2 questions we get asked all the time. "Do you have a website?" "Can I order online?" PSB has had online commerce for as long as its been open. The vast majority of indie bookstores now have ecommerce. But when the pandemic hit, people flocked to Amazon. Why? ... https://twitter.com/TheLincoln/status/1343954886963113984
Part of it, of course, is because Amazon is a fucking behemoth in American culture, but another part of it is is what I think of as the "Indie Brand Paradox." ...
As we try to make sense of the world around us, many of us latch on to big general concepts or binaries. Sometimes this is fine, as no one has enough brain to understand the nuances of everything, but this does create lots of problems...
So when you think about buying books as a binary, people tend to think Amazon vs Indie (or B&N), which often also translates as Online vs In Person. So when, In Person shopping shut down, where did everyone go? ...
Online, which to many people was equal to Amazon. After PSB opened to in store shopping again someone literally said "I'm so glad I don't have to shop at Amazon anymore." ...
This paradox expresses itself in other ways to, as people make assumptions about what you can and can't do if you are a "community" or "neighborhood" bookstore, (People still ask if we can special order books for them!) but ultimately the point is this...
The only things your local bookstore can't do that Amazon can are things rooted in unfair business practices, ecological destruction, and a virulently exploitative relationship to labor. Do you really want to reward that?
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