~Post by Julie W.
This article in the New York Times this weekend really got my goat. According to the results of a recent survey, 24% of people who buy a book online say they first saw the book in a brick and mortar bookstore.
It isn’t news to me or to anyone who works on the floor of a bookstore that there are people who come through the door, browse around, read our staff selection cards, and go home and order the book for a perceived discount at Amazon. But no matter how many times I see it happen, no matter how many times I spend a quarter of an hour hunting down the perfect book for a customer only to have that person wave a hand and say, “Nah, I’ll just order it from Amazon,” it still makes me SO MAD!!!
Okay, I’m getting emotional, I know, and don’t worry, I’m not really going to sic my angry ostrich on you, but I will draw a direct connection between the statistics of this new survey and what the numbers mean for someone who earns her living as an independent bookseller. There is indeed a reason why I get so emotional.
When someone walks into our store, browses our carefully selected displays and expertly stocked shelves, reads our staff selection cards, talks to us about books we think he or she might enjoy because they’re books we’ve loved, and then turns around and walks out the door armed with a list of recommended books to go purchase from Amazon, what that person is effectively doing is looking us straight in the eye and saying, “I value the service you provide, but I don’t care if you continue to earn a paycheck doing it.”
Now of course I’m not saying that this is word-for-word what goes through the mind of the person who types titles they see on our shelves into their smart phones and then buys them somewhere else at a staggering discount, but that’s what’s happening. It’s what that decision means to us, the people standing at the information desks, shelving the books, answering the phones, straightening the displays, writing the staff reviews, finding that book you heard about on NPR but whose title you can’t remember. We feel used. And it doesn’t feel good.
There’s a great slogan a fellow indie bookstore came up with that we love because it sums up the issue perfectly – Find It Here, Buy It Here, Keep US Here. If you appreciate walking in here, speaking to people who have a passion for and deep belief in the value of books, who are widely read and devoted to matching you with a book we think you’ll love (not the book we think you’re most likely to buy, as an online algorithm will determine, but a book we think you’ll actually enjoy) if this service is something you value, then for goodness sake, buy that book from us!
I can hear some of the replies to this post already. That this is all just the natural evolution of the book industry, the natural evolution of our role in a culture whose technology is shifting at lightning speed, the natural effect of retail competition. But it’s also the effect of a decision. Each of us makes a decision every day as to where we spend our money. I understand the necessity to stretch a dollar. I’ve been an independent bookseller for many years now, believe me, I know what a small paycheck looks like. But if our service is in demand, which it clearly is, then it’s up to every person who walks through our door to decide whether or not that service is worth paying for. If it’s not, then it’s gone, period, and what’s left is an algorithm that will shuffle you towards the next purchase, and the next purchase, and the next purchase, regardless of quality, regardless of what you may actually be interested in, regardless of anything but the fact that it’s cheap. Can Amazon beat our prices? Sometimes, of course. But Amazon does not, and cannot, match our level of customer service. And they do not bring authors to you so that you can actually interact with the people who write the books you love.
So yes, I get emotional when this topic comes up, I get angry as the angriest ostrich, because we’re not just talking about abstract politics of the market here, we’re talking about my specific livelihood and the very real livelihoods of all of my coworkers. Austin is an amazing city known for its dedication to the well-being of its citizens and small businesses, and we are very lucky to have an amazing and supportive customer base. After reading that New York Times article, I felt it might not hurt to send out a reminder, especially at this time of year, of why you do that wonderful thing you do that is supporting your local independent bookstore: because we’re here for you, we love being here for you, and only YOU can Keep Us Here.
BookPeople 
I completely understand and agree with your frustration. I love the atmosphere and recommendations you provide. I try to buy something every time I’m there. I can’t afford to get all of the books I purchase at your establishment, but I do my best to support independent bookstores when I can.
Thank you so much. It’s really good to hear that. And I personally understand about having to balance where you shop. I do the same thing. I shop at Target and places like that, but I try not to do it ALL the time for everything I need. If everyone balanced their shopping, I really think it would make a big difference for indies, and for local businesses in general.
