Mick Sussman's essay "Attack of the Megalisters" appears in the Book Review section of Sunday's New York Times and brings to light the work of this new breed of online bookseller.Before I talk about the piece I want to give a tip of the hat to the book coverage at the New York Times. While the book sections of most newspapers are disappearing or crumbling the NYT has expanded their coverage of the book world. Yes, it is still mostly populated by reviews and the the inherent politics that surround them but they have opened the doors to coverage of...
Shelfari Added to the Amazon Mix
Less than a month after acquiring AbeBooks, Amazon has acquired the book social networking site Shelfari.Josh Hug, founder of Shelfari, posted the news last night on Shelfari's blog and the story was quickly picked up by John Cook at the Seattle PI. Amazon has yet to issue a press release on the matter.Amazon invested $1 million in Shelfari back in February of 2007 earning them a seat on the board and a front row seat for Shelfari's now infamous and dubious astroturfing campaign.Of course, the terms of the deal were not disclosed but "sources told the Seattle P-I the financial...
Amazon and Bibliofind: A History
Amazon's acquisition of ABE continues to be a big topic of conversation among online booksellers. Dealers are still attempting to read the tea leaves and divine Amazon's ultimate intentions for ABE and its subsidiaries (Library Thing, Bookfinder, etc.). On the Bibliophile List, discussion of late has turned to the fates of previous Amazon acquisitions, specifically Bibliofind (an early competitor to ABE), and what these might tell us about Amazon's plans. During this recent back-and-forth, Marion Meyer of Marion Meyer Rare Book in East Hampton NY offered the following history of Amazon's buyout of Bibliofind - both in order to correct...
AbeAzon. Amazon’s Acquisition of AbeBooks : The Day After
or Godzilla buys Frankenstein. Throngs still waiting for Superman.It will be a long time before the dust settles on this seismic event but here are some initial thoughts on the acquisition.First - How much did it cost?The folks over at TechVibes venture a guess that Amazon paid between $90-$120 million. Since Boris Wertz, former COO of AbeBooks, is on the Board of Directors of both TechVibes and AbeBooks, I'm going to believe the number is somewhere in that ballpark.Winners:AbebooksHits a home run. They have been steadily building their offerings through there own acquisitions preparing themselves for a potential buyout. Many...
Amazon’s Acquisition of AbeBooks: A Response From Brian Elliott, CEO of Alibris
I asked Brian Elliott, CEO of Alibris, his take on Amazon's acquisition of AbeBooks and how it might effect the overall used, rare, and out-of-print online market and Alibris in particular. Though he chose not to address the questions directly he does provide a glimpse into Alibris's current strategy.Brian Elliott- While I won't comment on Amazon and ABEbooks (they have enough to explain on their own), I'm glad to lay out what we're doing at Alibris. We see plenty of growth ahead, which we plan to help drive.We've been focusing this year on growing our sales for sellers, and improving...