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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Lifestyle

The story of Book Depository comes to a close

Book Depository's website. (Photo: Thana Boonlert)

It is time to bid farewell to Book Depository, which closes today.

The UK-based online bookseller made an announcement early this month and expressed sincere thanks to customers.

"We want to say thank you. Delivering your favourite reads to you since 2007 has been a pleasure," it said on its website.

Readers, however, can place orders by midday. It will deliver purchases and provide support for orders until June 23. To commemorate its departure, I would like to turn the clock back (or linger?).

The history of Book Depository is full of twists and turns. Founded in 2004 by Stuart Felton and Andrew Crawford, a former employee at Amazon, the US tech giant bought it in 2011, raising fears of trade monopoly.

Book Depository has a large catalogue of over 20 million items and offers free delivery -- with no minimum spend -- to more than 120 countries around the world, according to its website. Its offices are in London, Gloucester, Madrid, Cape Town and Chennai.

Its vision was to provide "All Books To All" by improving their range, access and affordability.

The closure of Book Depository came after its parent company decided to cut thousands of jobs to reduce costs.

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