Biblio, Bibliopoly, Bibliophile: Just Who Are These B's?
- By Michael Stillman
Along with new books, Barnes and Noble offers 40 million used ones.
By Michael Stillman
I doubt that anyone ever intended it this way, but the book sites appear to have ranked themselves with letter grades, at least by size. The largest sites are the "A's," Amazon, Abebooks, Alibris, and AddAll. So then, who comes next? Well it just makes sense to look at the B's. Here you will find some of the book listing and searching sites that are in the next tier. They aren't as big as the A's, but there are some nice and useful sites to be found in the second letter of the alphabet. We paid some of them a visit recently, and thought you might like to hear a little about them, in case they are unfamiliar.
Barnes and Noble. In keeping with the letter grading system, it's a good thing their name starts with a "B" followed by an "A." They are right on the edge of "A's" and "B's." Barnes and Noble has one of the largest internet bookselling sites, but, unlike the bricks and mortar department where they dominate, online, B&N has always played Avis to Amazon's Hertz. Amazon got out ahead of them first, and despite whatever advantages their large local presence may afford, Barnes and Noble has just never succeeded in understanding the internet quite the way that Amazon has. Amazon doesn't dominate their market to the extent their Seattle neighbor Microsoft does, but they are clearly number one.
We won't spend much time with B&N. We reviewed their site earlier along with some of the larger sites. See http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/aemonthly/article_1.asp?id=181&page=1". Barnes and Noble offers both new books from their own supply and 40 million used books (their statement) from outside booksellers. However, they do not manage their own used book program. Old book listings on the B&N website are supplied by Abebooks and Alibris. The result is that while there are a lot of old books to be found here, they are primarily repeats from the major used book sites. For the sake of comparison, I searched for copies of Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad for this article. This is an 1869 book that is fairly valuable in its first edition, and while by no means Twain's most popular work today, has still been reprinted many, many times. I found 26 editions being offered new by B&N. Not 26 copies, but 26 separate editions, though not all were in stock. Prices for new copies ranged from $7.95 to $77, depending on the edition. I also found 572 used copies for sale. I did not examine every listing, but it appears that used prices started at $1.99. I could not tell you whether any were collectible editions as I did not have the time to look, and I'm quite certain no collector would either.
Here is the link to visit the Barnes and Noble website: www.barnesandnoble.com
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Biblio, Bibliopoly, Bibliophile: Just Who Are These B's?
- By Michael Stillman
Biblio provides some suggestions, but lets you find what you want.
Biblio. Here's a listing site that has been flying below many people's radar screen for awhile, and yet it has been making steady progress where you might think there is no room. Biblio claims to now have 12 million books from over 2,100 different dealers listed. A search for Innocents Abroad confirms their claims as it locates 186 matches. They range from a paperback in fair condition for $2.50, to four first editions at prices from $855 to $8,500 (as an aside, there seems little reason justify any price spread, let alone one of this magnitude, between copies).
So how does a site like this hope to survive, let alone prosper, against the giants in this field? The folks at Biblio are no fools. They understand there's a lot of resentment from the booksellers toward the big sites. Their prices have gone up and, real or imagined, many dealers feel their quality of service has gone down. Perhaps there's nothing a large company can do to make its small suppliers feel appreciated, or maybe the large sites aren't trying very hard. I don't know. Whatever it is, one only has to read the appropriate message boards to realize that many dealers do not feel loved. They feel abused, ignored, unimportant, but also dependent on the large sites. They wish these sites showed more sympathy and understanding toward their small businesses. Into this void steps kinder and gentler Biblio. They are attempting to provide the type of service and pricing booksellers want along with a convenient, easy to use site buyers like. All indications are they are doing both quite well. As a smaller site, the challenge will be to generate the number of listings and brand familiarity necessary to bring in the quantity of customers needed to make the site a financial success for its dealers.
Speaking about Biblio's major used books competitors, Abebooks and Alibris, Marketing Director Kevin Donaldson comments "they are making inroads to new book sales, and they are of course the main providers to Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and they are making it harder and less lucrative to be an independent bookseller on their sites. This really isn't focus at all." Biblio focuses just on used books, and on keeping their booksellers happy. They charge a 15% commission, which drops to 7.5% when certain low monthly minimums are met, and no listing fees. This is a structure likely to meet with the approval of most booksellers. From a consumer's point of view, their searches are easy to use and the results are displayed in an easy to follow, logical (price order) format. Biblio may be a "B" for size, but give them an "A" for presentation and focus on their mission.
Here's the link to the Biblio website: www.biblio.com
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Biblio, Bibliopoly, Bibliophile: Just Who Are These B's?
- By Michael Stillman
Bibliopoly provides an uncluttered search for high-end material
Bibliopoly. This is another listing site, but it's like none of the others we have mentioned so far. This is not a site for quantity. It is not a site for used books. This is a site for rare and collectible books, and for collectors whose means allow them to focus more on the best than the best price. In speaking of what type of books their customers may collect, Bibliopoly says, "They might, for example, be interested in incunables (i.e. date-range 1455-1500), they might want books printed in Toulouse or by Aldus, or early seventeenth century books on social reform, or books written in Greek or Swedish...." Does that sound like the typical Amazon shopper? I think not. And the average Amazon shopper might not even appreciate the fact that this site is available in five languages.
