The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with  United States,  United Kingdom, and  Australia and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (November 2024) |
A list of booksellers who predominantly sell new or used books online, although some may sell other items as well; some may also sell through brick and mortar stores. Incorporated is a list of online marketplaces to which numerous small independent booksellers belong.
| Name | Headquarters | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AALBC.com | United States |
Online only | Launched in 1998, focuses on books written by, or about, people of African descent. |
| AbeBooks |  Canada |
Online only | Online marketplace for used books, owned by Amazon.com since 2008. |
| Adlibris |  Sweden |
Online only | Large Swedish online bookseller. |
| Adrian Harrington Rare Books | United Kingdom |
Retail and online | Rare and antiquarian books, based in the United Kingdom. |
| Alibris | United States |
Online only | An online marketplace for used but also new books |
| Amazon.com | United States |
Online only[1] | The "world's largest bookstore" began by selling books from its website in 1995, and is now the world's largest online retailer of consumer goods. It operates country-specific versions of its website for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. It bought Bibliofind.com (Cambridge, Massachusetts) in 1999 and AbeBooks in 2008.[2] |
| Angus & Robertson | Australia |
Online only | An Australian bookstore founded in 1884. |
| Barnes & Noble | United States |
Retail and online | The largest retail bookstore chain in the United States, operating more than 600 brick and mortar stores throughout the 50 states. It began experimenting with selling books online as early as the late 1980s. |
| Better World Books | United States |
Online only[3] | Based in the United States, selling used books, and also supporting literacy projects and the Internet Archive. |
| Biblio.com | United States |
Online only | An online marketplace catering to the book collector. |
| Blackwell's | United Kingdom |
Retail and online | A UK bookseller with both online and brick and mortar stores. |
| Books A Million | United States |
Retail and online | The second largest bookstore chain in the United States. |
| BookFinder.com | United States |
Online only | A meta-search site (online marketplace) for books, acquired by AbeBooks in 2005, which in turn was acquired by Amazon.com in 2008. |
| BooksRun | United States |
Online only | An online bookseller based in New York City. |
| Bookshop.org | United States |
Online only | An online book marketplace founded in January 2020. Its stated mission is "to financially support local, independent bookstores." |
| Booktopia | Australia |
Online only | Australia's largest online bookstore. They have 128,000 in stock titles with 800,000 units ready to ship from their 100,000 sq ft distribution centre. |
| Brotherhood Books | Australia |
Online only | An Australian online bookstore. |
| Chapters | Canada |
Retail and online | Owned by Indigo after a takeover in 2001, Chapters is Canada's largest online and retail bookstore. |
| Chegg.com | United States |
Online only | An online bookstore which rents and sells books in United States. |
| Dymocks | Australia |
Retail and online | The online presence of the Dymocks chain, established in Australia in 1879. |
| eBay | United States |
Online only | Online seller known for selling used books.[4] |
| Half Price Books | United States |
Retail and online | Chain of new and used bookstores in the United States that also sells online.[4] |
| Maremagnum |  Italy |
Online only | An Italian meta-search site offering over 10 million titles. |
| Matrubharti |  India |
Online only | An India-based publisher and portal for free self-published eBooks in English and Indian regional languages. |
| Powell's Books | United States |
Retail and online | A chain of brick and mortar stores that also sells online, based out of Portland, Oregon. |
| Rahva Raamat |  Estonia |
Retail and online | The largest book retail and wholesale trade company in Estonia, which has a history of over hundred years. |
| Rare Book Hub | United States |
Online only | San Francisco based bookseller of rare and antique books. |
| The Second Shelf | United Kingdom |
Online only | London-based bookshop founded in 2018 focusing on rare Women's literature. |
| ThriftBooks | United States |
Online only | Web-based used bookseller headquartered near Seattle, Washington. |
| Waterstones | United Kingdom |
Retail and online | A UK bookseller with both online and brick and mortar stores. |
| World of Books | United Kingdom |
Online only | Based in the United Kingdom, selling used books |
Defunct online booksellers
| Name | Headquarters | Type | Description | Defunct as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book Depository | United Kingdom |
Online only | founded 2004, bought by Amazon.com 2011, offered free shipping for books to addresses worldwide | Closed in April 2023 |
| Book People | United Kingdom |
Retail and online | was a discount bookseller based in Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom. It also sold in workplaces and schools via a nationwide network of Book People Local distributors. (Bankrupt) | |
| Borders Books and Music | United States |
Retail and online | a chain of brick and mortar stores that began selling books online relatively late, in 2008, after ending a marketing alliance with Amazon | Defunct as of 2011 |
| Half.com | United States |
Online only | is an online bookstore which sells second hand or used books in United States | Defunct as of 10/31/17. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (2022-03-02). "Amazon is closing all of its physical bookstores". CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Amazon Buys into Rare Books, Music", Publishers Weekly May 3, 1999 full text
- ^ King, Marshall V. (2019-03-31). "Better World Books closes its last retail location to focus on e-commerce". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ a b Mulroy, Clare (2024-04-13). "Where to buy cheap books: Online sales and in-person discounts". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-11-28.