Independent alternatives to Amazon for books (UK), checked against who actually owns them
Most Amazon alternatives aren’t what they look like. AbeBooks has been owned by Amazon since 2008, and Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell’s and Hatchards all sit under one US investment fund, Elliott. If you want your money reaching an independent bookshop, the genuinely independent routes are below, each one checked against who actually owns it. Last verified 29 August 2026.
Describe the book you’re after
| Shop | What it is | Who actually owns it | Independent? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AbeBooks | Used and rare book marketplace | Amazon, since 2008 | ✗ |
| Book Depository | Free-delivery bookseller, closed April 2023 | Was Amazon | ✗ (gone) |
| Waterstones | High street chain | Elliott, a US investment fund, since 2018 | ✗ |
| Foyles | London institution | Bought by Waterstones in 2018, so Elliott | ✗ |
| Blackwell's | Academic bookseller, family-owned for 143 years | Bought by Waterstones in 2022, so Elliott | ✗ |
| Hatchards | Britain's oldest bookshop brand | Waterstones, so Elliott | ✗ |
| World of Books | Second-hand books at scale, a certified B-Corp | Livingbridge, a private equity firm, majority owner since 2021 | ✗ |
| Bookshop.org UK | Online store that gives its margin to independent bookshops | Bookshop Holdings, founder-controlled, a B-Corp | Routes to indies ✓ |
| Hive.co.uk | Online store where a local shop you pick gets a share | Gardners, owned by the family-run Little Group | Family-owned ✓ |
| Oxfam Online Shop | Second-hand, charity | Oxfam | Charity ✓ |
| Daunt Books | London independent mini-chain | James Daunt personally | ✓ |
| Your local shop's own site | Buying direct | Them | ✓✓ |
The twist most lists miss
Between 2018 and 2022, one US investment fund quietly ended up owning most of the famous names in British bookselling. Elliott acquired Waterstones in April 2018, Foyles that September, and Blackwell’s in February 2022, ending 143 years of family ownership, with Hatchards already inside Waterstones. Every list of Amazon alternatives that sends you to these shops is sending you from one American giant to another American fund. And the strangest footnote in British bookselling: Daunt Books remains genuinely independent, owned personally by James Daunt, the same man Elliott employs to run Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.
The genuinely independent routes, and what actually reaches the shop
Buying direct from a bookshop’s own website is the gold standard: the shop keeps its full margin. On Bookshop.org, a bookshop you choose receives 30% of the cover price, which is the site’s entire margin on that sale, and when no shop is chosen, 10% of the sale goes into a pool shared across participating shops. Bookshop.org UK is founder-controlled with no venture capital or corporate backers: its parent, Bookshop Holdings, has founder Andy Hunter as its sole registered person with significant control. On Hive, the local shop you nominate receives a share of each sale, but the percentage isn’t published, so we won’t rank it against the others; what’s verifiable is the ownership: Hive is run by Gardners, the Eastbourne book wholesaler that supplies most UK bookshops, owned within the Little family’s Eastbourne group since 1986; the group moved under a new family holding company in November 2025.
Where we fit
Highstreett is a book search engine: describe what you want in your own words, built so your money reaches independent bookshops. That’s the whole model, and the rankings are never for sale.
Questions
Is AbeBooks independent?
No. AbeBooks has been owned by Amazon since 2008. It's one of the most common false alternatives: the marketplace sellers on it are often independent shops, but the platform and its fees are Amazon's.
Is Waterstones owned by Amazon?
No, but it isn't independent either. Waterstones has been owned since 2018 by Elliott, a US investment fund, which also owns Foyles, Blackwell's, Hatchards and the American chain Barnes & Noble.
How does Bookshop.org pay bookshops?
A bookshop you choose receives 30% of the cover price of your order, which is Bookshop.org's entire margin on that sale. If you don't choose a shop, 10% of the sale goes into a pool shared across participating independent bookshops.
What's the most ethical way to buy books online in the UK?
Buying directly from an independent bookshop's own website, because the shop keeps its full margin. Where that isn't practical, Bookshop.org and Hive both route money to independents, and charity sellers like Oxfam fund their cause. The one thing to avoid, if independence is the point, is assuming a famous name means an independent shop.