Thu 26 Jan 2006
TwoThree notes:
I’ve added a privacy policy, of sorts, available from the links to the right on the homepage under “About the Bitter Quill”.
I’ve signed us up to be an affilliate of Abebooks.com. Most people use Amazon, it’s true, and Abebooks doesn’t pay nearly as much as Amazon, commission-wise, but then I didn’t start this site to turn a profit. As a book collector I find Abebooks to be of much greater use. So if you see a review that you like or something, and you feel like you need to own the book, I’ll be sure to include a handy-dandy link that you can click on, guaranteed to earn The Bitter Quill dozens of cents, if we’re really lucky! For example, Lud-In-The-Mist!
If by some strange miracle this site ever does enter the black — unlikely, but theoretically possible — I’ll be sure to start giving the contributors and our web designer guy something other than grief. ;)
4 Responses to “I am a consumer whore”
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January 26th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
Abebooks is a fine site, but you might also consider Alibris (www.alibris.com) for used, rare and out-of-print books. The affiliate program pays 5% and can be found at the following location:
http://www.alibris.com/affiliates/affiliates-home.cfm?S=R
I am entirely biased, so poke around yourself and see what you think.
-AJ
A.J. Kohn
Director, Direct Marketing and Sales
Alibris
January 27th, 2006 at 12:57 am
AJ, thanks so much for checking out The Bitter Quill! I’ll take a serious look at Alibris’ affiliate program, and the commission you pay certainly sounds more generous than what Abebooks offers. Here’s the thing, though: While Alibris is certainly comparable to Abebooks in terms of price and convenience, I’ve found that Abebooks usually carries a better selection than Alibris does.
For example, just pulling a couple of books completely at random (2 from my shelves, one from a previous post):
Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts, 1949 edition
Abebooks: 57 listings. Alibris: 13 listings
Tobacco in Song and Story, 1896 edition
Abebooks: 24 listings. Alibris: 15 listings
Lud-in-the-Mist, any/all editions
Abebooks: 121 listings. Alibris: 48 listings
In terms of providing value to our readers, why should I switch from Abebooks to Alibris? Sell me.
January 27th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Mike,
Okay, here’s my Alibris pitch.
First, Alibris allows sellers to list in quantity, so many of the listings you see, particularly Lud-in-the-Mist are not apples to apples comparisons. If you scroll down the page you’ll see that many sellers have quantity on hand for that particular title.
However, it’s not always about quantity but about quality. Alibris provides a very easy interface to determine the grade of the book as well as the reliability of that seller. Coupled with our money-back guarantee you can shop with confidence at Alibris. We pride ourselves on having the best independent sellers from around the world and regularly monitor and remove sellers who don’t uphold professional standards.
Why else would you and Bitter Quill readers select Alibris?
Our shipping costs are uniform, making it easy to compare the total cost of your purchase. Take a look at the Abebooks listings and you’ll find shipping rates from ‘FREE’ to $6.99 or more. Alibris has a flat $3.49 shipping cost for the first book, and $1.99 for each additional book from the same seller.
You can search or browse within a seller’s inventory to reduce your total cost with Alibris:
http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?S=R&mtype=&quserid=MSTLYSFL
And finally, while you may link to specific titles, your readers will likely search for additional books. Here is where I believe Alibris truly excels. As an example, if you were looking for Matt Ruff’s cult classic, Fool on the Hill you might type that title into each site’s search box:
Alibris
Abebooks
Which one do you believe is easier to navigate?
Similarly, if you were interested in Jonathan Carroll (and who wouldn’t be!), you might search by author on each site:
Alibris
Abebooks
Again, which presentation allows the user to find what they’re looking for with ease.
Both sites have pros and cons, but I believe Alibris to have the better total offering for bibliophiles. In the end, it’s for you and readers to decide.
Thank you for the opportunity and please reply with any comments, questions or suggestions. All the best.
-AJ
A.J. Kohn
Director, Direct Marketing and Sales
Alibris
January 27th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
[...] In the comments to a recent post, we have none other than a representative from Alibris attempting to convince me (and you!) that Alibris is more valuable, from a customer service standpoint, than Abebooks is. [...]