Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything” four years before. (It still sold a lot of books.) Our bookstore did a good job keeping shelves stocked with a balance of the more worthy popular hits and smaller, better fare. But we couldn’t have every book a customer might want, so we offered to order any in-print title. If a distributor had it, it’d take about a week to get in, longer if we had to go through the publisher. That seemed fine for most customers. But sometimes “about a week” was too long. A few people came right out and said, “Nah, I’ll order it on Amazon.” In 2005, Amazon launched Prime, the membership program that, for $79 a year, gave customers unlimited two-day shipping on most orders. At launch, CEO Jeff Bezos called it “‘all-you-can-eat’ express shipping.” No one knew at the time how hungry the world was for Amazon’s brand of convenience. And now, nearly two decades later, we’ve seen the shifts that accommodate that buffet — in labor, retail and the entire customer experience. Prime wasn’t an overnight success. It’s estimated that six years after launch, just four million households paid for the service. But 10 years later, in 2021, Bezos claimed it had accrued 200 million members worldwide. Outside of that... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
The pandemic has thrown publishing and booksellers into crisis – and left customers struggling to obtain books when they most want them. But some in the industry sense an opportunity to drag it into the 21st centuryOn 18 March, Emma Corfield-Walters received the news that for the second year... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-10 08:00:20 UTC ]
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When Sylvia Beach, the New Jersey native who published Ulysses and opened Paris’ Shakespeare and Co. (“the most famous bookstore in the world”), died in 1962, Princeton University purchased and catalogued her papers. This trove of materials reveals, among other things, the reading preferences of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-08 19:46:30 UTC ]
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These were the most popular books in libraries to kick off 2020. What have you read? Missed? Want to pick up from your library or bookstore next? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:32:36 UTC ]
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An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:30:26 UTC ]
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At the beginning of our now apparently unending isolation, we put out a call asking that those of you who need something good to read in this trying, frightening time, might send us a few of your favorite books (and other things) so we could recommend a good book for you to read. And turns out... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-08 08:51:39 UTC ]
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Survey shows 60% expect the impact of the pandemic may put them out of business, prompting calls for concerted helpMore than half of the UK’s small publishers fear they could be out of business by the autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by the Bookseller, which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-07 15:02:20 UTC ]
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Mysteries from the Golden Age, Arthur Conan Doyle and a helluva good book about a Texas book dealer. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Lookout Books, a teaching press housed at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, is partnering with indies to provide students and others with virtual bookstore backgrounds to maintain confidentiality during video calls. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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DC bookstore mainstay Politics & Prose recently featured Kawai Strong Washburn, author of Sharks in the Time of Saviors, in conversation with Tommy Orange, author of There There. The two discuss virtual book events, appreciating connection more than ever, and the miracle of being transported... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-05 20:00:41 UTC ]
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In the best of times, businesses know to diversify their revenue. But during the pandemic, survival has sometimes meant getting into a whole new business. Co-host David Griner talks with new community editor Ko Im about how a bookstore ramped up site visits by turning itself into a travel site.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-05-04 15:04:07 UTC ]
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The future of the Bertrams wholesaling business is at risk following the sale of its online bookshop The Wordery and the temporary closure of its book supply business as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-02 22:55:42 UTC ]
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Welcome to First Things First, Adweek's daily resource for marketers. We'll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. A Bookstore Shocked Fans and Boosted... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-05-01 10:45:39 UTC ]
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At the beginning of our now apparently unending isolation, we put out a call asking that those of you who need something good to read in this trying, frightening time, might send us a few of your favorite books (and other things) so we could recommend a good book for you to read. And turns […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-01 08:49:36 UTC ]
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When beloved bookstore and cafe The Wild Detectives had to close alongside most Dallas businesses due to Covid-19 quarantine measures, it faced the daunting challenge of shifting its business to being online-only. So the shop owners turned to agency partner Dieste, which has created several... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-04-30 19:09:51 UTC ]
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Wish you could visit your favorite indie bookstore right now? For the next best thing (sort of), Lookout Books has partnered with a handful of beloved indie bookstores to bring you, Zoom users (as we all are now), free virtual backgrounds of their stores. The purpose of these backgrounds can be... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-29 15:24:21 UTC ]
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One bookstore company has offered medical workers a lifetime 20-percent discount in China, as the virus pressures normal sales. The post China Bestsellers March 2020: Bookstores Buck the Pandemic’s Paralysis appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-28 14:51:33 UTC ]
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The days in quarantine would all blend together if it weren’t for Tuesday, which is the day new books hit the (now metaphorical) shelves. Here are a few of the titles dropping today. You can get them from your local indie and/or Bookshop (which, by the way, has now raised over one million... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-28 13:57:38 UTC ]
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In “Camino Winds,” a bookstore owner and two other characters team up to solve a murder and the mystery behind it. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-04-28 01:32:18 UTC ]
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Taking a look at how the indie boom happened in the age of multi-floor bookstore chains and Amazon’s 2-day shipping. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-27 10:34:51 UTC ]
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The independent bookstore e-commerce site Bookshop.org has seen a 2,000% increase in sales in the last month and has become a lifeline for many stores that have been temporarily closed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet despite its apparent success, the site has skeptics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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