Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Biblio.com - A Site Review for Booklovers and Booksellers

Biblio.com - A Site Review for Booklovers and Booksellers
Logo created on PicMonkey


Do You Buy or Sell Used Books?



Just last week I started listing some of my new, used, and slightly shop-worn Preschool - Grade 12 textbooks, workbooks, and teaching materials at Biblio.com. I created a logo on PicMonkey using this image from Pixabay for my storefront at Biblio. That's what you see above.

I have added a few books manually while updating my 6000+ book database for a bulk upload. I'm getting back into the bookselling game again. I chose Biblio as my new bookselling home for many reasons, but I haven't been there long enough yet to review the site from a seller's point of view. I will say Biblio has a very responsive support team that answers my questions. You can watch my store shelves at Biblio fill as I begin to offer bargain books on cooking, gardening, crafting, and other interests as I have time. Please check out Barb's People Builders' new home at Bibio.com 

As I've been spending more time on the site, I've discovered a lot of new features that weren't there a few years ago. It's a very user-friendly place for book buyers. I like to support the independent booksellers who have opted not to rely completely on Amazon as a selling site. Many of those sellers you see at Amazon also list on Biblio. But on Biblio they are able to offer you more than they can on Amazon.

I Love the Newest Biblio Search Feature

Biblio.com has unique search features.
Image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay 


As you may expect, you can search Biblio for books by author, title, ISBN, and keyword. There are also several filters you can apply to narrow your search, including price, attributes such as type of cover, condition, whether a dust jacket is present, publish date, whether the seller has included a photo,  and more. There are also many ways you can sort your results.

The new feature I especially love is the ability to always show or exclude certain dealers from your searches. You can easily change your mind later about your favorite stores to search or include excluded stores again. I hate having a couple of bargain sites with multiple copies of the same book monopolizing my search results, and I can easily exclude them so I can see what other dealers are offering.

Biblio Sellers Are Independent and Can Communicate with You


If you have a question about a book you can probably call or email a Biblio seller directly without a middleman getting in the way. Although many of us work from home and don't list our phone numbers, you can email us and arrange for  phone call if you prefer that.

Independent booksellers, especially those with open stores, know their books. I don't know of any of us who have had time to list them all yet. I still have hundreds unlisted I'd like to sell. Let's say, for example, a homeschool wants to teach a unit study on frogs or pond life. So far I haven't listed the books I have on those subjects, but I do have lots of them I could suggest if someone contacts me.

Nonfiction books for children are one of my specialties. I could probably meet most of your needs from unlisted books sitting on my shelves and give you a consolidated shipping price for them if you contact me directly. In contrast, Amazon often charges a standard $3.99 shipping fee per book, even if five books are shipped together. Not everything you buy from third party sellers qualifies for free or prime shipping. Some Biblio sellers also offer free shipping. We are also required to ship internationally.

Are you a book collector? There probably are Biblio sellers who specialize in the books that interest you. When you contact them directly they can watch for books you might want as they acquire them and let you know about them. On Amazon  you need to put specific titles on their wish list. They use artificial intelligence. A human bookseller uses human intelligence and may know about books in your specialty you don't know about yet.

Amazon sells books, but it's not a bookseller in the same sense as an independent bookseller is. Amazon is primarily a book marketer. There's a difference. Independent booksellers know what's on their shelves at home or in their storefronts. They've often read a lot of them related to the topics they specialize in. They can advise you on content or style. Most of them love to talk to customers about what they are both interested in. You may find that this direct communication is worth the extra bit you might have to pay for postage.

Other Reasons I Like Biblio.com


Biblio provides services to independent sellers with reasonable fees and lets them communicate with buyers directly. Their individual stores post a way to contact them.

Biblio.com - A Site Review for a Socially Responsible Independent Used Book Site
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 


Biblio is socially responsible. It cares about the environment. It uses its profits to provide jobs and benefits to its employees as well as to give back to the community. Think of it as your local bookstore in the worldwide community. It is independent instead of being owned by a large corporation. Biblio also founded a nonprofit organization that seeks to bring literacy and education to impoverished communities. See the details here.

I hope next time you're searching for an out-of-print or used book you will give Biblio a try. And please check out my storefront while you're there, especially if you have children or grandchildren who like to read or need academic practice at home.

More Places You Can Find Great Books for Children and Education


If you are homeschooling, you also may want to check out this post: Should Homeschoolers Sell Used Curriculum at Homeschool Used Book? I think it's not only a good place for homeschoolers to find materials they need, but they can also find new homes for teaching resources and textbooks they no longer need. They can use credit from from their sales to buy different books they see listed on the site. Or they can get cash for their sales instead.

And don't forget to visit the site I've been resurrecting since going back to bookselling -- Books to Remember. I'll be listing and reviewing many of my education resources there with links to where you can get them. The site also hosts one of my book blogs for parents and educators.




Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


8 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great site, Barb! I loved you description,"your local bookstore in the worldwide community". As a seller, the one thing I would not like would be the requirement to sell internationally. Shipping anything internationally can be a real pain due to the various customs requirements. For buyers, it sounds totally awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also would rather not sell internationally, but they have another great feature for sellers - for most countries, sellers can ship to a USA consolidation center which will then take care and responsibility for the overseas shipping. That takes a lot of the pain out of it.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for the introduction to Biblio, Barbara. I have a couple authors from long ago whose books I am trying to collect and Biblio looks like a good source. I did a brief search and found two titles from my list immediately.

    Also, wish I'd known about this site last year when I was downsizing my book collection by some 300 books before moving. I would have found it very useful. Love bookstores and book sites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This site is friendly to sellers and buyers alike. I understand sales aren't as high there as on more trafficked sites such as Amazon, but many sellers list on both. They are generally happier when the sale takes place on Biblio where customers can easily communicate with them to clarify any issues before the seller ships. And Biblio has more reasonable fees for sellers.

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  3. Barb, with fewer and fewer independent bookstores able to survive in an Amazon-dominated marketplace, I love the idea of a site that allows independent booksellers to prosper again (or, at least, make a living) and restores the personal connection and advisory role that creates a win-win for both sellers and customers. The enhanced search filter capability is definitely a differentiator vs. Amazon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love that search feature. I like Biblio because it has a heart for booksellers, book buyers, and spreading literacy worldwide.

      Delete
  4. I visited your page. Seems like a fabulous service/smallbusiness. My goodness I had so many children's books over the years that I gave away - sounds like I could have sold them using this method. Very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Children's books are very popular -- especially out of print favorites people remember from their childhood days.

      Delete

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