Updated: please see Point #6 and later for some updated responses to points raised
I wanted to take the opportunity to address the Alibris community to say how excited we are to partner with all of you. As we have grown the Better World Books brand, more and more people have been choosing to shop with us first when they buy books online. While we have a wide selection of books under one roof, it pales in comparison to the selection of 13,000 sellers pooled together. Our partnership with Alibris was driven by that simple idea: why not help others build their businesses while increasing selection for our customers?
The used book business is a competitive business, so I'm not surprised that there a few vocal opponents of the partnership. As with any message board, a vocal few can drown out the vast silent majority. Most sellers I have talked with welcome the wider exposure that their books will receive. In fact, the partnership between Alibris and Better World Books is a prime example of cooperation and competition combined. We both compete for used book supply and customer loyalty, but we are both happy to pay the other for helping to sell more books. In those circumstances, everyone wins, most importantly the customer.
There seems to be some misunderstanding among these few about what we are and what we are not. I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about what we do to read our website and the numerous interviews we have done. I can address a few main points I saw raised here, but feel free to contact me personally at xavier at betterworldbooks dot com. You'll find we are nice people trying to do something good in the world. We serve our customers and our non-profit partners first and foremost, and if you have the pleasure to talk with them, you'll hear a testament to our integrity and ethics.
Point #1. Will I be paid the same if a book is sold through BWB?
Absolutely. The whole point is to expose more buyers to your inventory, and make sure there are no downsides to selling through our site.
Point #2. Does Better World Books sell everything for a penny?
No way. We hate selling books for a penny as much as you do. But basic economics tells you that if there's more supply than demand, prices will drop. Sad to say, the right price for some books is probably a penny. It also turns out that customers like to pay less money rather than more. Just like most sellers, our business is built around acquiring used books that are in demand and selling them for the best price we can get.
Point #3. Does Better World Books masquerade as a non-profit?
No. We are very clear on our "about us" section of our website. The first line of our FAQ reads: "Better World Books is a self-sustaining, for-profit social venture whose mission is to capitalize on the value of the book to fund literacy initiatives locally, nationally and around the world." Feel free to read the rest here: http://www.betterworldbooks.com/info.aspx?f=iaq
Point #4. Better World Books killed my favorite local book sale.
I do take offense to this one. Librarians aren't dumb - they choose to work with BWB overwhelmingly because we sell lots of their books for optimal prices and share the proceeds fairly, rather than cherry-picking a few books than can be sold at multiples of 10 or 100 times what was paid. I have no objection to people who do this, but I find it hard to sympathize when their library decides that they want fair value for their books and want a partner who can help them.
Point #5. Better World Books gives away too little money.
I am the first to admit that 10% of revenue (please note - that is revenue, NOT profit), which is our current rate, doesn't sound like a lot. It is, however, the highest we know of for any company over $1 Million in revenue, bookseller or otherwise. Most of our fellow booksellers know how many hidden expenses there are in selling used books - commissions, postage, packaging, employees, rent, etc. We have the additional expense of shipping books inbound from throughout the US and Canada. Ultimately, I think the right number is set by the market. If we contribute too little to libraries and our non-profit partners, they won't want to work with us. If we give away too much, we won't be able to stay in business. I believe that where we are now is about right. I am incredibly proud of our metric of $6.5 Million raised for literacy, and we are doing it through a sustainable model.
(Update - several new questions have come up since the first post - so I hope to clarify here)
Point #6. Will Better World Books repost my inventory on other marketplaces?
No. It makes no economic sense and it is prohibited in the deal anyway.
Point #7. Why would I support a competitor?
All of the angry posters sell on Alibris, and I would guess that most sell on Amazon, Barnes & Noble. All of these companies warehouse and sell used books and make no bones about it. B&N does it through their MBS division, Amazon through Fulfillment by Amazon and their WarehouseDeals account, and Alibris through Alibris Distribution Services. All three have a far larger share of the book market than BWB. Secondly, while BWB does take a commission on the sale, you get the lion's share of the money. Ask yourself, is it better to have screen space on a competitor's website and receive most of the money from their customers, or be invisible to their customers? Even if you view us as a direct competitor, the smartest thing you can do is take orders from our customers and grow your business.
Point #8. Are the people posting in BWB's defense corporate shills?
