I was first turned onto Abebooks last Christmas when I was searching for a book as a gift. My partner had a favorite book as a child called 'Forest of Lilacs' by Countess De Segur with illustrations by Nicole Claveloux. It was one that her grandfather had brought back from a trip and used to read to her often. Not only had I never heard of this book but I was having a horrible time trying to locate a copy since it was out of print. This was not a book I could just walk into Borders an grab or order from Amazon.com because it simply wasn't available. A friend that collects books suggested that I try Abebooks.com to locate a copy and since I had exhausted all other options, I gave it a try. On the first search of the title, I pulled up two copies. Both listings offered details including the year of publication, condition of the book, and pricing. After corresponding with the bookseller, I gladly purchased the first edition decorated cloth covered copy for $46.00. I received my order within two weeks and in plenty of time for Christmas. The book arrived exactly as described and the bookseller had even taken the time to enclose a blank gift tag for me to use if I chose. My partner was absolutely thrilled with the gift and the smile on her face as she thumbed through the pages was well worth the $46.00 plus shipping for the book. For the purpose of this review, I conducted a quick search for the same book and pulled up 20 copies of this title in various formats, conditions, and price range. Within a year's time, Abebooks.com has experienced tremendous growth with many more listing and sellers than ever before. If you are new to Abebooks or haven't visited their site in some time, you are in for a treat because they have redesigned their site to offer a more organized and more appealing design then they previously offered. At Abebooks you can search by title, author, keyword, or do a blanket search by checking all of the options. Simply enter what information you have and click search and the results are listed page by page. They do offer a more advanced search which allows you to search by specific booksellers, by country, by price range, and by book binding and attributes. This feature allows you to perform a specific search and results are based on the information you enter. For example, you can narrow a search down to first edition, hardcover copies of a particular title and only search stores in the United States. I have purchased over twenty hard-to-find or out-of-print books from Abebooks and have yet to search for a book I couldn't locate on their site. Book Listings After you have conducted a search and received the result pages, you might have some difficulty deciphering all the abbreviated words in the description but don't despair, Abebooks has added a glossary. The glossary offers definitions of the terms in the description that you might not be familiar. Below I have listed one of the easier descriptions: (Claveloux,Nicole) FOREST OF LILACS, Harlan Quist, 1969, 1st Ed. F/vg+. condition. 4to,unpgd,. sepia ills. pp. A most beautiful book. By one of France's leading illustrators. Bookseller Inventory # 000351 Price: US$35.00 Most of the above description is fairly easy to decipher but not everyone knows what '4to' means so simply click the glossary to find out. The glossary returns this explanation: Quarto (4to) - A book between octavo and folio in size; approximately 11 to 13 inches tall. To make a quarto, a sheet of paper is folded twice, forming four leaves (eight pages). Also included with each listing is the price of the book and information on the bookseller. Click on order options to receive information on bookseller location, types of payments accepted, terms of sale, cost of shipping, and contact information for the seller. If you have questions about the book or just want to make sure the inventory item is still available, you can simply click to e-mail the seller with any questions. I have done this on many occasions and most sellers are quick to respond and answer any of your questions. From A Selling Standpoint Although I have never sold any books through this site, they do offer an appealing program for individuals and retailers to list their inventory. The rates to sell books on their site are based on flat fees. If you plan to sell less than 500 books in a month, the fee is a flat $25.00 per month. They offer many support services to sellers that might not be computer savvy or that are unfamiliar with the process. Not only that but Abebooks also offers an entire section devoted to tips on increasing your sales like uploading photo images of the book for visual appeal. Each seller will also receive a free homepage on the site that offers detailed information for those seeking books or details on the seller. If you already have a website, they will link that for you also. Abebooks also has a 'Most Wanted' list that both buyers and sellers can access. This list lets the seller know what books are in high demand so they can adjust their inventory. Other Features Another appealing feature at Abebooks is their reading room, which is a section devoted to book reviews, articles, news, and featured books. This section is divided by genre including romance, sci-fi, and travel. After selecting the genre, you are taken to a page that allows you to search under this specific category for books by title, author, or keyword. There is also a list of the 50 most popular authors, author of the month, and featured books. Overall Thoughts Abebooks.com is an excellent resource for bibliophiles regardless of their reading interests. As stated earlier, this site has experienced tremendous growth in the last year and has added many new features for both buyers and sellers. This site is even offering services to libraries and turnkey solutions for booksellers. They have added several new domain names to their list to expand their services and you can bet the growth is going to continue. Abebooks offers far more than the average online bookseller and if you don't mind purchasing slightly used copies, you can even get fairly new releases at low prices. I have shopped this service many times and often choose to use them over sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble because the pricing and shipping costs are far more reasonable in most cases. Each experience with this service and their booksellers has been without disappointments. There was one incident when a bookseller didn't offer a true description of the book and it arrived with some pen marks and the previous owner's name scribbled on the inside page but I was able to return it with no problem. Overall, I would say my experience with this site has been absolutely delightful. I have been able to find every single title I wanted at a price I could live with and received my purchase in a timely manner. For booklovers, Abebooks.com is a dream site. It is well organized, easy to search, has a network of sellers from all over the world, and an excellent support staff. Next time you are in search of a book, whether it's hard to find or you just want a good deal on a used copy, check Abebooks first.
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