As an English speaker having spent several years living in non-English speaking countries, I am familiar with the frequent dilemma of where to buy my English-language books. Supporting your local bookshop is all very well, but when the local language isn’t English, that becomes somewhat harder. Of course it’s lovely to buy books in person, from different countries in different languages, but sometimes you just want a good English-language novel.
The beauty of online shopping has obviously made this considerably easier, however with huge companies dominating the market and even owning smaller companies, (Amazon in fact owns AbeBooks and BookDepository, for example), shopping ethically becomes difficult. The online multinationals are often accompanied by questionable ethics (the latest multi-million fine served to Amazon for witholding tips from workers just goes to prove this), and the online equivalent of ‘buying local’ is not so easy. However, with a bit of research, here are some online companies who are seemingly ethical, offer a good selection of English-language books, and ship to various locations around the world without extortionate shipping fees.
1. World of Books
World of Books sells online to over 190 countries worldwide, and over the last decade has become a leading global seller of quality used books as well as pioneers in re-use and recycling. With over six million books in stock, you can choose from a wide variety of genres and topics, with decent prices and shipping costs. Awarded B Corporation® status in 2018, they claim to be a ‘circular economy, for-profit business, founded on the ethos to do good, help charities and make a positive impact’. Their attitude to business is certainly proving popular, as they now sell a book somewhere in the world every two seconds!
2. Better World Books
Better World Books is an online American bookseller of used and new books, founded by students in 2002. The company has a strong focus on making a positive difference in the world, and funds several projects to promote literacy and reading. They say they are ‘committed to the cause of literacy’ and ‘believe in the power of knowledge’, with their goal being ‘to help those who supply it and share it with those who crave it’. Each book purchased from their website helps fund the actions they are taking towards this goal, and they have a good range of genres to choose from at good prices. Although they offer a slightly smaller range than World of Books, free standard international shipping is available and they ship all over the world, so that’s ideal! You can also see the good they are doing at the bottom of the website, where it lists how many books have been donated, how many have been reused or recycled, and how much money has been raised for literacy & libraries.
3. Alibris
Started several decades ago through a love of old books and new technology, Alibris sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an online network of independent booksellers. They claim to to take a different approach to online bookselling, one of which is that they partner (rather than provide a listing service) with independent, professional sellers. This approach has attracted many independent sellers and now enables them to offer over 150 million books for sale. If you are looking for a slightly more unique book, or a very old one, this is your place! It’s also useful as you can search and compare the independent sellers for your book, enabling you to choose the one closest to home, reducing shipping emissions, and usually costs too. The services vary per seller, but what’s useful is that you can also search specifically through a seller, and contact them directly, so if you find one you particularly like you can go back again and again.
