Bookshop.org reaches £1 million milestone in UK
Bookshop.org says that it has generated over £1 million in profit for UK indie booksellers in just over four months of trading, with 410 retailers and 200k+ customers tapping into the new platform to date.
£633k of the total profit has been distributed to bookshops in customer designated commissions, and the remaining £367k is shared equally among all participating bookshops as part of a shared profit pool, irrespective of their level of activity on the site.
Born in the USA
Bookshop.org launched in the US during early 2020 and arrived in the UK in November of that year.
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 is being run by Managing Director Nicole Vanderbilt, the former international VP at Etsy.
Vanderbilt says: “Our mission is to support the independent bookselling sector in the UK, and it is deeply gratifying to have reached this significant milestone in such a short time, and to hear the individual stories of success from bookshops using the site to sell books.”
“Book buyers have made it clear that they believe in online shopping that gives back to local communities.”
Nicci Rosengarten of Moon Lane Children's Toys and Books, Ramsgate, one of the first bookshops to sign up to Bookshop.org, having not previously had the capacity to venture online, says: “The income from commission and the profit share has been an absolute lifesaver. It was a mind-blowing new and unexpected development.”
“Without the income from Bookshop.org, staff would have to be furloughed or work voluntarily as they did during the first coronavirus lockdown.”
“Being able to work during lockdowns since it has been live has ensured that Moon Lane has been able to continue its outreach work.”
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