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A Comprehensive Guide to Book Listing
Sites By Stuart Manley Buying
and selling books on the web is becoming ever more complex, with a bewildering
range of sites available, all with different strengths, weaknesses and charges. This
guide is an attempt to give clear summaries of each site. From
the book buyer's point of view, it should help guide you towards the sites that
give best value for the particular kind of books you are looking for. This
means, generally speaking, the ones that charge little or no commission and
have good ethical control over the booksellers listing on the site. From
the book seller's point of view, it should give clear information on the costs,
and the advantages and disadvantages of each site. So
this guide concentrates on the factors that are important to both the buyer and
the seller: the overall cost of listing on each site, how accurately and
speedily books can be found within the site, how accurately and well the books
are catalogued, the quality and range of the books, the quality and probity of
the book sellers who list there and the amount of traffic that reaches the
site. Other
factors such as site design and extra features or quirks are left for the users
to love or hate as they see fit! This
guide is restricted to English language multiple listing sites with at least ¼ million books listed. Other language
sites and single store sites such as B&N, Powell's, Strand, etc., are not
included individually, although some are covered by the metasites. Relisting
sites (sites that take in other booksellers catalogues and relist them at a
higher price) are also excluded. Metasites Metasites
are sites that trawl many other listing sites - a 'one stop shop'. Apart from
the slightly longer time they take to complete each search (a significant
disadvantage only if you need to look up many titles in one session), they are
probably the most complete way to check on the availability and price of any
given title. If the title is very common, the metasite may 'rationalize' the
results to save too many being displayed. You can always go on to an individual
listing site if you wish to expand the results. The
metasites do not charge commission, and the prices they display will reflect
the charges of the listing site they are reporting. To appear on a metasite,
all a book seller has to do is to join at least one of the listing sites that
the metasite covers. The Metasites AddAll http://used.addall.com Covers the following sites: ABE, Alibris, AntiQbook,
Biblio, Biblion, Bibliophile, Bibliopoly, Books&Collectibles,
ChooseBooks/ZVAB, HalfCom, ILAB, MareMagnum, Powell's, Strand. Features:
* but can reach only sites that support wild card. ** Typical search times are assuming a fast web connection and an average time of day. If you have a
slower connection or search at a busy time, the search times may be longer. Traffic
(Alexa): 92. Linkage (Google): 501. Extra feature: Displays a quotation to keep you
interested while it searches. BookFinder.com http://www.bookfinder.com Covers the following sites: A1Books, A1TechBooks,
ABE, AbookSearch, Alibris, Amazon (all sites), AntBo, AntiQbook, B&N, Biblio,
Biblion, BiggerBooks, BookAvenue, BookBestBuy, BookByte, BookCloseOuts,
Books&Collectibles, Buy, Chapitre, ChaptersIndigo, ChooseBooks/ZVAB,
Dymocks, EBay (partial), Ecampus, ElephantBooks, GlobalBookMart, Half,
HalfPriceComputerBooks, ILAB, MareMagnum, Overstock, Powell's, TextBookX,
TheBookCellar, TomFolio, TotalCampus, UsedBookCentral, ZVAB. Features:
* Some automatic alphabetisation. ** in Classic
mode only.
*** Typical search times are
assuming a fast web connection and an average time of day.
