Independent UK Bookshops To Begin Selling eBooks

Independent UK bookshops will now be able to sell ebooks via a new platform (Bookshop.org's expansion), keeping 100% of profits and offering a non-Amazon way to reach digital readers. 'Bookshops now have an additional tool in their fight against Amazon,' said Nicole Vanderbilt, managing director of Bookshop.org UK. 'Digital readers don't depend on Amazon's monopoly any more, now that they can find ebooks at the same price on Bookshop.org.' The Guardian reports: Bookshop.org launched in the UK in November 2020 as a platform for independent bookshops to sell physical books. Bookshops receive 30% of the cover price from each sale they generate; so far, the UK site has generated 4.5 million pounds for independent bookshops. Customers will also now be able to buy ebooks through a bookshop of their choice. Profits from orders without a specified bookshop will be added to a shared pool, which will be distributed among all participating bookshops on the platform.

The platform will launch with a catalogue of more than a million ebooks from all major publishers. It will be available online via a web browser and through the Bookshop.org apps on Apple and Android. 'Due to Amazon's proprietary digital rights management [DRM] software and publishers' DRM requirements, it's not currently possible to buy DRM-protected ebooks from Bookshop.org or local bookshops and read them on your Kindle,' said Bookshop.org. However, the site is working with the e-reader company Kobo to support Kobo devices 'later this year,' and longer term would 'love to offer our own eInk device.'

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