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This past week we learned of two more selling sites that I thought we could pass along to our readers. I have not done an in-depth interview with either but thought them worth perusing. The first is Halfvalue.com and the following is an email response I received from the owners.
Dear Edith,
Thank you for your interest in halfvalue.com. This is a fairly new site but we are getting great response so far. Even though the sale volumes are not as high as compared to some other online marketplaces, it is increasing steadily.
The company was started a little over 4 months ago with a partnership between a university professor and an x-Microsoft employee. We strive to provide lowest commission rates of all online marketplaces. Lower commission is reflected by lower sale prices for the buyers, hence attracting more buyers and generating high sale volumes compensating for a lower commission we make.
We have many innovative features like live customer service, and a very useful inventory management and sales and commission tracking program accessible from member account on halfvalue.com.
What we learned from the Web site:
The site is useful for ISBN numbered books (books with barcodes that were published in the last 20 years or so. They keep a log of ISBN listings that will pull up descriptions and images. If someone were to enter a book that was not already in his or her database, the information is added to his or her "backend" database, allowing the book to go up for sale.
Sales are charged an 8% commission and shipping reimbursements are generous, $3.50 for media rate, $5.50 for priority. Sellers are paid through Paypal twice a month.
The program hopes to generate income through high volume sales, attracting customers by low prices and a feature that is a bit different from other selling venues: the online chat with sellers.
Buyers can ask questions in real time. If the seller is online, they can answer immediately.
For more information, visit Halfvalue.com.
Another site new to us is Myownbookshop.com. The majority of its owners are booksellers according to the website an among its special features, buyers can select books from a multitude of dealers on one purchase order. Their fee structure is 16% of the sale up to $50 maximum when the customer processes their credit card through the website. If a customer processes an order directly through the bookseller, no fee is charged.
The minimum selling price on this site is $3.95
Sellers are paid on Mondays by check, three weeks after the sale. Paypal payments are another option.
For more information visit Myownbookshop.com
We will be contacting both sites for more detailed interviews in the near future but I urge you to contact them directly if you wish to participate or have an immediate question.
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