ABE adds textbook buyback program

Advanced Book Exchange has added a textbook buyback link to its home page, angering some booksellers who believe ABE is now competing directly with its members.

ABE is advertising the buyback service in e-mails sent to customers who have purchased books from dealers on its site. “ABE must be losing all their dealers,” one irritated bookseller said on eBay’s message board. “Why else would they go into direct competion with them? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.”

ABE has outsourced the program to We Buy Textbooks, one of several book buyback services that have been aggressively advertising to college students. After users type in their ISBN, they are quoted a price for the book and can print prepaid shipping labels. The buyback price is usually about one-third what the book is worth on popular online marketplaces.

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2. Alibris launches textbook buyback service, bookselling roundup