Alibris.com pursues individual buyers as sellers
Having already signed up 8,000 large book sellers for its third-party marketplace, Alibris Inc. is pursuing a new clientele: individual book buyers.
Alibris, which carries an inventory of 10 million titles of used, out-of-print and rare books, is launching Alibris Basic as a new program that allows smaller sellers and individuals to sell their unwanted books and other media online.
Under the program, which charges an annual subscription fee of $19.99 and a $1 transaction fee for each book, CD or DVD sold, sellers can list up to 1,000 different items and use Alibris.com to maintain and manage their inventory. With Alibris Basic, book sellers can manage their orders, packing slips, payments and inventory. Sellers also receive technical help from the Alibris.com help desk and have the ability to ship overseas.
Alibris, No. 117 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, sees the new program as a way to diversify its base of book sellers and leverage its technology platform. "We spent many years refining the capabilities for our professional booksellers and we are delighted to offer these to smaller sellers, publishers and readers with books to sell," says Alibris CEO Marty Manley. "These books will, in turn, increase the quality and depth of selection that we can offer to our customers and business partners."
Since the program launched in May, Alibris has signed up several hundred sellers, the company says. “Alibris Basic targets heavy readers looking to fund their buying habits, students looking to sell used textbooks and others looking to get started as online book sellers,” says chief operating officer Brian Elliott. “We started the program based on feedback we got from buyers.”
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