More and more consumers want to order their books on sites on a human scale. Here is an exhaustive selection.
In the age of the coronavirus, local consumption and all-digital, some readers have had to opt to buy books on the Internet. But, problem, as soon as you type the title of a book or an author, Amazon is always found in the first sites offered. So, how do we avoid going through the American giant, which – let’s remember – before being the platform par excellence of retail was the first bookstore put online in 1994? In addition to the omnipresence of Amazon, we are faced with another problem: the segmentation of online book sales. So, how do you navigate this digital book jungle? Where to order? Which site to choose? We take stock.
One portal, two clicks
In France, there are today 3,400 bookstores, 1,200 including a website dedicated to the sale of books, according to figures from the Syndicat de la librairie française (SLF) which has 700 members. If they do not have individual sales sites, booksellers can use collective digital portals. There are three types: the national ones grouped by affinities (for example “Initiales”, an online bookstore site), the regional ones (for example “Livre Nouvelle Aquitaine”) and those grouped by specialties (youth, comics, etc. .). Finally, you have the option of buying second-hand books on specialized platforms.
In the midst of this fragmented market, the SLF created the site Independent bookstores in 2017. The “ national showcase “of the online book trade’s mission is to” federate bookstores », In the words of its delegate general, Guillaume Husson. This portal brings together ” more than 1,000 booksellers and 20 million books available “. Be careful, the search engine can be finicky. But, do not be discouraged, because it has the advantage of having in one click visibility on the books available around you, where to pick them up, where to order them, if they deliver to your home, etc. The goal is to allow you to find the formula that suits you: go quickly and pick it up within half an hour near you or order it and receive it at the office.
“Together, we have a larger stock than Amazon! “
When you click, this portal redirects you to the online sales site of the chosen bookstore, whether national or regional. ” We are not in competition », Explains Guillaume Husson. ” We do not have a commercial objective. Our goal is to get booksellers to sell wherever they sell. Clearly, the leslibrairiesindépendantes.com site centralizes all digital book sales initiatives throughout France – even if it means adding to the mess.
On the Internet, the union representative of the SLF concedes, for the moment, the operation is a little longer than on the Amazon site. ” But together we have a larger stock than that of Amazon warehouses! He argues. ” And in metropolitan areas, books are generally available more quickly, with a pedal stroke or a small detour from the desk. It’s a small effort for you that pays us big. ”
The collective play
However, to save yourself these two clicks (while playing it collectively), you can order directly on other national portals such as The Place des Libraires, The book store, Booksellers together, Booksellers or Initials. The number of libraries included in these networks varies. While La Librairie claims 2,500 member bookstores, La Place des libraires has 738 and Les Libraires is “only” 380. In contrast, Libraires ensemble or Initiales are much more modest with around fifty partners in their network.
Big or small, these regroupings were made with a view to ” pooling know-how and tools ” and not “To be isolated in your store », As explained on the Libraires ensemble presentation page. These five sites are merchant sites. They work like any market place. You can therefore at the time of purchase decide how to collect your order: delivery, collection in store or even in relay point.
Same principle for sites grouped by territories such as Independent bookstores in the Pays de la Loire region, its counterpart at Nice or in New Aquitaine, but also Ile-de-France portals such as Librest, the collective of bookstores in eastern Paris, Bookstores-93 Where Booksellers in the Seine.
Currently, the SLF lists ten in all of France. A way of consuming local.
Buy a second hand
While on Amazon it is often possible to buy a used book, there are also “alternative” options for recycling enthusiasts and broke students. Quite surprising but rather conclusive, the Vinted option seduced us. Less numerous than clothes, books are nevertheless plethora of online wardrobe shelves – we have even found some rather rare nuggets. At private individuals who sell, you will also find books on Leboncoin.
More conventional, the site Book-rare-book, as its name suggests, sells over 4 million old, hard-to-find books. There are also used book resale sites like Recycle which collects used books that you want to get rid of free of charge. Despite its pageantry eco-friendly and united, this last platform is not in the odor of sanctity among booksellers. In any case, the books are actually cheaper there.
Specialized sellers
If you are a keen comic book fan or have children, you are left with specific sales sites. For comics, you can order on the portal BD channel, which brings together several specialized bookstores and classifies the works in categories such as ” youth department “, the ” manga department “, the ” tips “Or the” strictly for adults “. You can also buy comics on the site Original comics, a platform managed by an eponymous Parisian bookstore which offers comics in original version or not, available for delivery or to pick up on site. Good plan: from 29 euros, delivery is billed to you at 1 cent. As for the children’s catalog, there is finally the site Witch bookstores entirely dedicated to children’s literature.
Whatever book you are looking for, rest assured, even without going through Amazon, you can find it on the Internet, in a secure way, often quickly and near you.