Have you seen the phrase “Shop Local!” posted on signs around shopping districts during the holiday season? I like to think of myself as a community-minded shopper who loves to support small businesses. Yet if I’m totally honest, I’m also a shopper who likes convenience and saving money. Most people fall into both categories, so we should reflect on where we spend our money.
Now that I’ve published two books in 2 1/2 years, I thought you might like to hear the author’s perspective that has shaped my book-buying habits. Here are my top 5 reasons to shop at local indie bookstores.
A bookstore isn’t just a commercial fulfillment center. It can be an educational center shaping the ideas and soul of a community. Bookstore owners can’t accommodate everything on their shelves, so they carefully consider every title that comes in the door. To be sure, they can order pretty much whatever you ask for, but when they choose books to populate their limited real estate, they are using their expertise to create a vibe. That’s why I was so excited when Left Bank Books, a progressive cultural institution in St. Louis, agreed to carry my newest release, Advocacy Made Easy. I was similarly honored when The Novel Neighbor, my favorite cozy suburban St. Louis bookstore, chose to stock it as well!
There are shops catering to children and parents who might like my first book, From Changing Diapers to Changing the World, more. There are stores specializing in fantasy/science fiction that may never want to carry my books, but captivate me because that’s my go-to genre to escape my activism life. All of them carry the personal touch of their owners, who help to shape our communities.
I used to think Amazon was a clever company using slick business methods to make money selling books to a ton of people. Now that I’m in the book business, I realize the books were bait on the hook to lead us into treating Amazon like “The Everything Store.” They’re not even trying to make a profit on the books, and their model of deep discounts harms the ability of authors and booksellers to profit.
To illustrate how Amazon is hurting indie bookstores, I’ll share an example from the enlightening book “How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economies, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future” by Danny Caine. Caine co-owns an independent bookstore in Lawrence, KS called The Raven.
He used the example of his experience with a bestselling book, Where the Crawdads Sing, in 2019. Amazon sold it for $9.59, but his cost for ordering that from the publisher was $14.04 per copy. He wrote, “Amazon is selling this book for almost $5 less than my cost. That means if I were to sell this book at Amazon’s price, I might as well just hand the customer a $5 bill from the register.” The Raven sells this book for the price printed on the cover. At the time, that was $26. Caine asked, “How do customers feel when they see me trying to sell an incredibly popular book for $16.41 more than the price they get for it online?”
I originally priced my first book, From Changing Diapers to Changing the World, at $19.99 in 2023. As time passed, I discovered that at random times, the price would plunge down to less than $5 even for the hardback versions. Those prices were not only far less than a retail store could buy it for, but less than I could even produce it! I look foolish to conference organizers when I price them a $20 book selling online for $4.98.
Independent bookstores sell my book at the retail price I ask. It’s true they take a percentage, but I don’t have to compete with my own online book prices when I sell autographed copies in person or direct from my website.
Amazon has a terrible reputation when it comes to the health and wellbeing of its own employees. In 2023, a study based on Amazon reports to OSHA showed that working in an Amazon warehouse subjected employees to work with an injury rate double the industry average. It said that in 2022, there were 6.6 serious injuries per 100 workers.
We all like to have low costs and fast shipping, but the problem is that Amazon relies on policies like lack of breaks, poor safety training, computer monitored quotas set above the average worker’s ability, and staff working through severe weather to fulfill their promises to customers of quick delivery and cheap prices. I’ll pay a little more if it means that the people working on my behalf suffer less.
In March, The People’s Union USA included Amazon in a boycott because it was among major retailers to roll back their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts when President Trump called to rescind federal DEI policies. The November “We Ain’t Buying It” boycott campaign targeted Amazon for funding the Trump administration to secure its own corporate tax cuts. Those actions put Amazon on the side of oppression and authoritarianism. When I shop at local stores from people who are part of my community, I have more control over how my spending supports my values.
If you don’t have an indie bookstore near you or you wish to have the product shipped to you or someone else, order your books from Bookshop.org This website allows you to choose a bookstore anywhere in the country to receive the full profit from purchases made through it.
Happy holidays! May your book-buying season be merry and bright!
My first book, “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started,” is a warm and witty guidebook helping moms to make a better world for all of us. It provides inspirational stories and “how-to” instructions for new and experienced activists to get more involved in advocacy.
My second book, “Advocacy Made Easy: How to Turn Civic Frustration Into Powerful Action,” is a practical handbook designed to demystify the advocacy process for everyone. It offers a convenient, step-by-step guide to making your voice heard in the halls of power—no political experience required.
Buy an autographed copy from my website at www.changyit.com/books.
Order online at bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble.
Order from any independent bookstore near you!
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