It’s so virtuous to buy from local stores. Buying books at local bookstores, independent or not, helps stores in Baltimore stay in business and employ area residents. It keeps commercial streets healthy and vibrant, and allows literary events and story hours to flourish. It helps the tax base of the city and surrounding areas. Independent stores are also known for supporting the community in even more direct ways.
But oh, that devil Amazon! She’ll send you whatever you want, when you want it, without worrying about parking or another errand. She will take all your money and put it in Seattle, where you can’t get it back.
Resist the devil. It’s possible to shop for books and music online locally, getting the convenience of delivery and the benefits of supporting local businesses.
It’s important to note that books bought online are nearly always NOT from the store itself; they’re in a warehouse, which can be located anywhere. If it’s in the area, it’s employing pickers and packers, mail clerks, and managers, the people who scan the books and those who enter data into the site.
The Book Escape is the best site for local online shopping for new and used books. I’d love to see them become as much of a go-to local online book-buying destination as Powells, the famed independent in Portland. There’s a flat $3.75 shipping fee for any number of books, so there’s no need to buy more than you want to reach a minimum for a good shipping price. the used books are less expensive than new books anyway. In-store pickup is free; the online warehouse is located near the store.
Daedelus Books and Music has a great site, also with thousands of books, but their shipping costs are a bit higher ($5.95 for standard delivery), and they don’t seem to have first-run books. Since they usually sell remainders (books that the publisher is no longer selling at full price and will not reprint, notably first-run hardcovers now out in paperback), their prices can be a lot lower. Note that their warehouse is in Columbia, so if you’re looking to support the tax base in Baltimore City, this isn’t the best choice. Their store on York Road is in Baltimore itself, and shopping there will support the tax base in Baltimore.
Greetings & Readings has a great site with plenty of books and good, often discounted, prices, and standard shipping is just $2.50 for the first item and $.50 for every item thereafter. The warehouse, however, is in Indiana, run by a company that runs online sites for local stores across the country, which means the employees it supports are there, too. Greetings & Readings is a wonderful Baltimore-area store, locally owned, that does wonderful things for the community. Shop at the store, and you’re supporting Baltimore. Shopping online supports the owners, which means they can support the store, but doesn’t support local employees.
Atomic Books has a great online site for comics, ‘zines, and their other usual alternative stock, with a $7 flat shipping rate and free in-store pickup (which means they’re warehousing the books here). It’s not a general online site anymore than Atomic Books is a general bookstore.
Ukazoo Books‘ online arm, International/Proquobooks, sells on Amazon here. Salamander Books sells their more obscure and collectible titles online here at Abebooks.com. Normals Books and Records sells on ebay here under the seller name gruntpack. They also sell stock on Abebooks.
Other area stores will order for you, and you can pick up, saving more than one trip, but it’s not the same as the easy thrill of buying online. Keep going for those easy thrills, but get them locally.
