The Bookseller reported on Feb. 12 in an article by Heloise Wood, that a number of factors have been making it difficult for children’s bookshops in London to survive. Interestingly this is also a case where fixed book pricing (FBP), which I talked about here recently, could help.
The Bookseller interviewed Moon Lane Inc., a bookshop in London that sells children’s books and of the many factors that are making finances difficult, one was Amazon’s cost cutting.
Jasmine Dellimore, the manager of the shop, said that the diminishing birthrates, the after affects of Covid-19, cost-of-living pressures as well as families moving out of the city has added great financial pressures on her store. But as I said, she also mentioned Amazon’s cost cutting.
In 2023 France combated the risk to independent book stores by forcing a shipping fee on Amazon or it would face 1,000 euro per day fine. The law also does not even allow the company to discount the 5% (max. cover price discount) that is the law for any independent bookseller in France.
The UK booksellers and publishers must find a way to deal with all the variations in costs of publishing and selling books since it doesn’t have laws like this to help mediate the economic and political storms.
Dellimore did say also that growing problems globally with Donald Trump and his supporters, like Jeff Bezos of Amazon, has pushed buyers into her shop from schools boards, as there is a greater want to buy locally.
