Can I upload my current online books inventory to iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

From which programs or databases can I transfer book inventory data?

Will you process credit card and/or PayPal payments from buyers for me?

Do buyers have to join before they can search for or buy books?

I can't find any books by __________.  Is SmartSearch really working?

Why can’t I search for books by ISBN or Publisher?

What are your long-term plans for iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

How many booksellers, books, etc., do you have right now?

What are your growth and business priorities?

How are you promoting the site to buyers?

What's the typical profile of your "target" bookseller?

Why should I switch to listing my new or used books on iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

Do I have to pay you by credit card to sign up as a seller?

I have many/few books. Will you waive the setup fee for me?

See also: What's Expected of iBookX Booksellers

Can I upload my current online books inventory to iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

Yes, you can.  But be advised that the transfer process cannot be entirely automatic.  The various reasons for that, and a description of the data transfer process follow:

We have developed a two-stage, semi-automated process to first upload book inventory data files, and to then transfer that uploaded data into the iBookX Knowledge Base.  During the first stage of the process, you simply provide the name and location of the data file to be uploaded.  Our program will then handle the uploading of that file to our servers.  During the second and final stage of the process, you will step through each of your uploaded records and assist in the transformation of the information into iBookX SmartSearch-compatible listings.  (For a detailed discussion of the SmartSearch-compatible iBookX Knowledge Base data structures for Books, BookEditions, and BookItems, click here.)

Unfortunately, the computer cannot complete the transformation stage without your help.  The reason for this is that imported records from other sites or programs do not provide the information as it needs to be broken down for efficient searching.  (That's why other sites can't offer SmartSearch and PriceCompare.)  It can require from a few seconds to as much as a minute to process each book.  Good, "clean" data requires the least effort.  Items with multiple authors in the author "field" require some extra attention.  And items with data in inappropriate fields—like edition or book feature information in the Title field—will require the most data massaging.

However, this transformation process is as automated as we can make it.  Even though imported records typically lump the book summary, edition, page count, size, item features, and condition together in a single data field, our automatic methods can usually recognize and extract them, and put them where SmartSearch can best utilize them.  But to make sure we "got it right," we need you to review and confirm those extraction results.  Along the way, you will have the opportunity to use our PriceComapre capabilities to review and optimize your item prices.

Unlike most other sites, we require the edition and the condition of every item to be provided.  (Buyers want to know what they're buying!)  To speed up the process for those who do not have that information in their existing files, we have added data entry shortcuts.  For example, a "1" entered for the edition will be expanded to "First edition," "1a/4" will be expanded to "First American edition, fourth printing," "tpbr" will be expanded to "Trade paperback reprint," etc.  Similar input shortcuts are expanded as appropriate for book and jacket condition.

You can process the transfer of as few or as many items as you wish in a sitting.  As you complete processing each item, that item is immediately available to SmartSearch queries.  At any time, you can exit the transformation process.  When you return (by selecting "Import Book Records" from the menu on the Home page), you will be able to resume where you left off.

The goal of this transformation process is to minimize the infamous "Garbage In/Garbage Out" problem.  The result will be well-organized, efficiently searchable data, just the thing we want to be best known for.

From which programs or databases can I transfer book inventory data?

Currently, the "system" assumes that you are uploading and transforming a HomeBase file or a BookMate file.  (Even if you don't use HomeBase, you can download a HomeBase file from ABE that contains any books that you currently have listed there.) 

Sellers have also asked about our willingness and ability to handle BookTrakker Pro, BookHound, UIEE, and delimited text files.  None of these will present a problem, nor will transferring data from dBase, Access, FileMaker, FoxPro, Paradox, or any other popular desktop database that we know of.  Enterprise databases, like SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase, fall squarely within our area of expertise.  We will develop upload and transform routines that work as described above (Can I upload my online books inventory?) for virtually any file format that a Member Bookseller wants to provide.

We will also provide export files in virtually any file format for you to send to other sites where you list your books.  ("Dumbing down" the data for consumption by other sites is a fully automatic process.)

Will you process credit card and/or PayPal payments from buyers for me?

At this time, we are forwarding all orders to the seller, and the seller is expected to handle all payment processing.  However, by mid-summer (when we expect to begin seeing sales momentum) we will be offering optional MasterCard, VISA, and PayPal processing services to our seller members who want them.  It is anticipated that the fee for these services will be 5.00% of the total processed charges—to cover our costs—and that funds collected for the seller in this manner will be automatically deposited into the seller's specified bank account on a weekly basis.  As the details are worked out, they will be posted.

Do buyers have to join before they can search for or buy books?

Absolutely not!  A requirement like that would drive many visitors away, and that's the last thing we want to do.

Joining is entirely optional.  It simply provides the member with the convenience of having their contact and shipping information automatically filled in on order and inquiry forms. 

I can't find any books by __________.  Is SmartSearch really working?

Our SmartSearch functionality—just one of the capabilities that will distinguish us in the minds of book buyers—does indeed work.  However, since the iBookX Knowledge Base is still young, it’s not always easy to recognize that fact.