If you have a slower connection or search at a busy time, the search
times may be longer. Traffic
(Alexa): 112. Linkage (Google): 186. Extra feature: Can be set for French, German and
Italian searches. Also: MegaBookSearch: http://www.megabooksearch.com Google
http://www.google.com General search sites such as Google are unable to search
databases, therefore many books that appear on the specialised booksearch sites
will be missed. However, they have great power to search static pages, and many
book sellers advertise their books in this way. So if AddAll and BookFinder
have failed to locate a title, Google can sometimes come to your rescue. You will need to use their advanced search page if
you wish to avoid being deluged with irrelevant results. Typical search time: 4
seconds. Some other
similar general search sites: Altavista http://www.altavista.com Ask
Jeeves http://www.ask.com Hotbot http://www.hotbot.com Infospace http://www.infospace.com Lycos http://www.lycos.com Searchy http://www.searchy.co.uk
TRAFFIC: The
amount of traffic that a site attracts is one of the key factors in estimating
how likely a site may achieve significant sales. The figures given in the
charts above are the most recent Alexa 'reach' average. For instance, a 'reach'
figure of 56 means that out of every million URL re quests from an Alexa toolbar, an average of 56
requested that site (most recent 3-month average). But, as Alexa themselves
admit, these figure are only approximate, especially for the lesser sites. In
any case they only cover Alexa originated requests. Google linkage data is another indication of traffic,
but again, only a guide. Google linkage figures are per 100 links, i.e. 56 =
5,600 links. None of this gives any indication of the quality of
the customers attracted, so many of the smaller quality sites can punch well
over their weight in sales value achieved relative to traffic and linkage. So treat
the traffic figures with caution, but at least it is an indication. Until a
feasible alternative is suggested, it is the best we can offer! Find out
more: http://pages.alexa.com/prod_serv/traffic_learn_more.html Listing
Sites Now we come to the real meat of this guide - the
individual listing sites. Grading listing sites is notoriously difficult; there
are so many factors: The book buyer wants a fast, easy to use site
offering a large range of books at the best prices. The buyer also wants to
have confidence that the books will be well described and that the book sellers
will be honest, professional, speedy and fair. The book seller wants a site reaching the widest
range of potential customers at a reasonable cost and offering ease of
operation and good technical support. There is no one site that offers all these qualities;
each has its strengths and its weaknesses. Some sites are better for buying and selling scarce
and valuable books, while others are better for inexpensive books. Some sites
enforce high standards from their book sellers; others have few effective
safeguards or moderation and include some questionable traders. Nor is the cost to the book seller straightforward.
Some sites may charge a high commission, but may have no listing fees and other
cost savings, or may have particularly good market penetration. Others may
charge little to list but do not have enough traffic to return significant
orders. In addition, there are hidden costs; some sites are difficult or time
consuming to operate, be it in their uploading arrangements or by mis-matched
or curtailed entries. From the buyer's point of view, a site claiming 20
million books listed may seem a better bet than one claiming 1 million books,
but this is not necessarily true if 15 million of the 20 million are John
Grisham paperbacks! If the quality of the site with 1 million books is high, it
may offer a better range of hard-to-find books or ephemera. Another increasing
annoyance is the recent growth of PoD books on some larger sites - 'Print on
Demand' photocopies that clutter the listings, making it difficult to find the
real books. In addition, some sites allow relisters - dealers that relist other
booksellers books at a higher price which also clutters the listings. These are
considered to be an adverse factors for both buyers and sellers and noted as
such. Equally, the price of an identical book may vary from
site to site, with book sellers adding to their base price for listing sites
that have high charges (or, alternatively, offering you a discount when you
order direct). With all this in mind, we have assembled an
at-a-glance cross-table showing the main strengths and weaknesses of each site.
Some areas are objective, such as listing fees, commissions, etc.; but others
are, by force, subjective. We have done our best to be impartial, but are happy
to listen to comments if you do not agree with our assessment. Costs and performances on any given site can change.
We will update to new information as it comes our way. Detailed information on each site follows the
cross-table. Cross-Table
Summary of all Significant English
Language Used/Antiquarian Listing Sites Key: Positive
factors are shown in GREEN and negative factors in RED. Neutral factors are shown in BLACK.
** Members only. *** Other options available * Adjusted for the used/antiquarian book portion of traffic
(E). 'PRINT-ON-DEMAND' photocopies clutter listings -
sites where this is becoming a problem are marked thus: PoD METASITES
TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC
& SALES : Each site is awarded stars based on Alexis and
Google ratings, combined with known experience and such sales results that can
be gleaned. ++++ = Mainstream site with heavy traffic, large range and
proven sales. +++ = Significant traffic, range and
sales. ++ = Solid traffic, range and sales. + =
Established site, often with a niche market. No stars =
New or limited site. N.B. As noted on page 3,
this is only a ROUGH GUIDE - quite apart from the imprecise nature of the
ratings, any one site may be better or worse for a particular kind of book. So,
although Traffic and Sales are vital factors when choosing a venue, or how
likely they are to have the range of books you seek, we are only able to offer
this very approx-imate guidance. Detailed Breakdown of the Listing Sites Key positive factors have been highlighted in
GREEN. (E) =
Estimated. ABAA
(Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) http://abaa.org
* For 20,000 titles **
Limited newest search Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 217. Total
listings: 2.5m. (E) Notes: Only
ABAA members may list here. Code of Ethics policed by an ethics committee.
