Alibris Protects Students from Fraudsters

Seller of new and used textbooks announces online safeguards

EMERYVILLE, CA—August 30, 2005—Alibris, the premiere online bookseller that saves students up to 90% off textbook prices, today announced measures to protect students who use www.alibris.com from fraudulent textbook sellers during the back-to-school season.

The company warns students to beware of false savings from online scam artists who target students with out-of-date and non-U.S. editions, and even photocopied textbooks. To fraudulently market textbook bargains to unsuspecting students, these sellers frequently list books using International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) that match course requirements but that do not actually represent the listed item.

"Fast-growing markets always attract ethical as well as unethical sellers," says Alibris CEO Martin Manley. "Students annually spend an average of $900 on textbooks, so this year we've taken extra measures to monitor, identify, and remove independent sellers from our Web site who attempt to mislead our customers."

Over the last year, Alibris has enhanced proprietary software that spots signs of misrepresented ISBNs in inventory records and then alerts Alibris personnel to review the suspicious records and to take action. Since the adoption of the improved technology, more than 50 sellers have been banned from selling on Alibris, and thousands of records have been stripped of misleading ISBNs.

By enforcing high professional standards for booksellers and aggressively removing fraudulent sellers of new and used textbooks, Alibris has become the most trusted online source of new and used textbooks for students looking to save money at the start of each school year.

The payoff for students comes not only at the beginning of the semester, but also at the end of the term. Campus bookstores rarely buy back non-U.S. or out-of-date editions. So students who purchase the required copies in the first place "usually end up with a lot more money in their pockets once their coursework is done," according to Manley.

About Alibris
Alibris is the premiere online destination for new, used, rare, and out-of- print books. We connect people who love books, music, and movies to the best independent sellers from 45 countries around the world. Our proprietary technology and advanced logistics allow us to offer over 60 million used, new, and out-of-print books to consumers, libraries, and retailers, which include Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, and Books-A-Million. Founded in 1998 and acquired by Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2006, Deloitte named Alibris a “Fast 50” and a “Technology Fast 500” growth business in 2005. Alibris is a registered trademark.