Thread by @doctorow, Amazon is an "essential business" because it sells things like sex toys [...]

Amazon is an "essential business" because it sells things like sex toys and hammer drills (don't mix these up!). But they also sell books. Your local indie bookseller is likely NOT an essential business, so they are now fighting Amazon with both hands tied behind their backs.

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Some bookstore owners - like San Francisco's @borderlands_sf - are allowed to pack and ship existing inventory, and are shipping nationally. If your local bookstore can do this, order from them, for all our sakes.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/02/eff-livestream-today/#sf-in-sf

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If not, try http://Bookshop.org , an affiliate system for indie booksellers. Bookshop has its own warehouse and shipping, but you can nominate a local bookseller to get 10% of your purchases (that rises to 25% if you follow a link from your local).

https://bookshop.org/

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Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.

An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.

http://Bookshop.org

(If you want an audiobook version of this, try http://Libro.fm , the DRM-free indie-supporting alternative to Audible, Amazon's monopolistic, DRM-mandatory audiobook store).

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Same Audiobooks. Same Price. Different Story.

Libro.fm is the first audiobook company to make it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through local bookstores. Get your first month for free.

http://Libro.fm

Bookshop also offers affiliate links to authors:

https://public-production.bookshop.org/documents/Bookshop%20Author%20Brochure.pdf

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Ideally, I'd like to see all publishers allow their authors to sell their own ebooks, the way @torbooks allows me to do. When you buy my ebooks from me, I keep the 30% Amazon skims, then send 70% to my publisher, who send me 25% of that as a royalty.

https://craphound.com/shop/

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There's nothing more commodity than an ebook, they're identical no matter where you buy 'em. Authors' orgs could set up hubs to search for direct-purchase options, and these would double authors' ebook revenues in one go.

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Image: Martin Cathrae
https://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/5224887391

CC BY-SA
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

eof/

Bookstore

Somewhere downtown in a historical building there was a great big bookstore. Alas I believe it was moving to a new location. There's Andrew checking something out!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/5224887391

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