Online booksellers that aren't Amazon?

[Orang Utan]

I have used Hive before but I'm sure there are others, so looking for recommendations for the most ethical sellers online.
Though I should probably make more effort to visit independent bricks-and-mortar bookshops instead of Waterstones. Bookshops make me spend too much money though!

 

[tommers]

Bookshop. Nominate a bookshop and they get a cut of the sale.

 

[Santino]

Bookshop

A better way to buy books online. Every purchase financially supports local independent bookshops.

uk.bookshop.org

 

[tommers]

Lol.

 

[skyscraper101]

At risk of sounding obvious, eBay is usually my go to if I'm after a book.

 

[Pickman's model]

Bookfinder.com shows amazon but also lots of other sellers

 

[Orang Utan]

At risk of sounding obvious, eBay is usually my go to if I'm after a book.

wouldn't no one get paid if you did that (presumably they're second hand on ebay?)

 

[iona]

At risk of sounding obvious, eBay is usually my go to if I'm after a book.

Ebay orders are quite often fulfilled by Amazon though, so not a great choice if you're trying to avoiding them.

 

[skyscraper101]

wouldn't no one get paid if you did that (presumably they're second hand on ebay?)

Well, the seller gets paid. Whether it's a book store selling a new copy or an individual selling an old copy depends. As iona says, it's not totally untouched by Amazon. Some sellers use Amazon fulfillment services to dropship the item they own and are stored in Amazon warehouses but I guess any online bookstore could do this too.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Ebay orders are quite often fulfilled by Amazon though, so not a great choice if you're trying to avoiding them.

Yeah, I've ordered something before now from eBay (and elsewhere) and it's turned up in an Amazon branded parcel. Which is annoying because I deliberately boycott* Amazon.



*Although I do subscribe to Prime because I figure I'm paying for/supporting film and television in that instance, rather than the exploitation of overworked and underpaid warehouse operatives and drivers.

 

[Orang Utan]

Looks like Hive is the cheapest alternative, using my desired purchase as an example. Simon Reynolds' latest book, Futuromania, has just come out in hardback. Amazon is of course the cheapest at £17.90.
Online shops for bookshop chains seem to be selling at full price - Waterstones and Blackwells are selling for £25 (excluding P&P).
It's on Bookshop.com at £23.75, but Hive have it for £20.55 and I think you can get it postage free if you can pick it up from a local independent bookstore - though it isn't clear if the bookshop benefits financially from this, though I guess you're more likely to make a purchase if you go into one to pick up your order - that's what I did the last time I used Hive as I am their ideal customer due to having no self-control.
There is also the option of ordering straight from the publisher, which I'm tempted to do as it's a small one that relies on such things.

 

[Orang Utan]

Awesome Books are selling Futuromania for £18, but I suspect they're part of a big global company who don't need my money.

 

[story]

For not-new books I like Abebooks

AbeBooks | Shop for Books, Art & Collectibles

Discover a wonderful selection of rare and collectible books, used copies, signed and first editions and more, from booksellers located around the world.

www.abebooks.co.uk

 

[Orang Utan]

For not-new books I like Abebooks

AbeBooks | Shop for Books, Art & Collectibles

Discover a wonderful selection of rare and collectible books, used copies, signed and first editions and more, from booksellers located around the world.

www.abebooks.co.uk

Unfortunately owned by Amazon

 

[iona]

For not-new books I like Abebooks

AbeBooks | Shop for Books, Art & Collectibles

Discover a wonderful selection of rare and collectible books, used copies, signed and first editions and more, from booksellers located around the world.

www.abebooks.co.uk

Owned by Amazon though.

 

[story]

Unfortunately owned by Amazon

Oh!
Oh…

 

[Orang Utan]

Oh!
Oh…

annoying innit. Every time I buy something online from now on, I'll have to do a quick investigation into the seller just in case they're owned by Amazon or their CEO donates to pro-life pressure groups or whatever. Shoulda been doing that from the start I suppose

 

[Winot]

World of Books for secondhand. Are also a B Corp (vaguely ethical).

They have it already Orang Utan

Futuromania

Simon Reynolds's first book in eight years is a celebration of music that feels like a taste of tomorrow. Sounds that prefigure pop music's future - the vanguard genres and heroic innovators whose discoveries eventually get accepted by the wider mass audience. But it's also about the way music...

www.worldofbooks.com

 

[Orang Utan]

World of Books for secondhand. Are also a B Corp (vaguely ethical).

They have it already Orang Utan

Futuromania

Simon Reynolds's first book in eight years is a celebration of music that feels like a taste of tomorrow. Sounds that prefigure pop music's future - the vanguard genres and heroic innovators whose discoveries eventually get accepted by the wider mass audience. But it's also about the way music...

www.worldofbooks.com

Someone didn’t like the book!

 

[Lord Camomile]

World of Books for secondhand. Are also a B Corp (vaguely ethical).

They have it already Orang Utan

Futuromania

Simon Reynolds's first book in eight years is a celebration of music that feels like a taste of tomorrow. Sounds that prefigure pop music's future - the vanguard genres and heroic innovators whose discoveries eventually get accepted by the wider mass audience. But it's also about the way music...

www.worldofbooks.com

Ooh, didn't know WoB are vaguely ethical! Makes me feel vaguely better about my totally self-serving purchases from them

I have to say, my default Amazon alternative is eBay, which I'm not super happy about. I do try to go direct via retailers/suppliers where possible, though.

To whit, on the handful of occasions I've wanted to buy a book new (as opposed to 2nd hand), I've often used the online shop of a brick 'n' mortar bookshop I like, such as Bookmarks (London) or News from Nowhere (Liverpool). They can usually order most stuff in if they don't have it already.

Obviously you generally don't get many discounts, but I figure that part of the point is usually to support the bookshop, anyway.

 

[tommers]

Of course if you need comics or graphic novels then the word on the street is that www.lighthousecomics.co.uk are extremely ethical. Really, really ethical. They recycle and everything. And they are definitely not owned by Amazon.

(it's my comics shop)

 

[Lord Camomile]

www.lighthousecomics.co.uk are extremely ethical. Really, really ethical.

(it's my comics shop)

(Bookmarked)

 

[Pickman's model]

tbh if i'm getting something a touch out of the ordinary (and above the usual price of a paperback) i go to an independent bookshop and order through them.

 

[T & P]

Vialibri is a metasearch engine that searches through not just Abebooks but Biblio (which is the ethical alternative to Abebooks and has all of the main players from ABE as well as plenty who won’t list on ABE because of who they are), as well as other platforms and even the likes of eBay.

The best and most comprehensive booksearch platform out there by some margin. Use the advanced search feature to get the most out of it

viaLibri - The world’s largest search engine for old, rare & second-hand books.

viaLibri is the world's largest search engine for old, rare & second-hand books.

www.vialibri.net