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Last issue we touched upon the larger sites for selling books online. But aside from ABE.com, Alibris, and Amazon, a host of smaller sites are thriving. Among them are Biblion.com in the United Kingdom, UsedBookCentral.com, BookAvenue.com, ChooseBooks.com, and BiblioDirect.com.
These differ from the larger sites in two important ways: they have less money to advertise, thus a lack of name recognition, and they (like Abe) promote complete contact between consumer and seller. Despite being "second string," they do have the same goals and plusses that larger sites have, namely, the ability to import inventories and a desire to promote book sales.
Biblion.com
http://www.biblion.com
During the last few weeks I've had a number of readers contact me from the United Kingdom, and this site is one that several dealers I know recommend for better books. The site was formed by Leo Harrison as an extension of The Biblion Shop in London's West End. The Biblion Shop is a group shop in Grays Antique Market and founded by the Rt. Hon. Michael Foot and is large enough to accommodate 20,000 volumes for 100 dealers.
The Web site was devised in 1999 to help the dealers list their entire stock for sale. Later, other sellers, including those overseas, asked to be a part of the online sales venue. Today Biblion hosts 3 million items and over 500 dealers.
The aim of the company is to keep customers and sellers in close contact. Biblion does not mark the price of books up or interfere with the sale.
You may email them directly for their costs and terms.
BiblioDirect.com
http://www.bibliodirect.com
BiblioDirect.com is a selling site developed by three booksellers. Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson of Forest Grove, Oregon and Roger & Jan O'Connor of Pittsburgh, Kansas wanted to establish a more traditional route for bookselling on the Internet and, like Biblion, they do not interfere with the sale between dealer and customer. What they do require from their members is a professional standing: at least 3 years online bookselling experience or 5 years experience selling books used and out-of-print books; they must be proficient at describing books and using professional terminology or they need references from two booksellers; selling terms must be concise and they must have reasonable shipping costs. Books must be returnable and no restocking fees applied; 75% of the online inventory must be hardcover or trade paperback (the only exception to this last requirement is a seller who specializes in collectible mass market paperbacks); sellers must be able to process credit cards, accept Paypal or be willing to ship with invoices or purchase orders. And, of course, the seller must have legal ownership of the book or the right to sell the book for another party.
The cost is $10 per month for members, the first month being free of charge. Added to this is a fee based on the number of books listed online. Up to 10,000 books the total cost is $15 (this includes the $10 membership fee). It goes up to $60 per month for 200,000 books. Bibliodirect includes a standard rise in fees past this point: $5 for each additional 50,000 books added.
BookAvenue.com
http://www.bookavenue.com
BookAvenue.com is based in Hampton, New York and is sparse with its information. They offer a 3-month free signup bonus and their costs start at $5 per month for up to 200 books and rise to $49.95 to over 100,000 books. The site is no-nonsense, and one can simply fill in the form to begin uploading the inventory.
ChooseBooks.com
http://www.choosebooks.com
ChooseBooks.com is another New York-based site that promotes dealer to customer sales for books and ephemera. Its president, Michael Tokman, promises "Sales, Sales, Sales..." through its aggressive marketing campaign, aiming at a target of 9,000,000 book buyers. It also promises crossover sales from a sister site ChooseAutographs at no additional cost. 1027 sellers with over 6 million books are a part of the ChooseBooks stable. No monthly fee is applied, but they collect 10% of the sale. There's a cap to this that's based on the number of items listed with them, $25 for 5,000 books, $75 for 100,000 books.
UsedBookCentral.com
http://www.usedbookcentral.com
UsedBookCentral.com charges no commissions but a monthly fee based on inventory. Up to 25,000 books the charge is $17.50, 50,000 to 100,000 the charge is $37.50.
This site, like Bibliodirect, is more informative. Robert Moore of Oregonbooks began the site in 2001. His aim is to maintain a fast, reliable search engine for the consumer that will help facilitate book sales. Their service includes a free home page, an easy import module, free toll-free support during business hours, and a free wish list.
I am always happy to hear about other sites and will pass what we learn along to our readers. I have personal experience with BiblioDirect and ChooseBooks. Other sellers that I know have said that their experience with UsedBookCentral and BookAvenue are the same as mine - the number of sales is significantly less than with the larger, less personal sites. A large part of this is that advertising is extremely expensive and these sites do not have the vast personnel to draw upon for marketing. I have heard no complaints about the services listed above. The search engines are quick and accurate. The sites are well maintained.
In short, they will do the job but only as well as the number of customers they draw for their sellers. They are, though, an alternative to Half.com and worth our readers' notice.
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