Although many items listed here will also be listed elsewhere, the site
includes a higher than usual proportion of exclusive items. Wants service.
Catalogue service. Stolen book database. News page. Newsletter. ABE
(Advance Book Exchange) http://www.abebooks.com
* For 20,000 titles. ** 80% fulfilment.
*** Or £ or € sites. ****
Limited contact Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 12,250. Total
listings: 70m. Notes: The
largest site on the web for specifically used/antiquarian books, although
common books will have thousands of duplicates. along with PoD 'Print on
Demand' photocopies. Has become too large to police every bookseller effectively
and rates sellers by quantity of fulfilment rather than quality of service.
Money back guarantee. Charges commission, so a listing may be available
elsewhere for less. Wants service. Newsletter. Book sellers listed with full
contact details (dot com site only). Free basic book database (HomeBase)
available. Additional British, French and German sites (.co.uk; .fr; .de). Abookseach
http://www.abooksearch.com
* For 20,000 titles
** Keyword search available Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 212. Total
listings: 1m. (E) Notes: Small
California based non-commission charging site. Book sellers listed with full
contact details. Alibris
http://www.alibris.com
* For 20,000 titles. ** 85% fulfilment ***
Query contact possible Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 5,460. Total
listings: 35m. Notes: Large
range of listings but with many duplicates. Effective money back guarantee. Charges commission, so a listing may
be available elsewhere minus commission. Rates sellers by fulfilment.
Bookstores named against listing and sending a query is possible, but no other
contact details. Wants service. Newsletter. Free basic book database available
shortly. Also lists movies and music. Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
* Unlimited **
or £ or € sites *** With limits Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 13,000 approx. Total listings: 70m. (E) Notes: Large
range of listings but with many duplicates. Returns policy. Charges commission,
so a listing may be available elsewhere minus commission. Rates sellers by
feedback, which is a guide but subject to manipulation. Limited book seller
contact. Annoying search mis-matches (i.e. wrong title, or says an item is an
audio book, or large print, etc., when it is not). Additional British,
Canadian, French, German and Japanese sites (.co.uk; .ca; .fr; .de; co.jp).
Also lists a large range of other products. Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk
* Unlimited **
or £ or € sites *** With limits Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 10,000 approx. Total listings: 50m. (E) Notes: Large
range of listings but with many duplicates. Returns policy. Charges commission,
so a listing may be available elsewhere minus commission. Rates sellers by
feedback, which is a guide but subject to manipulation. Limited book seller
contact. Annoying search mis-matches.
Additional American, Canadian, French, German and Japanese sites (.com;
.ca; .fr; .de; co.jp). Also lists a large range of other products. Amazon.de
(Germany) http://www.amazon.de
* Unlimited **
or £ or € sites *** With limits Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 4,000 approx. Total listings: 20m. (E) Notes: Large
range of listings but with many duplicates. Returns policy. Charges commission,
so a listing may be available elsewhere minus commission. Rates sellers by
feedback, which is a guide but subject to manipulation. Limited book seller
contact. Annoying search mis-matches. Additional American, British, Canadian,
French and Japanese sites (.com; co.uk; .ca; .fr; co.jp). Also lists a large
range of other products. AntBo
(Antiquarian Books Online) http://www.antbo.com
* For 20,000 titles (at
current discount rate). ** Alternative is $18.50 monthly + 8%. Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 704. Total
listings: 3.5m. Notes: Mainly
European booksellers of quality. Book
sellers listed with full contact details AntiQbook http://www.antiqbook.com
* For 20,000 titles Search
results from sample 8 item basket: 704. Total
listings: 3.8m. Notes:
European based site, but with good international support of better class book
sellers. Book sellers listed with
full contact details Biblio http://biblio.com (incorporating
Bookopoly)
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