World's largest online book marketplace Abebooks.com reports 394%

increase in online sales of textbooks compared to same time last year

    VICTORIA, BC, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ - Abebooks.com today announced that
 textbook sales for the month of August were nearly 400% higher than in August
 2003.
     "Our textbook sellers are very excited by the sales this back-to-school
 season. Long-time booksellers saw a significant increase in their
 year-over-year textbook orders, and our work to build our inventory to meet
 rising customer demand showed outstanding results across the board," explained
 Sue Connors, Abebooks' Director of Bookseller Community.
     To increase brand awareness and drive traffic to Abebooks.com for the
 back-to-school season, the company distributed nearly a million branded items
 into the marketplace with the help of their vast network of booksellers, and
 marketed directly to students on campuses and through strategic partnerships
 with well-known brands.
     "We also focused a great deal of our textbook campaign on online
 marketing, driving traffic through affiliates and price comparison sites,"
 says Boris Wertz, Abebooks COO.
     Sales of textbooks on Abebooks.com in August showed an increase in gross
 merchandise sales of 394% over the same period last year.
     Wertz attributes the strong sales to several contributing factors:
 financially strapped students are increasingly wary of expensive new editions
 and are turning to online booksellers for a wider selection and competitive
 pricing on both new and used textbooks; the Abebooks database of over
 60 million books is easily searchable and is the largest single source for
 books in the world; the impending closure of Half.com sent buyers and sellers
 looking for alternatives; and Abebooks.com is successfully increasing its
 brand awareness in the student marketplace.
     Mark Freed, VP of Operations & Development at Bookbyte, confirms. "We had
 a significant volume of textbook sales on Abebooks.com last year, and this
 year we've seen a 200% growth, which has been phenomenal. I think Abebooks,
 like Bookbyte, is stepping up to fill needs that are in the market. We feel
 that Abebooks is a valuable partner with us in the book industry."
     The majority of Abebooks 2 million registered customers are affluent,
 educated professionals. "Today's students are mostly searching for textbooks,
 but tomorrow they will become our core customers," says Wertz. "Marketing to
 students is a worthwhile investment for us in both the long and the short
 term, and all indications are that the online textbook market is going to keep
 growing."
 
     About Abebooks
     Abebooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. Abebooks
 makes it simple and safe to find and buy-or list and sell-books online.
 Bookbuyers love the variety of over 60 million new, used, rare, and
 out-of-print books offered by more than 12,500 independent booksellers.
 Booksellers love Abebooks for providing tools to help them succeed online,
 including options for selling via strategic partners (Amazon, Barnes & Noble),
 and four global sites (Abebooks.com, Abebooks.co.uk, Abebooks.de,
 Abebooks.fr). Abebooks is a private company based in Victoria, BC, Canada,
 with offices in Dusseldorf, Germany.
 
     Media contact: Janice Wormald, jwormald@abebooks.com,
     Ph: (250) 412-3216
 
 

SOURCE  Abebooks

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