Please. We are always transparent when employees post, as in this letter. If any BWB employee was posting under a shill name, and we found out about it, they would be fired. I would like to thank those folks who support what we're doing, or at least have a more nuanced view. In particular, I thought Karin Bergsagel's post was excellent, and I am reposting below. (updated - I am linking to it here - the post was long enough - http://alibrisdealersforum.yuku.com/sreply/9478/t/Open-letter----founder--Better-World-Books---Alibris-Seller-.html)
Point #9. Is BWB an evil monopoly set to rule the world?
We are less than 0.1% of the US book market. Even with a warehouse ten times our size, we couldn't stock a fraction of the used books in the USA. Further, many independent sellers can and do compete with us. Some run as efficiently, or even more. Some compete with better descriptions of books or a specialization. Some compete by combining offline and online. Some cultivate a base of loyal customers. Ultimately, the customer decides, which is the way it should be.
Point #10. Will my books sales on BWB fund literacy?
Yes. We will contribute part of our commission on the sale to our general literacy fund. Our customers vote on what projects are funded through this program. We don't disclose specific literacy funding percentages from any line of business, but we expect to raise tens of thousands of dollars for literacy in our first year of this partnership. All funding will be public and posted to our blog and website.
Point #11. Can you contact BWB to opt out of the program?
No. There was some confusion about this because of a mis-interpretation of a conversation with a BWB employee. Please contact Alibris directly at sellers@alibris.com. (Update, Aug 21 - we burned the midnight oil with Alibris to create an opt-out solution. We are happy to report that only a small fraction of inventory/sellers have opted out. http://alibrisdealersforum.yuku.com/sreply/9617/t/Better-World-Books.html)
Point #12. What is the most entertaining thing to do in Mishawaka, Indiana?
The first is a Notre Dame football game. The second is a visit to the Studebaker museum. The third is to stop by and visit us. Please reach out if you'd like to stop by. Many independent sellers buy books from us, and even if you aren't interested in that, our warehouse is a lot of fun.
Once again, I could not be more excited about this partnership, both for the sake of our customers and for the seller community on Alibris. This is a win-win for all parties involved.
Sincerely,
F. Xavier Helgesen
I wanted to take the opportunity to address the Alibris community to say how excited we are to partner with all of you. As we have grown the Better World Books brand, more and more people have been choosing to shop with us first when they buy books online. While we have a wide selection of books under one roof, it pales in comparison to the selection of 13,000 sellers pooled together. Our partnership with Alibris was driven by that simple idea: why not help others build their businesses while increasing selection for our customers?
The used book business is a competitive business, so I'm not surprised that there a few vocal opponents of the partnership. As with any message board, a vocal few can drown out the vast silent majority. Most sellers I have talked with welcome the wider exposure that their books will receive. In fact, the partnership between Alibris and Better World Books is a prime example of cooperation and competition combined. We both compete for used book supply and customer loyalty, but we are both happy to pay the other for helping to sell more books. In those circumstances, everyone wins, most importantly the customer.
There seems to be some misunderstanding among these few about what we are and what we are not. I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about what we do to read our website and the numerous interviews we have done. I can address a few main points I saw raised here, but feel free to contact me personally at xavier at betterworldbooks dot com. You'll find we are nice people trying to do something good in the world. We serve our customers and our non-profit partners first and foremost, and if you have the pleasure to talk with them, you'll hear a testament to our integrity and ethics.
Point #1. Will I be paid the same if a book is sold through BWB?
Absolutely. The whole point is to expose more buyers to your inventory, and make sure there are no downsides to selling through our site.
Point #2. Does Better World Books sell everything for a penny?
No way. We hate selling books for a penny as much as you do. But basic economics tells you that if there's more supply than demand, prices will drop. Sad to say, the right price for some books is probably a penny. It also turns out that customers like to pay less money rather than more. Just like most sellers, our business is built around acquiring used books that are in demand and selling them for the best price we can get.
Point #3. Does Better World Books masquerade as a non-profit?
No. We are very clear on our "about us" section of our website. The first line of our FAQ reads: "Better World Books is a self-sustaining, for-profit social venture whose mission is to capitalize on the value of the book to fund literacy initiatives locally, nationally and around the world." Feel free to read the rest here: http://www.betterworldbooks.com/info.aspx?f=iaq
Point #4. Better World Books killed my favorite local book sale.
