We've all felt that tension between shopping local and saving money, but a recent promotion by online retailer Amazon.com has some local shopkeepers crying foul.

Last week, Amazon.com announced that customers could use the company’s smartphone price check app to go into bricks-and-mortar stores on Saturday, December 10, price check selected products, then purchase that product from Amazon to receive a discount of up to $5.

Books were not included in the promotion, but the American Booksellers Association — as a conglomeration of independent retailers — felt the attack on fellow mom-and-pops warranted a comment. ABA CEO Oren Teicher posted this open letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon:

Dear Jeff Bezos,

We’re not shocked, just disappointed.

Despite your company’s recent pledge to be a better corporate citizen and to obey the law and collect sales tax, you created a price-check app that allows shoppers to browse Main Street stores that do collect sales tax, scan a product, ask for expertise, and walk out empty-handed in order to buy on Amazon. We suppose we should be flattered that an online sales behemoth needs a Main Street retail showroom.

Forgive us if we’re not.

We could call your $5 bounty to app-users a cheesy marketing move and leave it at that. In fact, it is the latest in a series of steps to expand your market at the expense of cities and towns nationwide, stripping them of their unique character and the financial wherewithal to pay for essential needs like schools, fire and police departments, and libraries.

But maybe we’ve misunderstood.

Even though you’ve spent millions on lobbyists, fired affiliates in seven states, and threatened to shut warehouses to avoid collecting sales tax, maybe you really mean it now when you say you support a level playing field.

It’s up to you to show us.

In the meantime, indie retailers remain the heart of countless communities — offering discovery, energy, support, and unique experiences. See you on Main Street.

Local shopper Jim Nathenson was in Words Bookstore on Monday. He said that he felt that Amazon was using independent shops basically as "showrooms" but not paying for the privilege.

Words Bookstore owner Jonah Zimiles (who alerted Patch to this promotion) agreed with Nathenson: "We share the concerns expressed by the American Booksellers' Association. We believe that Maplewoodians will continue to value, fortunately, the importance of having a diverse, thriving downtown full of local merchants who know and welcome their children. We trust that our community will not treat our stores as mere showrooms for internet businesses that do not contribute to the local economy and that avoid collecting taxes for vital local services."