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Alibris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alibris Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 Emeryville, California |
| Headquarters | Emeryville, California |
| Key people | Marty Manley, CEO Brian Elliott, COO Michael Schaffer, CTO |
| Industry | Retail (Specialty) |
| Products | Mainly used books, out-of-print books, rare books. Also features used or collectible music and movies (albums, cassette tapes, compact discs, DVDs) |
| Revenue | $49M (as of 3/31/04) |
| Employees | 55 (as of 3/31/04) |
| Website | www.alibris.com |
Alibris is an on-line store that sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an on-line network of thousands of independent booksellers. Booksellers in many countries list their inventories on Alibris which in turn offers the books on its website, as well as other channels such as Barnes and Noble, Borders Books and BibliOZ.com.
Alibris saves small booksellers time and money by listing once with Alibris and having Alibris manage listings with well-known book retailers, who obtain access to out of print or hard to find books. Consumers benefit from a single point of access to books from many sellers. The company operates a separate site for libraries. It offers more than 70 million books for from a network of more than 10,000 booksellers in 65 countries.
Most sales made through Alibris are fulfilled by the bookseller directly to the end customer. Sales to libraries or other institutions or books needing transoceanic shipping are consolidated in a distribution center in Sparks, Nevada. Alibris also has a similar network for music (albums, cassette tapes, and CDs) and movies (VHS or DVD).
Alibris was founded in 1997 by Martin Manley and incorporated in 1998. Alibris grew out of Interloc, a pioneering online company founded by antiquarian bookseller Richard Weatherford in 1994. Interloc was one of the earliest successful efforts to centralize used book data online. Interloc remained a private network until 1996, when the company launched its website.
Alibris was backed by venture capital until 2006, when it was purchased by Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm.