You shouldn't buy books from Amazon. You know it, I know it, your local indie bookstore DEFINITELY KNOWS IT, and honestly, the ghost of every independent bookseller who ever lived knows it too. So why do you still buy from the zon? Because it's cheap.

Yes, I know that capitalism is guttering out its last dying breaths as 5 people hoard most of the wealth while the economy fizzles so far they no longer actually even post the unemployment rate publicly anymore. So why am I telling you to spend more money? Please let me try to convince you with this numbered list because I'm a NUMBERS GIRLIE (see, this is why you should listen to me — how many other bisexuals are good at math? I contain multitudes AND a spreadsheet. 'Tis the tism m'lord.) If you're already convinced, feel free to scroll past this part. If you're not, I will be employing the ancient necromantic art of capitalism critique to raise your righteous fury from the dead.

Amazon is not always the cheapest! Yes, I know they've attempted to convince you otherwise. But they are operating on the grocery store model — get you in the door with "deals" on items you already know the price of, like milk and bread, while price gouging you on the things you don't, like a jar of pepperoncinis or your sense of self worth. If you consistently price check them like I do, you'll find that especially on smaller items, they've rolled that shipping cost right into the price. Free shipping my slowly rounding ass.

Diapers.com. If you haven't heard me rant about this, buckle up. Diapers.com had a great subscription price on diapers and wipes. Amazon rolls in with a program called "Amazon Mom," undercuts their price into the ground, and erodes the company's entire customer base. Amazon buys Diapers.com. Amazon shuts them down. Amazon IMMEDIATELY jacks the prices back up and shutters the Amazon Mom program. Everyone now pays more for the exact same service. This is not a bug. This is the business model. And they are doing it to books — selling them at a loss to put every brick and mortar bookstore out of business. And when we can only buy books from them? Those prices are going WAY UP. We are officially in the Ninth circle of Hell.

Writers are poor. There are a handful making a good living at this, but most are creating their art on the side while crying quietly into their $5.10 royalty checks. And Amazon exploits them like they exploit their workers and suppliers — a proud tradition of harm, democratized. They have a history of allowing customers to return read books and making the author pay the refund. They auto-enroll books into Kindle Select so authors have to go in and manually opt out every 90 days, lest their books remain Amazon-exclusive indefinitely like some kind of publishing purgatory. They're pushing to make Amazon Exclusive titles unavailable in libraries. They roll out new AI features and don't bother letting authors opt out. Cool cool cool, no notes, everything is fine, the house is not on fire, ignore the smell.

So where should you buy instead?

From the author If you're reading indie or smaller authors, many sell directly from their own websites — sometimes cheaper, sometimes signed, sometimes in "scratch and dent" copies for the chaotic good readers among us. Why are they cheaper direct? Because Amazon charges them more than other outlets. I know. I KNOW.

Bookshop.org If you can't find an author site, your second best online option is this one. A portion of the sale goes directly to an independent bookstore of your choosing. Support your local store, or support a black woman owned store like Sistah Sci-fi! They have ebooks too, so check here first!

Libro.fm is where I have my audiobook subscription. My library card gets me Libby, but they don't always have what I want, so this is my backup. Also shares profits with an indie bookstore of your choice. It's lawful good (get it, like awful good? "Yes... Some rigor...mortis", said Gideon, who thought that puns were automatically funny.)

Pango Books is the eBay of books — individual sellers listing new, gently used, and collectible copies, with the profit going directly to other humans trying to survive late stage capitalism. They now have make-an-offer functionality like Mercari. Prices are often cheaper than other secondhand platforms because lots of people just want shelf space back. (It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me)

Your Local Library Besties, I know you want to hoard the books like a little dragon. So do I. But I often don't even know if I'll like something before I buy it — and my library is always the first place I check. I can almost guarantee yours has ebooks and audiobooks available online without you ever having to put pants on. Though for your mental health, you should probably try to leave the house occasionally. WITH PANTS. as I sit in a dark room typing a blog on my computer to a group of people who are sitting in a dark room scrolling on their phones.

The thrift store Last but not least: if a book has been popular, there's a copy at Goodwill for $1.50. (It used to be $1 but even the thrift store experiences inflation. Yaaaaay late stage capitalism!) My kids love those terrible Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and while I have opinions, I don't actually care — as long as they're READING, I'm not complaining. The thrift store always has copies. And while I know the proceeds don't go to the author, sometimes you just don't have the cash for new books. (I have a whole other post about how to get books for free, you can read that here.)

I know there is an entire other conversation to be had about KU and the indie authors who make their money there. I have thoughts... you won't like them. I don't like them. Those are for another day. But feel free to berate me in the comment section today. Your attention feeds the poor. Like, literally. I donate all proceeds from this hobby of mine to marginalized communities.

If there is any exception for "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism," I'm going to say it's books and food, because both, in my opinion, are necessary to live, body and soul.

If you liked this and want more of whatever THIS is — unhinged book analysis, barely contained rage at the state of the world, and occasional Tamsyn Muir references that I will never apologize for — consider subscribing for $5/month. Every cent goes to people who actually need it, because I have a day job and a cause, not a brand deal. This is my middle finger to Big 5 publishing, dressed up as a book blog. Come hold it up with me.