Abebooks.com’s new Textbook Central, a site selling used college textbooks, processed 18,000 orders yesterday, a record for the used book site, the company tells InternetRetailer.com. The momentum appears to be continuing today as the site processed 8,500 orders by mid-day, the company says.
Abebooks is reaping the benefits of a low-cost marketing campaign on 100 college campuses in all 50 states and Canada, says Marci Crossan, marketing manager, media and communications, for Abebooks. The company recruited student volunteers on its web site, signing up more than 100 in two weeks. They handed out Abebooks Textbook Central logo merchandise on campuses, including erasers, magnets, pens and condoms. “We were really surprised by the number of orders,” Crossan says. “It’s on fire.”
Abebooks.com is also advertising Textbook Central in college faculty-targeted publications and is a sponsor of the school-opening Disorientation concert aimed at college students in Boston. In addition, it is sponsoring a giveaway; each purchase at Textbook Central makes the buyer eligible for a cash prize.
Abebooks.com is operated by Advanced Book Exchange Inc. and represents some 10,000 independent sellers of used books. It e-mails orders to sellers who fulfill the purchases. It receives data feeds from sellers every day, refreshing its inventory by 30,000-50,000 books each day, Crossan says. Abebooks created the textbook site after it noticed an increase in sales during back-to-school periods in the past, Crossan says. “We had never thought of Abebooks as a textbook site, but when we saw that spike we realized Abebooks had potential as textbook source,” she says.
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