A seller must have listed a book on our site in order for that book’s title, author(s) and other publication information to be added to the iBookX Knowledge Base.  Once that book has been listed, it will always remain in the knowledge base—and thus will show up in searches—even after any or all listed copies have been sold.  Conversely, until it’s been listed, a book or edition will not show up in a search.

The good news is that thousands of books are being added to the knowledge base every day, and we expect to reach “critical mass” in mid-summer.

Rather than further attempting to describe how SmartSearch can help a buyer target the exact used or out of print book that they seek, we offer a simple demonstration:

• Execute a search for books by the author Michael Anthony on our SmartSearch by Author page.

• Perform the same search on any other book exchange site.

This comparison will reveal the usefulness and value of our SmartSearch technology better than thousands of words ever could.

Why can’t I search for books by ISBN or Publisher?

Our focus has been on designing and developing productive, intelligent methods to efficiently search for books.  Our main requirement is that those methods satisfy the real needs of real customers.  In our experience, buyers almost always ask for help finding a specific title, author, or subject.  It’s the rare customer who knows a book’s ISBN or publisher, and it’s even rarer that a buyer wants to initiate a search by providing the ISBN or publisher.

From the buyer’s point of view, ISBNs have additional problems:

• Books published before 1970 don’t have them.  (A lot of books were published before 1970!)
• ISBNs don’t identify the printing—it could be the first or the tenth—of those editions that do have them.

Programmers (as opposed to customers) love to see how many things they can easily search or filter on in a database.  They are often awed by the possibilities, and later shocked by most users lack of interest in the “feature.”  Our intention is to provide a simple, elegant search mechanism that actually returns what the buyer indicated they are seeking.  We are not out to impress anybody with the quantity of unnecessary, distracting filters that we could conjure up.

ISBNs and publishers are tracked in the iBookX Knowledge Base—and they are used extensively for identifying items during automated uploading of a bookseller’s items—but they are of questionable value to most customers.  While ISBN and publisher searches are very easy to implement (that's why they're so commonly offered) we believe that our development efforts are better spent on providing features that customers really want.

What are your long-term plans for iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

Our top priority will always be to attract and maintain a strong base of loyal, repeat book buyers.  We recognize that our direct customers are booksellers, but we also know that the only way we can expect to retain those customers of ours is to continue to direct business to them.

We expect to be well known within one year, and the recognized leader within two years.  (Other sites may remain more popular outside of North America.  We are quite willing to concede those markets to them.)

How many booksellers, books, etc., do you have right now?

We launched with two bookseller members on March 24, 2003.  As of April 1st, we have 16 bookseller members and have received correspondence from nearly 200 others seeking additional information.  (This Sellers' Frequently Asked Questions page is in direct response to those information requests.)

Our aim is to at least mirror the growth rate experienced by ABE when they were just starting out and Bibliofind was king.  According to a published report ( Dr. Rebecca Grant's Case Study of ABE), here's what ABE accomplished in their first 3+ years:

• Launched with 13 seller members in May 1996
• 100 seller members achieved in August 1996
• 224 seller members at end of 1996
• 1,217 seller members joined in 1997
• 1,257 seller members joined in 1998
• Over 4,900 seller members in September 1999

We will be adding a "Current Counters" page to the site to provide real-time statistics to all interested parties.  In addition to providing the number of sellers listing books on iBookX, it will provide information that no other site can provide, including the exact number of distinct books (not items) and distinct editions offered.  Check the "Current Counters" often and watch us grow!

What are your growth and business priorities?

As we work to achieve our long-term goals for iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange, the following areas will be addressed in the following order:

1) Grow the inventory offered.  It may be obvious, but nobody can buy books from the site before books are available.  And a limited inventory is not sufficient to cultivate loyal repeat visitors.  Therefore, our major emphasis over the first few months following the launch of the site will be on getting sellers in a wide variety of specialized areas to sign up and list their inventory.  To assist those sellers, we will be expanding our uploading capabilities as much as possible.

2) Add additional payment options for buyers.  Before sales ramp up, we will be adding optional credit card and PayPal payment processing services.

3) Add "wants" tracking.  The tracking of customer's "wants" will also be added to the site.  Member customers will then be able to indicate their wants, and they will be notified by e-mail whenever a seller lists one of their wanted books.

4) Aggressive promotion to buyers.  When there's sufficient inventory to warrant promoting the site to buyers, that promotion will begin in earnest.  This topic is discussed in more detail in the answer immediately below (How are you promoting the site to buyers?).

5) Add additional capabilities and features.  This will be a permanent, ongoing effort, and we will always be open to suggestions.  Currently high on the list for future development are: SmartSearch by Subject, access to biographical information about authors, and additional pricing tools for booksellers.

It's very important that sellers understand where we are in this growth process and that they not expect to see sales immediately.  That's why listing fees will not begin to be assessed until a seller has been referred $100 in sales; we don't expect you to want to pay before it's worth it for you to do so.  We need your patience as we work toward building sales for you.  (If you can't be patient now, that's okay.  Just postpone joining and come back when things are rolling along in the fall!) 

How are you promoting the site to buyers?

