Independent UK Bookshops To Begin Selling eBooks
- Reference: 0179609170
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/10/01/0326222/independent-uk-bookshops-to-begin-selling-ebooks
- Source link:
> 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."
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/01/online-platform-independent-bookshops-ebooks-uk
You shouldn't run DRM junk on your computer anyway (Score:2)
You can always depend on the guardian to give you useless news of the class warefare results from last nights match...
It is just what they do. This is not going to help or save online bookstores at all. Except for a few specialty shops, the retail format is a dead letter.
Maybe the Gardian can now report actacly who the "Hamas Health Department" they keep quoting is... like two guys without shoes and green scarfs on their head sworn to kill the infidels?
Selling or renting? (Score:3)
It is not really clear if they are selling i.e DRM free, or renting i.e. DRM infested books. As best I can tell they will still have DRM, just not Amazon's, so you can't really buy the book, only rent them for an unknown period of time.
Useless without a kindle (Score:1)
Reading ebooks on your phone or other screen is a difficult experience. Notifications and screen glare kill the quiet reading experience. Amazon have Kindles and without a device equivalent, Bookshops.org won't get anywhere.
Re: (Score:2)
There are plenty of e-ink readers out there that are NOT Kindles. If you had read the article, that's what they're targeting.
I personally have a couple of Kindles. One for Everyday and Sunday best. (or, throwing in my rucksack without a thought). I agree that glare and the temptation of being distracted doesn't help reading on a phone or tablet. E-ink and a good screen work great.
Had no problem avoiding renting books. Sideloading everything. Calibre makes making your ebook trivial.
However, with Amazon and a
UK? (Score:2)
I'm confused. The title, the summary, and even the fine article all say "UK bookshops" but the "Locate a store" feature on bookshop.org only has shops in the USA. Huh?
Re: UK? - Cloudflare says "no" (Score:2)
You're lucky. I just get Cloudflared... That company is the bane of the Internet.
"Sorry, you have been blocked
You are unable to access bookshop.org"
Re: (Score:2)
Their "Locations" tab seems geo-filtered. Visit their UK variant: [1]https://uk.bookshop.org/ [bookshop.org] then "Choose a bookshop".
[1] https://uk.bookshop.org/