Comment by telefun5463
7 days ago
As a French reader, from a small city with multiple independent book shops: The simplest fix wouldn't be to just stop buying from Amazon ? Independent bookstores and used book sellers solve every problem in this article, often at better prices. They also deserve the support. Reading "elevates minds", but the shops, publishers, and supply chains don't sustain themselves on good vibes alone.
The problem is that when you need niche books and order them through small local stores it can take months before you get them. Recently got an e-mail that a book I ordered almost a year ago was available for pickup. Not sure why it takes them this long.
Similarly I ordered a spare set of strings for my niche musical instrument through a local music store 4 months ago, have called them at least once a month and it still hasn't arrived. Ordered them online from a German store, it arrived within 5 days. The excuses I've heard are: 1. they forgot to add it to the order 2. they order from many different suppliers and depending on the volume they will "collect" more orders from customers for a single supplier to keep delivery costs down, and for suppliers of niche products this can take a while. 3. It might have arrived at their warehouse but not at the shop. As a musician with concerts planned you can't just keep waiting for spare strings, you need them then and there before the concert.
> a small city with multiple independent book shops
That's a colossal benefit that you should treasure for as long as it lasts.