Bibliopoly was developed by Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., of London, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious booksellers. If Biblio is at a disadvantage for having only 2,100 booksellers, then how about Bibliopoly with just 108? The answer is no. As stated, Bibliopoly is not trying to compete for the most listings. It just wants the best, or highest end ones. A quick perusal of its dealer list, and any perusal of this dealer list will be quick, reveals many of the best-known names from around the world. You may not find Fred's Bookshop from East Oshkosh here, but you will see names like Librairie Chamonal, Antiquariaat Forum, Hordern House, William Reese, Martayan Lan, Maggs Bros., 19th Century Shop, and Bernard Shapero here. These dealers don't sell used books, and they don't sell much that's cheap, but they do sell some of the finest and most collectible books in the world.
We try our search for Innocents Abroad, but we don't come up with 572 matches, nor even 186. No, we get two. The "cheap" one is a recent limited edition printing with new drawings and high quality paper and bindings for $1,250. The other is a first edition, first issue for $5,000. This site isn't for everyone, but if you want the best and can afford it, it is for you.
The link to Bibliopoly is: www.bibliopoly.com
Bibliophile.net Next up is Bibliophile. This is still another listing site, but again, very different from anything we've seen before. It's downright eclectic. This site has the feel of something designed more by techies than typical booksellers. How many book sites start off by telling you that you can adjust the font size displayed by clicking "view" on your browser menu? Not many. Priorities are different here.
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Biblio, Bibliopoly, Bibliophile: Just Who Are These B's?
- By Michael Stillman
Bibliophile.net is a bit overwhelming with infomation.
When you first go to the site, you are taken to a lengthy page of instructions. They can be of value for those willing to spend the time to absorb them, but I suspect, for the average seeker, they are a bit overwhelming. This site is operated from Switzerland, and perhaps Europeans are more willing to delve deeply into instructions before moving on. As an American, I can tell you that we are loathe to read instructions, and our attention spans are about as long as....what was I saying?
Perhaps the orientation is a reflection of ownership. This site is run by Ammonet, a website hosting company, deeply into the technical. They also offer their service and format for book sites to others, and are probably worth a look if you want someone to help you manage your own bookselling website. This is their specialty. In fact, they manage the previously discussed site, Bibliopoly, for its owners. Like Bibliopoly, Bibliophile.net is available in five languages. However, it does not specialize in high-end books.
If the technical orientation makes this site a bit less user-friendly, it can add some useful features. Here's one I like. It lets you search for either all listings, or just those added in the last day, week, or month. This enables you to look just for new listings without searching through every listing ever entered. That's a time-saver.
Bibliophile.net lists 351 booksellers, and while they are worldwide, there is a surprising concentration of American dealers for a Swiss site. They say they have 2 million books listed. A search for Innocents Abroad found 43 copies, confirming they must have that many listings in total. The listings did not come up in any particular order I could ascertain, and the presentation was not that easy to follow. Prices ranged from $2.73 for a 1959 copy in poor condition to $1,500 for a first edition. Bibliophile.net has a ways to go to be a major site in the book field, but their ability to provide independent dealers with their own sites, plus import those listing to their common site, gives them an unusual capability that perhaps will enable them to develop into something much more than they are today.
The link to Bibliophile.net is: www.bibliophile.net.
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Biblio, Bibliopoly, Bibliophile: Just Who Are These B's?
- By Michael Stillman
Books & Collectibles offers a clean search for primarily Australian material.
Books & Collectibles. This is another overseas site, from an American point of view, but not one heavy on American dealers. Yes there are some, and some European ones too, but this is an Australian site, and most of its booksellers are Australian shops. There are 229 dealers, and listings are said to be 2.5 million. This is not by itself a large number, but for a site dominated by Australian dealers, that has to be a healthy quantity. There is no need for me to say which collectors in particular should go to this site since the answer is obvious.
Naturally, it would be unfair to grade this site based on a search for my test book, Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. However, I'm not fair, so I go ahead and try it anyway. To my surprise, it finds 27 matches. And Books and Collectibles allows me to set the currency I want to use, so I am able to bring up the prices in American dollars. That's nice because Australian dollars are one of the few currencies left that still make the Yankee dollar look valuable. The prices range from $4.70 for a "well worn....reading copy," to $473.98 for the 1871 (I assume first) Australian edition. No wonder Twain shows up here. He is universal.
Consistent with the site's makeup, despite this being an American title, 17 copies are offered by Australian dealers, versus 8 American and 2 British. Only the one copy was actually printed in Australia, with the rest closely divided between the U.S. and the U.K. In keeping with the dictates of fairness, I also search for books about kangaroos. Now I find lots of books that I, and probably you, were not aware of. Books & Collectibles offers me copies of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Dumper the Kangaroo, The Life of a Kangaroo, Kangaroo Confidential, Chai the Kangaroo, The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, 'Roo Shooters Guide, My Kangaroo Fanny, The Kangaroo Betrayed, etc. Can any other site give you a selection of kangaroo titles like this? I don't know. I've never looked.
Books & Collectibles may be found at www.booksandcollectibles.com.au.
Well, we have already exceeded our allotted space without getting past the "B" book listing sites. There are other interesting book sites that begin with the letter "B," but we will have to save them for another day.
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