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...
Amazon’s Acquisition of AbeBooks: Brendan Sherar, CEO of Biblio.com, Weighs In
Brendan Sherar, CEO of Biblio.com was kind enough to answer a couple of questions regarding Amazon's acquisition of AbeBooks and how it might effect the overall used, rare, and out-of-print online market and Biblio in particular.Book Patrol-What effect do think Amazon's acquisition of AbeBooks will have on the used, rare, and out-of-print online market? Brendan Sherar -I believe it is unhealthy for the overall market, because it further removes competition and choices for collectors, readers, and booksellers alike. In a free market economy, that is generally accepted to be a bad thing. When competition and choice are reduced or eliminated,...
Breaking News: Amazon buys AbeBooks
The king of online bookselling just got stronger. No details of the transaction where disclosed and the deal expects to close in the fourth quarter of 2008.Amazon Press ReleaseAbeBooks Press Release forthcomingBook Patrol take forthcomingTim Spalding's post over at The LibraryThing blog (AbeBooks is a minority stakeholder in LibraryThing)This is a huge acquisition with tremendous implications for the bookselling trade. In one fell swoop the industry as been turned on its head, again!
The Evolution of Author Marketing : Readings Endangered, The Appearance Rising and Product Placement is Just Around the Corner
Author Ethan Canin, right, mingles with guests at a recent "Words & Wine" gathering in SeattleRemember the days when one of the few options an author had was to hit the road to promote their new book, crossing the country, reading at bookstores both big and small, connecting with readers in the hope that they will buy your book.Well, it's not that simple anymore. The changing publishing and bookselling landscape has forced everyone to revamp their marketing strategy to come up with new ways to sell books. Most major publishers now have an in house speakers-bureau and internet marketing department....
Barnes & Noble Not Giving Up on Rare and Out-of- Print Books
When Barnes & Noble decided to close their Chelsea store in New York City many thought that the small rare- and out-of-print-book department that was housed at that location for the last 8 years would disappear too.Instead the company decided to not only relocate the department to a larger store on Broadway and 66th Street but is also "spending a significant sum on the department, installing custom display cases with locked glass doors" and moving it to a more prominent location on the second floor of the store.Although they are claiming that there are no plans to "replicate the effort...