Launched in Beta in January 2020, they had raised $70,000 by Thursday, March 19 – but saw exponential growth in the second half of this month. For customers, Bookshop.org is a straightforward storefront: search for a book, add it to your cart, and it appears at your home as soon as two or three days later, fulfilled by Ingram, the wholesaler which supplies most indies. It’s also a place to discover new books – the home page features lists such as Current Indie Bestsellers, Women’s History Month Favorites, Surviving a Pandemic, or Popular Activity Books for Kids at Home. Lists also pop up elsewhere, for example at the bottom of each individual book page. For bookstores, it’s a potential way to earn extra cash: every six months, the profit generated are split between participating bookstores. Shops can also become affiliates, which means they get 25% commission on all sales generated by links they post in their newsletters or on their social media, for example. Bookshop.org’s reach is only likely to increase, with Simon and Schuster announcing this morning that they are adding buy buttons to the books on their website.
While we can’t visit our local bookstores to browse the shelves for a great new read, we’re proud to #SupportIndies by partnering with @Bookshop_Org! 📚 Learn more: https://t.co/aiChhngTbr #ReadLocal pic.twitter.com/PNnXZV6VrT — Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster) March 31, 2020 With the increasingly tight regulations in many American cities and the grief for our former way of life, many readers are keener than ever to support the local bookshops they love and make sure they are still there when all of this ends. At the same time, it can be hard to keep track of exactly which bookshops in your town is doing what, as they struggle to adapt to changing circumstances and local laws, often working with skeleton staff, variable opening hours, and variations on curbside pickup, delivery, and shipping. If you’re already struggling to work remotely while homeschooling your kids and keeping everyone in your household fed and relatively content, it’s a lot easier to head to one central website knowing you’re doing good for indies generally.