I do take offense to this one. Librarians aren't dumb - they choose to work with BWB overwhelmingly because we sell lots of their books for optimal prices and share the proceeds fairly, rather than cherry-picking a few books than can be sold at multiples of 10 or 100 times what was paid. I have no objection to people who do this, but I find it hard to sympathize when their library decides that they want fair value for their books and want a partner who can help them.
Point #5. Better World Books gives away too little money.
I am the first to admit that 10% of revenue (please note - that is revenue, NOT profit), which is our current rate, doesn't sound like a lot. It is, however, the highest we know of for any company over $1 Million in revenue, bookseller or otherwise. Most of our fellow booksellers know how many hidden expenses there are in selling used books - commissions, postage, packaging, employees, rent, etc. We have the additional expense of shipping books inbound from throughout the US and Canada. Ultimately, I think the right number is set by the market. If we contribute too little to libraries and our non-profit partners, they won't want to work with us. If we give away too much, we won't be able to stay in business. I believe that where we are now is about right. I am incredibly proud of our metric of $6.5 Million raised for literacy, and we are doing it through a sustainable model.
(Update - several new questions have come up since the first post - so I hope to clarify here)
Point #6. Will Better World Books repost my inventory on other marketplaces?
No. It makes no economic sense and it is prohibited in the deal anyway.
Point #7. Why would I support a competitor?
All of the angry posters sell on Alibris, and I would guess that most sell on Amazon, Barnes & Noble. All of these companies warehouse and sell used books and make no bones about it. B&N does it through their MBS division, Amazon through Fulfillment by Amazon and their WarehouseDeals account, and Alibris through Alibris Distribution Services. All three have a far larger share of the book market than BWB. Secondly, while BWB does take a commission on the sale, you get the lion's share of the money. Ask yourself, is it better to have screen space on a competitor's website and receive most of the money from their customers, or be invisible to their customers? Even if you view us as a direct competitor, the smartest thing you can do is take orders from our customers and grow your business.
Point #8. Are the people posting in BWB's defense corporate shills?
Please. We are always transparent when employees post, as in this letter. If any BWB employee was posting under a shill name, and we found out about it, they would be fired. I would like to thank those folks who support what we're doing, or at least have a more nuanced view. In particular, I thought Karin Bergsagel's post was excellent, and I am reposting below. (updated - I am linking to it here - the post was long enough - http://alibrisdealersforum.yuku.com/sreply/9478/t/Open-letter----founder--Better-World-Books---Alibris-Seller-.html)
Point #9. Is BWB an evil monopoly set to rule the world?
We are less than 0.1% of the US book market. Even with a warehouse ten times our size, we couldn't stock a fraction of the used books in the USA. Further, many independent sellers can and do compete with us. Some run as efficiently, or even more. Some compete with better descriptions of books or a specialization. Some compete by combining offline and online. Some cultivate a base of loyal customers. Ultimately, the customer decides, which is the way it should be.
Point #10. Will my books sales on BWB fund literacy?
Yes. We will contribute part of our commission on the sale to our general literacy fund. Our customers vote on what projects are funded through this program. We don't disclose specific literacy funding percentages from any line of business, but we expect to raise tens of thousands of dollars for literacy in our first year of this partnership. All funding will be public and posted to our blog and website.
Point #11. Can you contact BWB to opt out of the program?
No. There was some confusion about this because of a mis-interpretation of a conversation with a BWB employee. Please contact Alibris directly at sellers@alibris.com. (Update, Aug 21 - we burned the midnight oil with Alibris to create an opt-out solution. We are happy to report that only a small fraction of inventory/sellers have opted out. http://alibrisdealersforum.yuku.com/sreply/9617/t/Better-World-Books.html)
Point #12. What is the most entertaining thing to do in Mishawaka, Indiana?
The first is a Notre Dame football game. The second is a visit to the Studebaker museum. The third is to stop by and visit us. Please reach out if you'd like to stop by. Many independent sellers buy books from us, and even if you aren't interested in that, our warehouse is a lot of fun.
Once again, I could not be more excited about this partnership, both for the sake of our customers and for the seller community on Alibris. This is a win-win for all parties involved.
Sincerely,
F. Xavier Helgesen
