Alibris Arms Independent Sellers of Books, Music, and Movies with Powerful New Pricing and Sales Data Tool
Online marketplace launches Alibris Inventory Demand to empower independent sellers of new, used, hard-to-find, antiquarian, and rare books, music items, and movies
EMERYVILLE, CA—October 15, 2008—Alibris, the premier independently owned and operated online global marketplace for new, rare, and used books, CDs, and DVDs, announced today the launch of a new data-rich tool for its independent sellers. Alibris's seller network of more than 12,000 independent sellers have requested more data to help them decide what items to buy and how best to price those items, and the company has responded with Alibris Inventory Demand. This data-rich resource enables sellers to easily access Alibris's extensive sales history and pricing database in order to competitively purchase, price, list, and sell more books, music, and movies.
Now with 100 million items listed, Alibris is unique among online book, music, and movie retailer Web sites in giving its independent sellers access to such deep, proprietary, and extensible data. "Alibris Inventory Demand can help sellers grow their sales," said Brian Elliott, President & CEO of Alibris. "This new tool empowers interested sellers to decide what to catalog and how to competitively price their Alibris inventory, which brings more sales at better prices."
Using Alibris Inventory Demand, Alibris Gold sellers are able to search for pricing and sales data for any title, and are presented with the following data points, when available:
- Historical sales data, including the most recent sales across all of Alibris's sales channels, including not only the price of those items, but when it sold and how the seller listed that item for sale
- Current "for sale" pricing data, including lowest, highest, and average prices as well as the number of items for sale
- The "Alibris Sales Index," rating the likelihood of the item to be purchased along with other indicators of demand
Seller reaction to Alibris Inventory Demand has already been positive. Chris Volk, an Alibris seller since 2005, said, "I went and pulled up a couple of recent sales we had on Alibris, and I am beginning to wonder if this information isn't worth the monthly listing fee all by itself."
Utilizing such detailed, valuable information will make sellers more likely to sell on Alibris, Alibris U.K., Alibris for Libraries, and the company's business-partner sites. Initial feedback from sellers has been extremely positive, with many sellers finding that they can list certain items for an even higher price than they had suspected, while others have found that they may have been pricing some items higher than the market appetite for that item.
"Whether you're an antiquarian seller interested in individual sales history to make the most of a rare first-edition book or a professional seller preparing to offer mass-market paperbacks for the holidays, Alibris Inventory Demand gives you a sales advantage unavailable elsewhere," said Elliott.
Elliott continued that now is a great time for Alibris's antiquarian sellers. "We sell a lot of collectible books already, driving thousands of sales of higher-priced rare, out-of-print, and hard-to-find books each month," Elliott stated. Alibris Inventory Demand provides interested sellers with data that will help them to sell more of their rare, hard-to-find, and antiquarian collectible books. "Given that we also capped commissions at $60 for high priced items, including the cost of credit card processing, we think Alibris is an unbeatable deal."
Available for sellers signed up with the Alibris Gold seller program, Alibris Inventory Demand is the latest tool that makes the Alibris marketplace the best economic value available to independent online sellers of new, rare, and used books, music, and movies. Sellers looking for the most affordable online sales alternative in a tough economy are turning to Alibris. The new Alibris Seller Portal provides details on the benefits, business partnerships, and sign-up information for prospective new Alibris sellers.
About Alibris
Alibris is the premiere online destination for new and used books, music items, and movies, as well as rare and out-of-print titles. 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 more than 100 million used, new, and out-of-print titles to consumers, libraries, and retailers, which include Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Blackwell U.K., Books-A-Million, Borders, Chapters/Indigo, and Half.com. Founded in 1998 and acquired by Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2006, Alibris was named a "Fast 50" and a "Technology Fast 500" growth business by Deloitte. Alibris is a registered trademark.
