‘It’s Cynical, Manipulative, and Cruel’

Amazon went back to its roots this week when the company made a move that appeared to blatantly antagonize smaller, independent bookstores. The tech conglomerate announced on April 15 that it would hold its second annual book sale April 23–28, a week that coincides with Independent Bookstore Day. That event, which happens on the last Saturday of April, is set to take place this weekend for the 12th year in a row; it’s consistently one of the biggest days of the year for non-chain bookstores. Goliath strikes again.

When reached for comment, an Amazon spokesperson said the timing was a coincidence, writing, “The overlap was unintentional. The dates for our sale were set this year to accommodate additional participating countries.” Booksellers are skeptical. “I’m sure if you were to reach out to Marlboro, they would tell you that it’s just a coincidence that the heaviest cigarette smokers get cancer,” says James Webster, who is opening Recluse Books with his wife in Dallas on Saturday. “Independent Bookstore Day happens the same weekend every year,” says Fatuma Hydara, owner of Tuma’s Books, an online and pop-up shop in New York. “There’s no way their people didn’t know this day was coming. I don’t believe that it’s true at all. And if it is true, that’s really silly of them, and they’re not nearly as impressive as they think.”

“It’s cynical, manipulative, and cruel — and for what? Amazon has already put half the bookstores in the country out of business, controlling over 60 percent of the market and selling far more books than all indie bookstores combined,” says Andy Hunter, founder of Bookshop.org, a website that allows indies to sell new books online. Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, which oversees Independent Bookstore Day, says, “At best it’s insensitive and at worst it seems like a tactic to hurt small businesses.”

The bookstore owners Vulture spoke to about the sale were less surprised than weary. “I just rolled my eyes and thought, Of course they did. We can’t even have one day where it’s just us — Amazon has to swoop in,” says Kelsey Black of the Book Burrow near Austin, Texas. Because of its size, and its ability to treat books as a loss leader, the company consistently undercuts cover prices that independent bookshops tend to stick to. The Amazon Book Sale has some hardcovers marked down by 65 percent and ebooks by 80 percent: Malcolm Gladwell’s best seller Revenge of the Tipping Point, for instance, is $29.76 on Bookshop, while on Amazon this week it costs $12.90. Even though the site’s sale selection isn’t particularly great, it’s a hard deal to resist. But booksellers are hopeful that their customers won’t take the bait. “My feeling is that it’s up to us as consumers and American citizens to make the choice about where to spend our money. It’s that simple,” says Maura Cheeks of Liz’s Book Bar in Carroll Gardens.

“We can never compete with Amazon on the price of books and speed of shipping because we don’t employ a private army, and we know that,” says Leah Koch, owner of the Ripped Bodice. “So Amazon is not our competitor. Our goal is to provide an experience that you cannot get on Amazon.”

“Fuck Jeff Bezos,” she adds. “May he be very miserable living alone on the moon.”

Related

• Was the All-Female Blue Origin Mission ‘Hopecore’?
• McNally Jackson Is Starting a Book Festival
• “It’s Pretty Human, But It’s Still Bad.”