As stated in the answer above, promoting the site to buyers is not one of our current top priorities.  We don't want a lot of buyer traffic to come to the site before there's a reasonable expectation that those buyers will find what they're seeking and will become committed, repeat customers.

That said, here's how we are and will be promoting the site to buyers:

We believe the most "qualified" online book buyers are those who are actively looking for a book to buy.  For that reason, gaining and maintaining good placement of the site in Internet directories and on the major Internet search engines is one of the best ways to help those buyers find our site.  (Conversely, there is nothing to be gained by being listed in hundreds of unused search engines—also known as Free For Alls—so we will be seeking quality, not quantity.)  The major directories are Yahoo and Google.  Inclusion is neither automatic nor guaranteed.  Category editors visit and review submitted sites and decide if the service or content offered is of value to users of that directory.  Good search engine rankings are dependent upon—among other factors—being already listed in the major directories.  So getting listed in the important directories is the first thing that needs to be accomplished.

A directory listing for iBookX.com was granted and first published in the Yahoo directory's Book > Book Search Services category on March 28, 2003.  We hope the Google directory will soon add the site to their Books : Used and Rare : Search, On-line category.  Then we will begin submitting the site to the major search engines.  We have retained a Search Engine Optimization consultant to guide us through this process and to suggest modifications to the site that will make it more "friendly" to both book buyers and search engine robots.  This effort is on it's intended schedule; we should be seeing good rankings by mid-summer, just when we project we will have a respectable inventory of books offered on the site.  At that time, we will also purchase "sponsorships" to further enhance our visibility, and we will also engage selected "Pay-Per-Click" providers.

In mid-summer we will also be launching an extensive national press campaign announcing the site to the book-buying public, paying particular attention to publications that have previously published features on online bookselling.  (We will be welcoming site comparisons.)  Again, we don't want our story to be hitting the streets before we're confident that buyers will stand a good change of finding what they're looking for on the site.  Additionally, we will test advertising in various printed media and at movie theaters, and we will be visible at book fairs across the country.

Finally, we trust that positive "word-of-mouth" promotion will also swell as we grow.

What's the typical profile of your "target" bookseller?

Initially, we want to reach out to booksellers in the United States with "good" uploadable data representing a wide variety subject specialties.  We expect current online booksellers, with perhaps 5,000 or fewer books, to find our proposition and goals most attractive.  We believe those sellers tend to care most about the quality and completeness of their listings, and to share a desire to provide first-rate, personalized customer service.  They are book people.

We expect larger individual booksellers who have launched their own Web sites to display a resistance to our message that's proportionate to the amount of their online storefront investment.  Some will initially deny that SmartSearch is an improvement over their old-fashioned search capabilities, often before even trying it.  Then they'll attempt to copy it.  That's okay; we'll be flattered.  They can use the diagrams we've provided on this site to get their developers going in the right direction.  The few who have deep enough pockets to make a serious attempt will then be playing catch-up.

Ultimately, we'd like to see every one of the 7,500+ North American booksellers who currently offer their books online come join us.  (Okay, we know that won't happen.  But it's what we'd like to see.)

Why should I switch to listing my new or used books on iBookX - The Internet Book Exchange?

You shouldn't "switch."  You should list your books on any and all sites where it makes good business sense for you to do so.

Do I have to pay you by credit card to sign up as a seller?

Right now, the only way to establish your iBookX seller's account online is to pay by MasterCard or VISA, but you may also pay by check, money order, or PayPal.  Upon receipt of your setup fee, we will manually add your seller's account information into the "system" and you will then have full access to all seller options offered by the site.  (We are currently in the process of setting up the PayPal option.  It will be offered on the seller signup page very soon.)

Checks or money orders should be made out to Internet Book Exchange, Inc. and mailed to: 1848 Indian Valley Road, Novato, CA 94947 USA.

I have many/few books. Will you waive the setup fee for me?

We consider the willingness of a bookseller to pay a $50 setup fee to be a necessary qualifier that indicates the seriousness of that dealer's intention to sell books on our site.  To us, the payment of the fee is a vote of confidence in our efforts to attract and retain book-buying customers by offering them better searching capabilities than they can find on any other Internet site.  It also seems to us that being willing to provide a business service for free says a great deal about the real value of that service.

Less advanced book exchange sites charge $50 and apply it toward the seller's future listing fees.  We charge that amount and promise that your monthly listing fees will not even begin to be assessed until you have received twice that amount in sales referrals from us.  Other media you might choose to advertise in—like your local newspaper—certainly don't let you do it for free!

In our experience, customers who firmly argue that they are entitled to get something for nothing are frequently those who are the most demanding of our time and the most critical of our efforts to please them.  And, obviously, it's hard to make any money serving them.  Frankly—though we'd love to have every bookseller in North America listing his or her books on our site—we don't want that kind of customer.

The amount of the setup fee should prove to be insignificant.  We want you to sell lots of books and to happily pay us reasonable monthly listing fees for years to come.  Our success depends on our booksellers' success.  We will expose your books to potential buyers, but we can't promise that your books will ever sell; that will depend on the desirability of the items you offer and on the competitiveness of your prices.  If that seems unreasonable or onerous, it's much better that you forgo becoming one of our Member Booksellers.