As an online bookseller (selling general stock, not many collectibles), I get nervous about having 90 percent of my business depend on Amazon. It’s dangerous to have all your eggs in one basket.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Barnes & Noble is re-launching its Used & Out of Print Books homepage. Plus, they are promising to upgrade the third-party seller tools and establish a bookseller’s council to get our feedback.
This is a good thing, for a couple of reasons. First, giving Amazon some serious competition for third-party sales will be healthy for the market. Secondly, and even more important, Barnes & Noble needs the money. Let’s face it, the only way B&N is going to survive is to get a serious piece of the online trade. People just aren’t walking into brick-and-mortar bookstores like they used to.
Barnes & Noble has only scratched the surface of what they can do with online sales, and they should be doing a lot more. Having a “Used and Out of Print” Web page is fine and dandy, but let’s get real — how many people are going to go there, anyway? To make a serious move into third-party selling like Amazon has, B&N is going to have to trumpet the offers on detail pages, just like Amazon does:
Hard to miss, isn’t it? But Barnes & Noble’s offer is more of a whisper, way down there:
Not exactly in your face, is it?
Here’s the announcement being e-mailed to B&N sellers today:
Dear Seller,
We are extremely excited to be working on several new initiatives to improve the services we provide for your business on Barnes & Noble.com.
First, we are also about to re-launch the Used & Out of Print Books homepage. We have been listening to both customer and Seller feedback, and are looking forward to showcasing a beautiful, innovative, and user-friendly experience.
Next, we are significantly upgrading both the design and functionality of the Store Manager, the online tool we provide for managing your business with us. In addition to a whole new look and feel, it will address performance issues and provide new features – allowing you more opportunities to market your items.
To help us make these redesigns as successful as possible, we would like to have a group of Sellers participate in user testing. This will involve an occasional email or phone call asking your opinion on topics such as terminology, color choices, content, etc. – an informal “Seller Council.”
If you would like to share your opinion on these and/or other upcoming projects, please email Dawn Bovasso, Manager of Online Merchandising, at dbovasso@book.com.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
The Barnes & Noble.com Seller Relations Staff
Hey, now there’s a revolutionary idea for an online marketplace: Listening to your sellers!
Take a page from that book, Amazon…
By the way, how are your sales on Barnes & Noble? Please leave a comment below.
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Barnes & Noble re-launching its Used & Out of Print page
As an online bookseller (selling general stock, not many collectibles), I get nervous about having 90 percent of my business depend on Amazon. It’s dangerous to have all your eggs in one basket.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Barnes & Noble is re-launching its Used & Out of Print Books homepage. Plus, they are promising to upgrade the third-party seller tools and establish a bookseller’s council to get our feedback.
This is a good thing, for a couple of reasons. First, giving Amazon some serious competition for third-party sales will be healthy for the market. Secondly, and even more important, Barnes & Noble needs the money. Let’s face it, the only way B&N is going to survive is to get a serious piece of the online trade. People just aren’t walking into brick-and-mortar bookstores like they used to.
Barnes & Noble has only scratched the surface of what they can do with online sales, and they should be doing a lot more. Having a “Used and Out of Print” Web page is fine and dandy, but let’s get real — how many people are going to go there, anyway? To make a serious move into third-party selling like Amazon has, B&N is going to have to trumpet the offers on detail pages, just like Amazon does:
Hard to miss, isn’t it? But Barnes & Noble’s offer is more of a whisper, way down there:
Not exactly in your face, is it?
Here’s the announcement being e-mailed to B&N sellers today:
Hey, now there’s a revolutionary idea for an online marketplace: Listening to your sellers!
Take a page from that book, Amazon…
By the way, how are your sales on Barnes & Noble? Please leave a comment below.
Get a daily digest of new articles. Enter your e-mail
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