Barnes and Noble online sales demonstrated almost no growth in 2005, despite a 25% increase in holiday ecommerce sales in general. This is hardly surprising. One of the main reasons for this is the growing popularity of Amazon. One of the major reasons for this is their strong used marketplace listings service. This allows customers to find “deals” on the site, meaning they are more likely to return to Amazon for all of their book purchases. Barnes and Noble offers used books through Alibris sellers, but does not highlight these copies and prints no pricing information unless you click their “Used copies available…” link. Seems like a no-brainer to me…
According to Nielsen BookScan, purchases increased by just over 9 percent. This is a strong statement for the book industry. It confirms, what I’ve been echoing all year, regarding the inability of the e-book industry to really take hold. Moreover, it has to debase publishers’ (and especially the Authors’ Guild) complaints that online sales are having a devastating effect on bookstore sales (especially given the strong year we had as well). Link: Full news article
I do not think Half.com’s new shipping reimbursement policy (see below) is perfect, but it does show an appreciation for the site’s sellers. One concern that, I believe, many have failed to comprehend is the fact that many non-professional sellers (hobbyists if you will), will begin shipping books with less than sufficient packing material to save on costs. This will be a continuing problem and the negative customer experience will in turn reflect poorly on the site itself. With more than their share of nonprofessional dealers, Half made a very wise move here.
SELLER REIMBURSEMENT RATES
Half.com will change reimbursement rates for sellers.
Media Mail Rates
Hardcover Books will increase from $2.33 to $2.78
Softcover Books and Audiobooks will increase from $1.94 to $2.40
CDs and DVDs will increase from $1.89 to $2.09
Video Games will increase from $1.89 to $2.65
VHS Movies will not increase, remaining at $1.94
Priority Mail Rates
All product categories will increase to $5.01 from $4.70 with the exception of Hardcover Books which will increase to $5.04
BUYER SHIPPING RATES
Buyer rates will also change. The new rate schedule for buyers will be as follows:
Media Mail
Hardcover Books: $3.70
Softcover Books and Audiobooks: $3.25
CDs and DVDs: $2.69
Video Games: $3.25
VHS Movies will remain unchanged at $2.79
Priority Mail
Hardcover Books: $5.79
All other product categories: $5.30
These changes will go into effect on Monday, January 9th (just after midnight). All help text will be updated with the new values and complete details by approximately 7am Pacific Time on Monday.
Thanks to all of the people who emailed with their thoughts on this important topic. We take any change in shipping rates very seriously and only make these changes after careful consideration. We feel these changes will help our loyal selling community stay profitable while continuing to provide great value for buyers.