Maybe you can come up with a smartphone app and become an affiliate of Amazon. At least that way you can monetize it a bit. I know it sucks, but it might not be something that easy to change. If they order it using your app, you have their email and contact deets so you can send them info that makes it easier/more likely that they will order from you next time….don’t know. Just trying to think out of the box.
Thanks, Vicki. Thanks to the American Booksellers Association, we actually do have a mobile version of our website that makes it easier to search and buy books right from your smart phone. And there’s also an app that makes it easy to download and read ebooks from our site – http://www.indiebound.org/reader. I think our biggest challenge is making sure folks who do want to support us know that these things exist – people tend to think we’re excluded from the technologies that make is so easy to shop elsewhere, when it’s not true!
I had no idea Book People offered e-book downloads from their site! I’m so glad I read this post! How does one have their e-book posted to your site, and I will be sure to tell all of e-reader friends to shop at indiebound instead of Amazon Kindle.
“Amazon does not, and cannot, match our level of customer service”
Actually, Amazon gives me the best personalized recommendations for books I’ve ever encountered anywhere, bookstores definitely included. They also delivery paper books to my door, no trip downtown required. Of course, ebook delivery is even better. I also get 24 hour phone support when I run into a problem, which almost never happens.
On your general topic, I agree that customers browsing your store and buying on Amazon is in bad taste. But, Bookpeople’s real problem is not rude customers, that’s just a consequence of the problem. The real problem is the fact you folks are now two generations behind Amazon. They jumped ahead first with their website and then again with the Kindle. Buying a paper book at a bookstore hasn’t been how modern people get their reading in many years. At best, visiting bookstores is a lovable eccentricity at this point.
We ship books anywhere and everywhere. And we sell our entire inventory and then some through our website, so customers don’t have to come downtown if they don’t want to. We’ve been selling books through our site for years, and last year upgraded to a site that allows us to sell ebooks, as well, at the same price as any other e-retailer. We even have an app for your android eReader (unless it’s any version of a Kindle, as Amazon’s devices are of course exclusive to their content) – http://www.indiebound.org/reader
The challenge for us, as I just mentioned in another comment, is to make sure people are aware that we have all the modern readers’ delights available (the only thing we don’t sell is the device, though our ebooks can be read on anything but a Kindle.) And then, of course, it’s up to the customer to decide who they’d rather support.
I’ve worked in independent bookstores. I shop in them, and I love them. I know they are struggling, and I am sad each time one closes. I am also a Kindle user and an Amazon customer, and I feel the need to say this:
I have been glared at by bookstore employees for having a Kindle. I don’t go to a bookstore for the experience of being guilted for having a Kindle, or for buying books online – a new release is $28.00 to $34.00 or so hardcover, and between $12.99 and $14.99 for a Kindle edition and that is huge for most people. It certainly is for me.
I guess what I am saying is there is a fine line between reminding customers of what it takes for an independent bookstore to stay in business, and berating customers for the decisions they make. Being angry at someone for shopping around and making the best decision about cost, immediate gratification, and store support is only going to lose customers. Buying books at Book People is a luxury compared to the library or online retailers for a whole lot of people, and I think it would do brick-and-mortars well to remember that. After all, Amazon has never berated me for shopping at an independent bookseller.
Thanks for your comment. I personally have no problem with ebooks, and BookPeople is happy to sell them. My intention was not to berate customers, but to be just really brutally honest about how it can feel to be a bookseller these days. It’s a personal statement, for sure, and one that comes from pouring my heart and soul into what I do every day (and loving it) and reading statistics like those reported in the Times. And then Amazon announces promotions like the one today – where they’re offering an incentive for people to go into retail shops, scan/photograph the items on their shelves, and submit that data to Amazon for a discount on their purchase: http://allthingsd.com/20111206/amazon-will-pay-shoppers-5-to-walk-out-of-stores-empty-handed/
I understand your comment about the fine line, and I’d hoped not to cross it, but when Amazon is actively encouraging its customers to help them undercut businesses like ours, it’s difficult not to have a passionate response.
Oooh, that promotion is aggravating! I do, definitely, understand the frustration, and the feeling of disrespect when you take time for a customer and then they take the business elsewhere. I really do, I’ve been there.
I want to clarify that my comment was responding to experiences with multiple bookstores over time, not just your blog post. I don’t think your comment itself crossed over that line, but for book lovers who shop lots of places, it adds up to a lot of anger being directed at customers, and I wanted to point that out.
And to Joel – I have worked in bookstores, some here in Austin. I was not paid a living wage or benefits in those jobs, same as Amazon employees. Low pay and lack of benefits, and lack of full-time employment are endemic in retail positions, be they independent or big-box.
Peska, I too have worked at a lot of local businesses here in Austin, including BookPeople, some have been great (like BookPeople) and others less so. BookPeople offered me insurance, paid me as best they could, which certainly wasn’t great, but retailers never pay good wages. This is especially true when it is a small business with a razor thin profit margin.
But even though the pay was retail level they never treated me the way big box retailers do. I was more than a number and never felt easily replaced. They worked with me. If I needed my paycheck early to fix something on my car, or to get books for school or whatever, they would bend over backwards. They treat employees more like friends and family than a number.
Amazon treats employees and customers alike as numbers. Amazon had it’s employees working in a warehouse that heated up to over 100 degrees in the summer, BookPeople was airconditioned.
Amazon never brought a young first time author with a brilliant new book to Austin to speak and sign. Amazon also never brought a New York Times best-selling literary giant, a former President, sitting Senator, Nobel prize winner or anyone else to Austin. Amazon just wants your money.
BookPeople is more than a bookstore. It is an Austin cultural landmark. It is a place that raises the profile of our city. BookPeople works tirelessly to bring incredible people it its store to enrich this city. If it goes, it will be hard to replace. Maybe impossible.
I agree completely. As a business owner, I would never berate a customer for going elsewhere if it suited her needs better. This original post is really bad form on BookPeople’s part. Regardless of whether it’s a “personal statement” or not, it is published on a corporate blog and pretty unprofessional if you ask me.
I understand that BookPeople has different economics when it comes to their business and why their prices have to be more expensive. When you add in a bad attitude from staff, it becomes a little too much for me. All this blog post has done is alienated a customer who spends a lot of money on books every year. I can only imagine that even less of that money will be going to BookPeople in the future.
Hi Kari –
As another BookPeople employee, I understand your comments about this post being “bad form”. For the staff here at BookPeople, we definitely do not want to shame people into only buying from us. Hey, we understand the need to be savvy shoppers. But, we do want people to understand the service we provide in cultivating a staff of fantastic booksellers who love to talk and recommend books, as well as a book selection that truly showcases the desires of our customers. We try very hard to be understanding to our customers when educating them on some of Amazon’s business practices, and that was the intent here.
We appreciate every book, cup of coffee, greeting card, or what-have-you purchased from BookPeople. We love being a part of the Austin community, and take pride in being a local, independent bookstore.
– Alison
I’ve done the opposite more than once–looked up a book on Amazon and ordered it from y’all for in-store pickup. I do buy from them, too, but mostly gifts I’m sending elsewhere or used books.
Thanks JL!
I understand some people wanting to shop on the internet. It is easy and convenient. You can do it while you’re at work and the boss isn’t around. I do it.
What I absolutely cannot understand at all, in any way whatsoever, is shopping on Amazon. They have a long and well documented history of strong arm tactics, concerted efforts to destroy small business and constant lobbying to avoid sales taxation (going so far as to violate the law in California!) You can order books online from a lot of places, including BookPeople!
I say read books, and buy books wherever works for you, but never, ever support Amazon. They’re scum.
Oh, and let’s not forget how they treat their employees. The price of free shipping? Workers are denied full-time employment and the benefits it might entail (though constantly having the promise of it dangled in front of them) while they work in a warehouse in temperatures that exceed 100 degrees.
Stay classy, Amazon.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917,0,7937001,full.story?tag=fulsto-20-20110917,0,7937001,full.story
Shopping on Amazon can never replace an outing at BookPeople where I can find quirky little knickknacks and sales clerks actually make eye contact with their customers and offer recommendations! I bumped into that guy who runs the Mystery People events and he referred me to a book series that I absolutely love. I can never get that kind of service – or delicious mochas on Amazon!
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