(The article sums up a lot of this, but the actual website is more misleading)
I went through and clicked on the about page. The books aren't sold through local book stores. It's a front for Ingram, which handles the orders. The local bookstores that sign up as affiliates get a percentage of the sale, basically as referrers.
I'd love to see this as a search-model that drives to the actual stores, but it seems that would be much more difficult to implement with arbitrary stocking information. In its current state the site represents itself as a method of shopping local, borrowing its respectability from the local stores.
I went through and clicked on the about page. The books aren't sold through local book stores. It's a front for Ingram, which handles the orders. The local bookstores that sign up as affiliates get a percentage of the sale, basically as referrers.
I'd love to see this as a search-model that drives to the actual stores, but it seems that would be much more difficult to implement with arbitrary stocking information. In its current state the site represents itself as a method of shopping local, borrowing its respectability from the local stores.