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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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The Barnes & Noble Bookseller Beta Program - By Carl Burnham bn.com is Barnes and Noble's online site By Carl Burnham The new Barnes & Noble beta program for booksellers holds great promise. Since its introduction last year, there have been a few dozen booksellers invited to participate in the online program. From beginnings as a home based business in 1873 established by Charles M. Barnes, his son William would later partner with G. Clifford Noble to form Barnes & Noble. In 1917, William went to New York to join Noble. The first store, opened in New York City, continues to operate today. Since selling books online in 1997, the company touts itself as being the Internet's largest bookstore. Recently, I had the opportunity of talking with Michael Curro who serves as Director for Used and Out of Print Books for Barnes & Noble, about their beta program. How many booksellers are participating in the Barnes and Noble beta program? "We've only had a few dozen sellers participating in the Beta of our program. We kept the number small so we could keep a close eye on how each seller was using our system and respond to any issues they encountered. The sellers who took part were enormously helpful and provided a lot of very valuable feedback on what we were doing right and what needed more work for which we are very appreciative." What have been some improvements or modifications made as a result of the beta program? "The main focus of the Beta was to test various operational assumptions regarding how sellers submit data and how we should process it. As a result of the Beta, we have made some modifications." A Customer Feedback system has now been launched. Will booksellers have the ability to direct link to their books on B&N to show their site dynamically via web services or other methods? "Sellers can easily direct link to their products on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com) using the Listing Number we provide. While we have deployed web services to enable sellers to manage their inventory and orders, we haven't yet expanded our use of web services to enable linking outside of Barnes & Noble.com." Will booksellers be able to offer special incentive discounts for their customers to order their books through B&N? "We are actively considering several different types of discounts/promotions that we can work with sellers on."
The Barnes & Noble Bookseller Beta Program - By Carl Burnham none What about older non-ISBN books, does B&N plan to start listing these for booksellers? "We already do. Sellers have an option of listing books with or without ISBNs." Other book sites such as Amazon have started offering fulfillment services where they can pick, pack, and ship inventory for booksellers that store their inventory at their warehouses. Any plans for B&N to offer a similar service? "While we are always evaluating various services to enhance both our seller and user experience, the well-established and professional booksellers who list with us now do a great job fulfilling their products, and haven't professed a need for such a service from BN.com." Is there a target date for making the program available to all booksellers once out of beta? "We are committed to providing the same level of service to our sellers as we do to our customers and will continue to be selective about the addition of new sellers. A small number of sellers is being added to the program now." As a participant in the new Barnes & Noble beta program, our experience so far has been very positive, with orders averaging over 10 percent of our monthly sales. The commission charged is 15 percent for books sold, with no monthly fee. Payments to booksellers are now processed electronically every two weeks. An email is sent for pending orders to be confirmed and when book inventory is updated. I look forward to it evolving further. Carl Burnham SouthpointBooks.com

The Barnes & Noble Bookseller Beta Program

- By Carl Burnham

bn.com is Barnes and Noble's online site

By Carl Burnham

The new Barnes & Noble beta program for booksellers holds great promise. Since its introduction last year, there have been a few dozen booksellers invited to participate in the online program.

From beginnings as a home based business in 1873 established by Charles M. Barnes, his son William would later partner with G. Clifford Noble to form Barnes & Noble. In 1917, William went to New York to join Noble. The first store, opened in New York City, continues to operate today. Since selling books online in 1997, the company touts itself as being the Internet's largest bookstore.

Recently, I had the opportunity of talking with Michael Curro who serves as Director for Used and Out of Print Books for Barnes & Noble, about their beta program.

How many booksellers are participating in the Barnes and Noble beta program?
"We've only had a few dozen sellers participating in the Beta of our program. We kept the number small so we could keep a close eye on how each seller was using our system and respond to any issues they encountered. The sellers who took part were enormously helpful and provided a lot of very valuable feedback on what we were doing right and what needed more work for which we are very appreciative."

What have been some improvements or modifications made as a result of the beta program?
"The main focus of the Beta was to test various operational assumptions regarding how sellers submit data and how we should process it. As a result of the Beta, we have made some modifications." A Customer Feedback system has now been launched.

Will booksellers have the ability to direct link to their books on B&N to show their site dynamically via web services or other methods?
"Sellers can easily direct link to their products on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com) using the Listing Number we provide. While we have deployed web services to enable sellers to manage their inventory and orders, we haven't yet expanded our use of web services to enable linking outside of Barnes & Noble.com."

Will booksellers be able to offer special incentive discounts for their customers to order their books through B&N?
"We are actively considering several different types of discounts/promotions that we can work with sellers on."

The Barnes & Noble Bookseller Beta Program

- By Carl Burnham

none

What about older non-ISBN books, does B&N plan to start listing these for booksellers?
"We already do. Sellers have an option of listing books with or without ISBNs."

Other book sites such as Amazon have started offering fulfillment services where they can pick, pack, and ship inventory for booksellers that store their inventory at their warehouses. Any plans for B&N to offer a similar service?
"While we are always evaluating various services to enhance both our seller and user experience, the well-established and professional booksellers who list with us now do a great job fulfilling their products, and haven't professed a need for such a service from BN.com."

Is there a target date for making the program available to all booksellers once out of beta?
"We are committed to providing the same level of service to our sellers as we do to our customers and will continue to be selective about the addition of new sellers. A small number of sellers is being added to the program now."

As a participant in the new Barnes & Noble beta program, our experience so far has been very positive, with orders averaging over 10 percent of our monthly sales. The commission charged is 15 percent for books sold, with no monthly fee. Payments to booksellers are now processed electronically every two weeks. An email is sent for pending orders to be confirmed and when book inventory is updated. I look forward to it evolving further.

Carl Burnham
SouthpointBooks.com