Is Amazon killing off bookshops?

I don't use Amazon for ethical reasons.
I use www.hive.co.uk
You can order from them and have them delivered to your home or your local bookshop. Over £10 is post free. A percentage of the cost goes to a local bookshop of your choosing. I donate mine to Seven Stories.
Prices are often cheaper than Amazon.

I know, I know, I've said all this before. Worth repeating.
Often used to go in bookshops when we lived in York, but the nearest ones to me now are chains, apart from the ones in Corbridge, and I only go there occasionally.

Yes it was worth repeating cos I hadn't seen it before - will definitely look at the website - thank you!
Jane10 I may be a bit behind on this too as don't think anyone has asked - can you tell us the title of your book?

My husband published magazines and often pointed out that soft wood trees for paper were a crop: harvested, quickly grown, replanted and in their growing time they combated CO2 depetion.

I buy and borrow books from various sources: bookshops, supermarkets, libraries, book sales, charity shops and online. Sometimes Amazon is the only place to find something you want to read but cannot track down elsewhere. I have been getting into the Swedish 'Martin Beck' detectve novels after watching the TV series and the books are over 40 yers old. I am buying them three at a time from Amazon, the only place they and their reprints can be found.

I remember a tv or radio programme on which owners of small businesses who sell through Amazon asked people not to stop using them or they couldn't exist. Does this apply to book sellers on Amazon does anyone know?

durhamjen Thanks for the Hive link. Got all excited at the concept, especially for the children's books and toys, then when I put my postcode in, there are no participating independent bookstores in Bristol, even though I know there are independent bookstores.

Nana3 I have several indie author friends who publish on Amazon and they'd have no outlet for their books without it.

Some of the used book outlets listed on Amazon, eg Book Depository which was started by a former Amazon employee, have now been acquired by Amazon! I don't know which other ones, though as many are in the US but ship here at silly low prices.

Marketplace vendors have complained to me that Amazon controls their pricing, so they cannot price lower than another vendor. For example, joint vitamin supplements. I used to get a big quantity at a low price from one vendor, then suddenly the price doubled. The vendor emailed me back saying that Amazon does this. What he did to not lose me as a customer was to send me double the quantity! It's a bit of a faff, but I now do this with him every few months for my joint-care supplements.

I used to have a secondhand bookshop - it was the best thing ever; I absolutely loved all aspects of it from getting in boxes of 'new' stock to getting to know what my customers wanted - and finding it for them. Unfortunately, the recession finished it off but it had been a struggle long before then and the irony was the shop only survived as long as it did because I was selling on Amazon. The doors finally closed in 2008 so e-readers weren't an issue for us but I think they would have hastened the end. I do miss that shop!

Forgot to say... Amazon's print-on-demand is in addition to the Kindle option for indie authors. I have one friend who has only sold about 100 books over the last two years, but she just wants her writing out there.

Nana3 - in my case, selling books on Amazon was the only way I could keep my shop open as long as I did.

Oh, I would have loved your shop Seb!

LewLew I have pmd you

I have shared my Kindle content with my daughter, you need to link both Amazon accounts. We now both have access to each other's books as I often wanted to borrow some books from her. My Kindle is invaluable as we holiday many times throughout the year and I used to take so many books with me that my luggage allowance suffered! I still read "real" books occasionally at home, from charity shops.

I would love to put my writing on Amazon print on demand or Kindle but it all seems so difficult. Like Lewlew's friend I would just like it 'out there' and it also works as an incentive to get on and write. Can anyone tell me how to do it (in simple language, please!)
Jalima - you sound like you may know how it's done?

Tegan, it was amazing - even had bookshop cats .

LewLew, I'm a director of a new company that is producing online courses, one of which is a Getting Published course and covers how to improve sales of self-published Amazon books by getting onto their lists and not getting swamped by all the millions of other books too. We also have a larger online course that covers the craft of novel/creating writing (and which includes the modules on publishing). More than happy to let gransnetters (and friends) have either course at heavily discounted prices - don't want to put the links and codes on here in case it's against rules but please feel free to pm me for them (£14 instead of £75 and £19 instead of £249). If any of you want to blast me for publicising, please don't; I really am trying to help

I usually buy second hand books from charity shops, I know then that someone benefits apart from me. I use Amazon sometimes but mostly for FREE kindle books. However I have noticed a trend lately. They are pushing people in to subscribing to Prime. Be careful what you order! I don't think they will close down book shops because there is something about holding a book in your hand rather than a tablet imo.

