Abe Increases Rates;<br>Alibris is Going Public.<br>What’s Next for the Book Sites?
- by Michael Stillman
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So, why does Abe need this extra money anyway? Why charge commissions at all? With 10,000 plus dealers, paying on average $25 to $50 a month simply to list their books, a little quick math will reveal what you and I consider a healthy amount of income. The problem is that what is for us a healthy amount of monthly income is probably only a few hours worth of cash for sites like Amazon and Ebay. Ultimately, Abe is not competing with all of those other runner-ups behind Alibris in the book listing site wars. There are dozens of them, but most lost the war to Abe a long time ago. Abe doesn’t need more money to compete with them. But, evidently it feels, and it is hard to argue with this, that they will need more money to compete with their next generation of competitors, who will likely be companies substantially larger and more financially powerful than are they. Abe must battle with the big sharks now, not little minnows helplessly nipping at their tails.
The question is will this increase, and the additional revenue which it will presumably (but not certainly) bring, help or hinder Abe in the battles ahead. More money will certainly help. However, booksellers are businesspeople too. While few Abe dealers will be lost to pique over a price increase, their loyalty to Abe is measured by whether Abe makes money for them. They will move en masse to an alternate supplier the moment such an entity appears which they believe better serves their bottom lines. The risk in the price increase for Abe is that someone else will be able to undercut them. And, undercut doesn’t necessarily mean undercut their price. It simply means making the bookseller comparatively more profitable. Some dealers already sell more books on Amazon, but commissions were three times as high. Now they are only double. If that reduction in difference makes Amazon a more profitable alternative for them, they could shift more listings to this site. This is the risk Abe faces in raising prices.
Right now, Abe, and Alibris too, are in cooperative arrangements with Amazon. They also have relationships with Barnes and Noble, online runner-up to Amazon, and the bricks and mortar leader. Abe’s sales through these partners aren’t known to us, but according to Alibris’ SEC filing, 18% of their sales come through Barnes and Noble, and 14% through Amazon. Who believes these marriages are forever? These are more likely marriages of convenience, and it’s hard to imagine that Amazon and B&N won’t one day want to control all of their used book sales themselves. Companies their size usually do. And when this happens, Amazon and B&N will become rivals, rather than partners, with Abe and Alibris. Those rivals will possess far more funding than Abe, Alibris, and the other used book selling sites, even after Abe’s price increase and Alibris’ public offering. Competition figures to get more intense.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
