money. They will survive without your Christmas money. You don't need to buy books from Amazon when there is an option to support smaller, independent bookshops.
But how? I hear you ask.
This year, when ordering presents or your friends and loved ones (or just yourself) use Bookshop.org.
“Bookshop.org is an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.We believe that bookshops are essential to a healthy culture. They’re where authors can connect with readers, where we discover new writers, where children get hooked on the thrill of reading that can last a lifetime. They’re also anchors for our high streets and communities.”
If you simply order from them, the profits go into a shared pool to be distributed amongst all affiliated local bookshops. Or, and may be my favourite part, you can select one specific bookshop and they will receive all the profits from your order. So, during Lockdown, when I couldn't visit shops in person but wanted to get my Christmas shopping done, I simply selected the local bookshop in the town I grew up when I made my order.
It's as if I ordered from the my local bookshop directly.
Also it allows you to create Wishlists. This is something that I know a lot of people use Amazon for, myself included. It's always been so simple to just add books to my Amazon Wishlist throughout the year to make things easy for family at Christmas/Birthday time. But now I have empties that list and put it all into my Bookshop.org Wishlist (cheeky link, just in case you'd like to get me anything...).
I'm not saying that Amazon does not have a place in society. And they are incredibly useful at times, such as when you need something quickly or there are no other platforms where something is available.
But when you have a choice, there is no end of good caused by supporting local, independent stores over Christmas. Amazon don't need your money. And your community is never going to see any benefit from your choice of retailer. Small stores do, and your community will benefit.
Yes, it might be a tiny bit more expensive, and not arrive quite so soon. But if you're not ordering your gifts until after the 20th December, then its your own fault.