Please forgive my cynicism, but this strikes me as coming straight out of the, "we're building a tech company for social change," handbook. The handbook which tries to lure people in with a promise, where their intent is to build their own corporate empire and to give everyone else the short stick in the end.

Don't get me wrong. If they were up there saying they were doing it for publishers or authors, I may find some integrity in their claim. After all, they are the ones hurting from Amazon's dominance, they are the ones who would benefit by bringing their products to consumers via other channels, and they are the ones bringing something to the table.

But independent bookstores? Don't get me wrong, I want to see them thrive. Yet it doesn't look like they are bringing much to the table here. Once you get past the landing page with books they (likely) curated for their intended market, there isn't much of a reason for them to exist in this particular marketplace. It doesn't much look like Bookshop.org facilitates them offering much unique to the particular bookstore's customers. For things like store events or community news or even a unique presentation of the store's products one would have to follow the links to the bookstore's social media pages or website.

While independent bookstores may benefit from an increased online presence in the short term, I'm left asking the question: what is preventing Bookshop.org from capturing their customers, decreasing commissions, and even blocking those links to the store's actual independent online presence in the medium to long term?

Maybe Bookshop.org's intent is genuine. The problem is that I've seen similar games being played out too many times before.