Rare Book Monthly
Articles - November - 2004 Issue
ChooseBooks: Coming and Going
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Finally, with other big names in the internet business, such as Amazon and eBay, muscling their way into the used book field, the challenge became that much harder. The reality is that ChooseBooks has always been in that second tier. It is a very good site, but it is not on the same level in terms of size and strength as Amazon, Abe, Alibris or eBay. And there are several others in this tier. They too will eventually have to make adjustments, either to become bigger or to establish clear, different niches from the others, if they are to survive. Long term, me-too but smaller just won't hack it.
There is a somewhat hopeful addendum to this story. Before the final closing took place, ChooseBooks sellers received a notification that the site would remain open as the company had found a potential suitor. No names were given, but there has been some speculation that it could be ZVAB, a European bookselling site whose parent is said to have made an unnamed American acquisition. ZVAB is internationally a second-tier site, but it is perhaps the largest European one and has shown strong growth. If they are a potential buyer, then perhaps this is a combination that could lift the two sites to the upper tier. A simple combination won't be sufficient to do so by itself. There will still be much work to do and much skill to be displayed. And, we don't know that ZVAB really is the potential investor. Whoever it may be, the work ahead will not be easy. We wish ChooseBooks all the best.
