Brick-and-mortar bookstores have long been waging a rather futile battle against their enemy of destruction, Amazon.
Who knew that terms of peace were on the horizon?
In a press release dated Wednesday, November 6, 2013, Amazon announced the war might be over. In its latest bid for more of the book market, Amazon will offer brick-and-mortar bookstores a chance to team up.
Amazon’s newest program called Amazon Source, allows independent bookstores to reap some of the Amazon book-buying profits when their customers purchase Kindle products and ebooks. Bookstores can now sell Kindle products in their stores and make profits in two ways. The first option includes a discount on purchasing Kindle devices from the manufacturer and a 10% commission on every book that the Kindle buyer purchases through Amazon for the next two years. This is easily the most viable option for bookstores to take. The other option is designed for general retailers and offers Amazon products at a deeper purchasing discount but no percentage of Kindle ebook sales.
The average Kindle reader buys a lot of books, mainly because the process of purchasing Kindle books is simple, quick and provides immediate gratification.
Amazon Source opens the way for loyal bookstore patrons, who may have been hesitant to use Amazon in the past because it could result in the loss of their local bookstore, to now jump on board with ebooks.
Bookstores now have a bottom line reason to become an Amazon reseller. By joining with their long sworn enemy, bookstores can offer loyal patrons the convenience of digital book purchases, knowing it’s not undermining their bookstores’ ability to stay afloat.
The results should be a definite win/win for both Amazon and the corner bookstore. However, don’t expect it to improve the animosity between Apple and Barnes & Noble because the war is still being heavily contested on those fronts.
