Wednesday, October 28, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Bookstore campaigns to resist Amazon
By Katy Yoder
Correspondent
Paulina Springs Books9
owner Lane Jacobson is
part of a David and Goliath
story. Many bookstores
are being crushed by the
giant powerhouse, Amazon.
The American Booksellers
Association is banding busi-
nesses together to fight
back. To improve his odds,
Jacobson joined the ABA9s
national campaign called
<Boxed Out.=
An October press release
from the ABA encouraged
booksellers to educate cus-
tomers about the long-term
ramifications of purchas-
ing from Amazon instead of
community-based businesses.
<The time is now for a
conversation about consumer
choices, the challenges of
small business, and the threat
of monopolies,= the release
stated.
Jacobson is extremely
grateful for the support his
bookstore received during an
earlier GoFundMe campaign,
as well as sales through their
website and limited capacity
in-store shopping.
<We9re in a pretty good
position and not facing any
existential threat right now.
But 20 percent of indepen-
dent bookstores across the
country are in danger of clos-
ing by January 1, 2021,= said
Jacobson as he set up the
<Boxed Out,= display in front
of the Hood Avenue store.
The ABA9s timing for the
campaign coincides with
the fourth quarter, which is
make-or-break time for book-
stores. This year, many won9t
survive.
<The cause of death for
these stores may be listed
as COVID-19, but the pre-
existing condition will be
Amazon. This campaign is
meant to highlight that,= said
Jacobson. <More people are
beginning to understand the
impact online shopping has,
and how damaging it can be
to communities.=
The campaign is not just
about bookstores, but buying
locally in general.
<So far things have been
better than we feared, but
our expenses are way up,=
Jacobson said. <Usually we
spend 99 cents to make a
dollar but now we9re spend-
ing a dollar to make a dol-
lar. Bookstores at the best
of times have to work hard
at breaking even or being
slightly profitable. Right now,
we9re working twice as hard
to achieve the same return.
We9re shipping a lot more
books. There9s more labor
needed with more things to
do like monitoring people in
the store so everyone9s safe.
Cleaning products are not
cheap, so the expenses really
add up.=
The focus of this cam-
paign is to resist Amazon.
<The numbers are stag-
gering,= said Jacobson. <We
pay our employees more
than Amazon pays theirs and
they9re a $1.6 trillion com-
pany. It9s bonkers. There was
a study in 2016 that showed
because of Amazon, there
were 44,000 displaced shops,
637,000 displaced retail jobs
with only 137 added jobs. So
that9s a net loss of 500,000
jobs. Not to mention between
$4 to 5 billion in uncollected
local and state sales taxes.
It9s extremely anti-compet-
itive, and the numbers are
staggering.=
Jacobson says that selling
books on Amazon is a lost
leader.
<They sell books at a loss
to train people to buy every-
thing on Amazon. That9s
their long-term strategy. The
model hamstrings authors
and publishers. That means
authors don9t get paid as
much. If authors or publish-
ers try to stand up against
Amazon it means their books
get buried in their searches or
they won9t reorder them.=
Amazon has reached a
level where people are con-
ditioned to assume Amazon
books are cheaper. But it9s
not always true.
<Seasonally they raise
prices for high demand items.
They don9t show the market
price and their price any-
more. They9re phasing that
out as they close the gap,=
said Jacobson.
With a nationwide cam-
paign, bookstores from
Washington D.C. to Sisters
have banded together. Their
shared messaging is attracting
national attention. In front of
Paulina Springs, slogans on
stacked boxes remind shop-
pers the battle bookstores are
fighting to stay in business.
<It9s also a riff on the
ubiquitous drowning in a
sea of Amazon boxes,= said
Jacobson.
Campaign dates lined
up closely with the annual,
Amazon Prime day.
<They were forecasted
to make $10 billion on that
day. The numbers are hard to
get your mind around. When
people spend money in local
businesses, it recirculates at
a much higher and quicker
rate than it does when you
shop online,= said Jacobson.
<Local shops are more likely
to donate to charities and do
fundraisers for the commu-
nity they9re in. That9s a mas-
sive local impact advantage
of 610 percent over Amazon
which only recirculates at 4
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PHOTO PROVIDED
Lane Jacobson is part of a national campaign to take on Amazon and keep
shopping local.
percent locally.=
For more informa-
tion more visit www.
paulinaspringsbooks.com. or
call 541-549-0866.
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Entertainment & Events
OCT
29
THUR
OCT
30
FRI
OCT
31
SAT
NOV
1
SUN
NOV
7
SAT
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center Venardos Circus
7 p.m. Halloween show with socially-distanced seating! Buy
tickets online at LiveYourCircusDream.com.
Paulina Springs Books Virtual Event Books In Common
Regional Literary Event Series with Beth Piatote and
Sameer Pandya 6:30 p.m. For more information call 541-
549-0866 or go to BooksinCommonNW.com.
Food Cart Garden at Eurosports Trivia Night 5:30 to
6:15 p.m. Family-friendly trivia. Socially-distant. Free. For
additional information call Eurosports at 541-549-2471.
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center Venardos Circus
7 p.m. Halloween show with socially-distanced seating! Buy
tickets online at LiveYourCircusDream.com.
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center Venardos Circus
noon, 3 p.m. & 6 p.m. Halloween show with socially-distanced
seating! Buy tickets online at LiveYourCircusDream.com.
The Lodge in Sisters Drive-Thru Halloween 1 to 3 p.m.
Drive through the front entrance, where children will receive
a treat bag. Call 541-549-5634 for more information.
Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center Venardos Circus
1 p.m. & 4 p.m. Halloween show with socially-distanced
seating! Buy tickets online at LiveYourCircusDream.com.
FivePine Resort Happy Girls Run Staggered starts to ease
crowding. 5K run/walk and half marathon. A portion of all
proceeds benefi ts SPRD. Register at www.happygirlsrun.com.
Events Calendar listings are free to advertisers.
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