Those of you who use libraries as a source of books may be disappointed in fuure, due to library closures or handing them over to volunteers. In the county where I live, there will only be four manned by paid staff.
Libraries are so much part of our communities, not just books these days but help with computers and job searches. My daughter works in a small community library and so far this month has helped write a c.v. make a will as well as fulfill reservations and general.library duties. She will no longer have a job in April next year and I'm not sure that the volunteers will be able to offer a similar service. Very sad.

Another thing I don't like about Amazon is that most of the books they offer are set around America. What about the rest of us? I had a devil of a job to find books about real life stories of British heroes and also of inspirational British women.

I like to read about these people, and I like to send them as presents to people. They would not be really interested in American heroes.

Then of course there is the cost of postage which is disgraceful.

LewLew the Chepstow bookshop is quite close to you. It's closer to you than Corbridge is to me. Do you have to pay to go over the bridge, still? It used to be owned by friends of my brother- and sister-in-law, so I know it.
You can order and have the books delivered to your home. Then you just choose one of the local bookshops on the list to give your percentage to.
Of course, you could just tell your local bookshops about the scheme.

Since I was a child I have loved books. I like the feel, the smell, the covers (art) and I used to get the 'red, blue, green fairy books' from the library. Anyone else read those? I used to feel as though I had a box of chocolates in my hand. I used to use the library all the time and encouraged my children to do the same.

Any books from charity shops go back to other charity shops for re-sale. Libraries have had a hard time just lately but I think they give an amazing service and not just books, family tree information, which OH is in to, and all kinds of other services such as newspapers for example.

If we do not support them they will all disappear.

I love Amazon. The only bookshop in my locality is a Waterstones. As they felt it was OK to make life so difficult for a very close friend who had been a loyal employee for 10 years that she practically had a breakdown, I would never give them my custom. A disgusting Company (and overseen by a Russian oligarch with little interest in the selling of books). I am bitter - yes. They now employ young people on complicated and often zero hours contracts. They don't want trained people who have expertise in specific fields. Might as well go to Amazon! There are plenty of eclectic online bookshops for the rarer items. If there was such a shop in my locality then I would love to browse but the reality is that there isn't and has not been for many years prior to Amazon.

The biggest problem is that not only are Amazon so cheap (especially Kindle), but more often than not I find second-hand copies of books that I've been looking for for many years! Still use the librsry, charity shops etc, but for books I want to keep, no alternative, especially since with Prime I can often get things next day!

gillyknits - sorry to hear your daughter may lose her job in the library. I absolutely love libraries but they are not like they used to be, hushed places with comfy chairs in corners so you could sample the books before deciding to borrow one. The last one I belonged to had children's toys set out for the little dears to noisily play on, computers clicking away in a corner - even the library staff shouted at one another. Yes, I know they have had to move with the times, become a 'resource centre' in order to survive but it is such a shame. Oh Gawd, I am getting so old. I'm afraid I use Amazon now but it is a bit like one's Brexit vote - best to keep quiet about it.

My husband and I are both book fiends. We live in a library with 9 x 6-7ft tall bookcases all double stacked. I love the pleasure of sitting with a real book in my hands. I do have a Kobo e-reader and it's great for holidays when you can't stuff a box of books in your suitcase but otherwise I don't use it. I hate Amazon but as someone else pointed out, they are MUCH cheaper than local shops and when you're retired you have to take that into account. Yes there are other online booksellers but most seem now to belong to Amazon.
It's another chicken-and-egg situation. We had a Foyles open a couple of weeks ago so we duly went to explore. It didn't take long. It's a single small shop unit although on two floors, the craft section (my main interest) is one bookcase of 5 shelves about 3ft wide. The top 3 shelves are construction and architecture and the bottom 2 shelves (actually only one and a half) are all the remaining crafts. I won't be going back.

I recently took a bag of books to the charity shop. To my surprise they said they didn't want them. Apparently they are not selling well. To my mind it would be a good idea to have a book sale. If they put a big sign on the window, saying books were 10p each they'd shift a lot. Or even have a one day offer of all books free. Then they could restock their shelves with donated books.

Kindle and Amazon is very much a UK concept (following the USA)- in Europe in general, bookshops are still doing really well- and people hardly know about Kindle.