Many noticed the removal of the Alibris search box from our right column last month. This was a purely performance based decision. We received no sales from the Alibris box and other Alibris links. We will continue with the links, but may pursue other options for the space the search box was located. This decision does not change our endorsement of Alibris as a place for selling books online.

We’ve always heard rumors about some sellers on the main listings services receiving preferential treatment in terms of lower commissions. I recently had the chance to confirm that eFollett received a significant discount on their Abebooks commission compared with other sellers. I find this troubling because it seems to be an off the record arrangement, with most sellers unaware. It is hard enough for independent sellers (a term used trumpeted frequently by listings services) to compete with megastores… Are we fighting an uphill battle with sites we once thought were our greatest allies?

“Biblio.com, a used, rare, and out-of-print books online marketplace announced today more than 130% growth in 2005 over 2004. Biblio is a 3 year old company in this online sector, and has shown unprecedented growth compared to its competitors, listing more than 30 million books for sale.”

All and all this was a great year for Biblio. In terms of seller services and support things have greatly improved or remained constant - something incredibly unique for this industry in 2005. We still get complaints about sales numbers, but I expect these numbers to increase greatly in 2006 as well. (Full press release)