The same year that @m@zon hung up it’s “Yes, we sell books, too!” banner, there were about 5500 independent bookstores with 7K locations in the U.S. Just two years later, the owner of that online juggernaut hand delivered it’s millionth book order. Having already been battered by chain bookstores, these indie shops struggled even more (chains struggled, too – B&N being the only one from that time that managed to survive). I remember hearing how the indie bookstore was going to become a thing of the past – and it sure felt like it would become a reality as one after another shuttered their doors for good. By 2009, the number of individual locations dropped to 1651 stores. The conclusion surely felt foregone.
But those of us who love our indie stores, even those who may have been wooed by the easy access and cheap prices initially, have continued to (and have returned to) support local shops. While an online platform may grant access to far more titles, and chains can house more books on site, a local shop can better meet and shift with a community’s needs. They are beholden to no one but themselves. Yeah, they may have smaller spaces that hold fewer physical copies, but they can order any book you wish. (Though some, for obvious reasons, won’t order from KDP – and I gotta say, I respect it.) Better yet, the money you spend at your local shop stays within the community.
@m@zon thought they had won. They had no interest in actually selling books – simply another product that they could monopolize. But the tides turned. While we are no where near the number of locations of indie stores pre-you-know-who, they are on the rise – there are currently 3200 members of the American Booksellers Association. And they ‘outpaced most other publishing industry metrics, growing faster than overall unit sales of print books.’ In 2020, an online platform launched to help even more – you can purchase a book online and choose what independent bookshop you wish to support. The proceeds are split. So if you had been using @m@zon out of necessity (because you don’t have an indie shop nearby), you’ve got an alternative – Bookshop.org. In 2025, they sent over nine million bucks to indie shops. That money means something to those shops and those communities.
In a time where we are continually told that certain things (like the death of print books and the death of indie shops) are inevitable, we continue to prove that’s not the case if we don’t wish it to be. Indie shops are thriving.
Makes you wonder what else is maybe not as inevitable as they are telling us.
Ami Maxine 