Bookshop.org launches in UK after Stateside success

Bookshop.org, which launched in the US earlier this year, has gone online in partnership with more than 130 UK shops.

We're excited to be coming to the UK on 2 November! 🎉📚📖

We are working with bookshops around the country ahead of launch day: get ready to browse recommendations, get inspired and buy books while supporting local, independent bookshops. We cannot wait🚀
— Bookshop UK (@bookshop_org_UK) October 12, 2020

The venture is the brainchild of the writer and co-founder of Literary Hub, Andy Hunter. It allows independent bookshops to create their own virtual shopfront on the site, with the stores receiving the full profit margin – 30% of the cover price – from each sale.

All customer service and shipping are handled by Bookshop and its distributor partners, with titles offered at a small discount and delivered within two to three days.

Bookshop is a B Corporation, created with the mission “to benefit the public good by contributing to the welfare of the independent literary community”. It therefore can’t be sold to a major US retailer, including Amazon

The UK arm of the company will be run by Managing Director Nicole Vanderbilt, the former international VP at Etsy.

“Essential to a healthy culture”

Initially starting with 250 bookshops in the US, more than 900 stores have now signed up in the country. Hunter says: “Bookshops are essential to a healthy culture, and online sales are vital to safeguarding their future. We can’t afford to lose them.”

“Covid-19 has added further urgency to the need for bookshops to compete for online sales. Bookshop’s mission is to empower customers in supporting local, bricks and mortar bookstores, providing book buyers with an easy way to shop online while continuing to support their local high street.”