se71

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January 29, 2020

Buying a book

What is the best way to buy a book? Should you try to do it ethically?

I want to buy a book called Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.

The author has a Dark Matter page on his website. He has links to online bookshops, but I'm not clicking on them as they have a lot of tracking rather than just going directly to the site - I'm funny like that. They are all American anyway.

I want an actual physical book in my hand. I've been dabbling with ebooks, and have had a Kindle for a long time. However my pace is slow with this format. It's much easier to pick up a paperback and read a few pages than an ebook reader - no buttons to press, no checking if it's charged enough. Bookmarks really work and you get a real feel for how far through the book you are.

So far I have 3 options.
1. Waterstones
2. Amazon
3. Wordery

Pros and Cons.

Waterstones are a real bookshop in my town. I can use click and collect and pick it up easily. However the books costs £8.99

Amazon Prime is very easy - I can click and have it delivered the next day. The book is discounted and only costs £3.99. However, Amazon pay no tax in the UK and I would like to support local business if possible.

Wordery also deliver the book for free. I've been told they are a better option for the UK as they do pay tax. They charge £7.02 for this book.

I'm torn. I want to buy local, but £8.99 is a lot. I'd like to support a UK company, but Amazon saves me as much as £5. I'm not rich - I can use £5. I'm not so poor that £5 would make a material difference to my life, but is it my job to pay extra tax voluntarily. Waterstones is a nice shop, I like having it to visit, and I'd like it to still be there in the future.

Hmm.

Update: Bought from World of Books - a second hand online shop similar to Wordery, for £2.99

Posted by se71 at January 29, 2020 09:15 AM

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