Wondering how to shop Small Business Saturday as a bookworm? While it can be easy to fall into routines of convenience in buying from large corporations like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, this year here are 3 ways you can shop Small Business Saturday for book lovers and support independent bookstores and makers!
1. Shop at Local Bookstores
When looking for books for Small Business Saturday, the best way to shop small is to visit your local independent bookshops and support them by buying books, signing up for newsletters, or sharing about them with your friends!
Don’t know what your local independent bookstores are? The best way to find them is to use your favorite search engine and search something like “independent bookstores [your city]”. Alternatively, use IndieBound’s database to search by zipcode to find all the best local bookstores near you!
2. Support Small Bookish Makers
Another way to shop small as a book lover this year is to buy bookish merchandise from your favorite bookish makers!
As a bookish maker myself, it means the world to us when people love what we make and choose to buy from us! And I love supporting other makers as well, because I know all the time, dedication, and love that goes into what they make. Plus, shopping small is a great way to find some of the most unique bookish items to enjoy!
You can check out my shop for book-themed enamel pins, stickers, greeting cards, and more or find me and other book-loving small business owners on Etsy.
3. Shop on Bookshop.org
Lastly, for Small Business Saturday book purchases, even if you can’t make it out to a local bookstore in person, you can still support independent bookstores by skipping Amazon and purchasing from Bookshop.org.
While Bookshop has a huge selections of books that rivals Amazon, they are much more local, independent bookstore friendly…because they donate 10%-30% of all sales to independent bookshops! You can choose whether the percentage of your sale goes to a general pool that is distributed out to different bookshops, or if you want it all sent to a specific local bookstore you want to support in your area.
So if you can’t make it out to a local bookstore on Small Business Saturday, you can still send some support their way while enjoying the convenience of online shopping by purchasing through Bookshop!
Looking for more places to buy books that aren’t Amazon? Here are 8 Amazon alternatives for buying books!