Hive.co.uk are a new shopping website selling books, eBooks, DVDs, CDs and vinyl, and with every online purchase you make, you can choose which local bookstore to donate a percentage of the sale to.
If we’re being honest, online shopping has made supporting independent and local bookstores much harder for most Book Geeks. The lure of deals and discounts, the simplicity of free delivery to your door, and the perk of a huge selection of books that you can browse from the comfort of your own home (or on the go with your phone or tablet!), means accessing and purchasing books has never been easier. Not to mention being able to purchase your favourite “guilty pleasures” without risking side-eye from a slightly judgemental Bookseller… Erotica lovers, I’m looking at you. We all hate those dodgy book covers, right?
BUT – even though so many of us are shopping for books online, most of us also LOVE going in to bookstores. We love the calming atmosphere, being able to see and feel the books in person, casually browsing for hours on end and stumbling upon an obscure book we’ve never heard of before that ends up being one of our favourite reads of all time, and the SMELL. Don’t get me started on the smell!!
So, what is a Book Geek with an ethical conundrum to do?
Hive is a possible solution. They donate a percentage of your purchase to an independent bookstore of your choice, which could help ease your guilt from online book splurges. With over a million products listed on their website, and free delivery to any UK address on all orders (or free delivery to your local bookstore!), what’s not to love?
Find Hive on:
YouTube – Twitter – Facebook – Hive Blog – Pinterest
Full Disclosure: I was contacted by Hive.co.uk as they thought their website may be of interest to my readers. I received a copy of I Call Myself A Feminist in exchange for an honest review, but have not been paid for this post.
What do you think Book Geeks? Would you shop online at a website that donates a percentage of sales to independent bookstores?
Confessions of a Book Geek 
I always feel bad when I’m not supporting my local bookstores, but considering my local bookstore is a Waterstones I don’t feel too guilty about it. I do like the sound of Hive and maybe I’ll check it out, but currently my used book obsession wins out.
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I think I would legit cry if Waterstones ever disappeared from the High-street though. It’s practically the only bookshop where I live as no independents have survived. I’m loving my charity shop finds as well, but when I am buying new I’ll price with The Book People and Waterstones first, before buying elsewhere, as if there’s only pence in it, I’d rather the money went local. Or as local as I can get. R xx
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[…] Shop Online and Save High Street Bookshops! […]
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