Borders Marketplace retains the look of the Borders brand while using Alibris listings and software.
By Michael Stillman
Alibris recently announced a partnerships with bricks and mortar/online bookseller Borders. Borders is the second largest chain of bookstores in America, trailing only Barnes and Noble in size. Alibris has not only launched a Borders Marketplace online for the bookseller, but will service in-store kiosks being installed in Borders superstores. Customers will be able to purchase used books from Alibris sellers from inside of Borders stores, potentially reaching new customers who do not shop for books online.
Alibris is not only providing access to its 75 million used books, movies, and items of music, it is providing Borders with a complete e-commerce platform. This includes searching, shopping cart, and credit card processing, all of the functions necessary to complete the transaction. Alibris will also provide fulfillment and customer service. However, the Borders Marketplace page, which is found on their website under the Used Books tab, has been customized to maintain the look of the Borders brand. It seamlessly fits with the remainder of the Borders site.
Providing used book listings and other e-commerce services is nothing new for Alibris. It already provides listings for the website of the largest bookstore chain, Barnes and Noble, and many other sites, such as Half.com and Blackwell U.K.
Along with the partnership with Borders, Alibris announced several other initiatives it believes will help its sellers sell more books:
Alibris will be capping all commissions at $60 per item. The cap includes all charges, credit card processing fees included. This should eliminate the reluctance some sellers have of offering high-priced items on Alibris. They will not get hit with more than a $60 charge no matter how high the price. The cap applies not only to sales directly made through Alibris, but to those made on partner sites as well.
Improvements are planned for each seller's Alibris storefront, some of which may already be in place by the time this article is published. There will be personalized URLs for sellers, and the opportunity for sellers to provide more information about themselves. President and CEO Brian Elliott pledged that refining the storefronts and adding more options for sellers will be an ongoing process, with more additions planned for the months ahead.
Along with the improved storefronts, Alibris plans to facilitate more direct contact between buyers and sellers. This includes enabling sellers to provide greater contact information through their storefronts.
Alibris also stated its intention to focus on what it describes as two key and strongly related areas in 2008, sales growth and customer satisfaction. An example they gave of a case where Alibris is helping sellers while keeping customers satisfied is an increase in the instances where the site is refunding customers while allowing sellers to keep the proceeds of the sale. Meanwhile, Alibris promised to continue actions such as adding new partners to increase sales from its site.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
