Used books in the news
The buying and selling of used books online has been in the news.
Catherine Seipp celebrates being able to track down used and out of print books in the National Review:
This last I remember originally from The Fireside Book of Humorous Poetry, which I spent many happy hours reading and rereading in my old junior high school library. I couldn’t find a single copy when I first ran an online searched a few years ago, though. Then recently I saw one listed for $1000 (“very rare and scarce”) on Alibris, and a few days later a copy for $12.75 showed up on Bookfinders. (“Heavily used ex-library copy,” but you’d better believe I snapped that one up.)
Damon Darlin explores the ins and outs of buying used products in a variety of categories in the New York Times:
But the movement of used products, once sold through a daily newspaper’s classified ads, to the Web allows the buyer to obtain better prices because the choices are more extensive. Think how Alibris.com or Amazon.com have radically changed the buying and selling of used books. While there are some categories you never want to buy used - pillows or toothbrushes - there are enough these days that you won’t feel pathetic doing so.
A business story in the Hartford Courant features the online bookselling strategies of four area bookstores:
One of his clients is John Bale Books, which has a storefront in downtown Waterbury, but relies on the Internet for about one-third of its sales, co-owner Ede Reynolds said. With more than 100,000 books - mostly used - in stock, the store works constantly to list titles for sale on its website. …At their 11,000-square-foot warehouse in Windsor, the Mondazzis and four employees ship 3,000 to 5,000 books a month to customers as far away as Australia and South Africa. Instead of relying on walk-in trade, they receive most orders by e-mail. Instead of paying for a monthly mailing that cost $600 to $800 in postage, Ed Mondazzi reaches his customers by e-mail to promote special offers.