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.
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. 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.
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>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.")
