Bookseller Digest UK

AbeBooks Conversion to FTP Secure

As part of AbeBooks’ ongoing effort to exceed industry standards for protecting the security of your information, we are introducing a new layer of security to the transfer of inventory data to or from AbeBooks via FTP.
  
AbeBooks now supports FTP Secure (FTPS or FTP over TLS) and will soon be making the use of FTPS mandatory. We have posted a detailed definition of FTPS, for your reference.
 
This change will mean that booksellers who send files to AbeBooks by FTP will need to make some updates to the FTP software or inventory tool they currently use.

• For HomeBase 2.3, we are developing a software update that will apply the required changes to the FTP facility built into the program. We will notify all HomeBase 2.3 users as soon as the update is available.  (Note that HomeBase 3.0 uploads are sent via web services, not by FTP, so no update is necessary.)

• For booksellers using most third-party FTP software, this security upgrade requires a simple change in your software settings. The required settings for some of the most commonly used FTP products can be found in our online Bookseller Help. To ensure your files continue to upload successfully to AbeBooks, we recommend you update your FTP software settings as soon as possible, before the use of FTPS becomes mandatory.

• For sellers who use third-party inventory management services that send files to AbeBooks via FTP, your service provider will need to update the settings they use to send your files.  We are already working with the most commonly used service providers to help them implement the necessary changes.

 
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we work to introduce this security improvement.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Customer Support and we’ll be happy to help.

Tracking Your Shipments

We encourage all booksellers to track their shipments and enter the tracking information in the orders. Trackable shipping helps to ensure the packages reach their destination and helps to resolve disputes about orders not arriving. In accordance with our bookseller policies, a bookseller is responsible for the book during the entire shipping process until it reaches the buyer.

We have had numerous enquiries from buyers who have received the tracking numbers by email. It is important that you enter the tracking number and shipping company into the fields provided as shown below:

Step 1: Update the order status and click 'Save Order Changes'

Step 2: Enter the tracking information and click 'Update'

An email like the one below will be sent to the buyer containing all the tracking information :

If you have any questions about shipping and tracking be sure to contact our customer service team.

Partipate in a Christmas Promotion

We are continuing to work hard in preparation for the Christmas Shop. Don’t forget, it will be online at AbeBooks.co.uk from 20^th November.

It is not too late for you to participate in some of this year’s promotions. Here is how to get involved:

 

1. Offer Free shipping 

Offering free shipping during the Christmas season will earn you a place in a special section of the Christmas Shop dedicated to this offer. You will also benefit from the promotion of free shipping in our buyer newsletters.  

2. Participate in a Sales Promotion

Get in contact if you would like to offer a sale during the Christmas season. You will be featured in the Christmas Shop and the bulletins to buyers. To participate in a sale, we have just a few requirements, you need to:

• Have at least 1000 books
• Have had at least 90% completion rating in the last three months
• Include images in some of your listings

If you would like to take part in either of these Christmas promotions please contact our Customer Service Team. 

 

Image Uploads Made Easy

On AbeBooks, there are more than 140 million books for sale, offering a huge selection for buyers. Make your books stand out and increase your sales by adding images.

Why Upload Pictures to AbeBooks?

• Your items are more attractive to buyers as they can see what they are buying.
• Uploading images can increase your sales by up to 30%.
• Books that are displayed with images are returned less often than those without.
• Our Marketing Team use your images to promote your inventory when you participate in our seller promotions.

What Services Can AbeBooks Offer?

• Upload up to 5 images per book for free.
• We can process images in .jpg or .gif format.
• You can upload images up to 4 MB.
• You have 3 easy methods to upload your pictures:

1. If your pictures are already online add image URLs to your current book file
2. Upload pictures in bulk using a .zip file of the folder containing your images
3. Of course, you can also upload through our Online Inventory Management System

More information on uploading images can be found on our Help Pages and our Customer Service Team are also happy to assist you.

 

Tips and Tricks for Image Uploading:

 

1. Select a white or light coloured background.

 

 

 

2. Open the books so that the entire cover is visible or stand it on its side, in order to show the spine. Never open it to 180º or lay it flat, as the visual effect is not very appealing.

 

 

3. If possible, remove or avoid having any other objects (shelves, pens, etc.) in the picture. The simpler the background is, the better and easier it will be for the buyer to focus on the book itself.

 

 

 

4. Avoid watermarks on the pictures - it makes it more difficult for our Marketing team to include your images in Newsletters, Feature Pages, etc.

 

 

 

5. Take the picture using natural light and turn off the camera's flash. A flash may produce a white glare or reflection on the image.

 

 

 

6. Take pictures with a digital camera as opposed to a scanner, in order to feature the different angles of the book.

 

 

AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in September 2012

1 A Latin bible from 1491 - £16,132
A copy of a ‘Poor Man’s Bible’ (so-called because of its smaller size) printed by Johann Froben in Basel. It was the first bible to be printed in an octavo format, making it easier to transport and more affordable to a common church-goer. Until the publication of Froben’s edition, bibles were massive, iconic objects.

2= Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - £15,390
A true first edition, in two volumes, from 1868. The book is accompanied by a small slip of paper signed by Alcott.

2= A Polyglot bible from 1599-1602 edited by Elisa Hutter - £15,390
A folio bible in six volumes bound in blind-stamped tooled leather. This is the first multi-language bible in which English is one of the languages. Western and Eastern European languages are placed in columns parallel to the classical Hebrew, Greek and Latin. This book is often referred to as the ‘Nuremberg Polyglot’ or ‘Hutter-Polyglot’. Hutter was a professor of Hebrew in Leipzig.

4 Cosmographia by Petrus Apianus - £14,584
Printed in Paris, this is pioneering book on astronomy and geography from 1551.  It features a large folding woodcut map and many diagrams defining weather, climate and the continents. A hugely influential book, it was widely translated in later years.

5 Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri - £10,161
A 1506 copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy that is a rare counterfeit of a 1502 edition.



6 The Pyramids of Gizeh by John Shae Perring - £10,016
Three parts in one volume, published in 1839-1842. A large folio edition with 59 plates featuring sketches by J.E. Andrews. A key book on Egyptian archaeology written by a gifted explorer, topographer and draftsman.

7 An illustrated bible from 1650 - £9,237
This 17th century bible produced by Nicolaum Johannis Piscatorem and featuring 480 copperplate engravings.

8 Lindenia Iconography of Orchids - £8,272
Complete set, First English edition, 1891 - 1897. Bound in six folio volumes, with plates chromolithographed by P. de Pannemaeker, G. Severeyns, and J.Goffart.


9 Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux by Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon - £7,903
Books one, two, four, six and nine from a set of 10 published from 1770 to 1786. A landmark ornithology book with illustrations by François Nicolas Martinet.

10 Postilla in Quattuor Evangelistas by Nicholas De Lyra - £7,852
A book of commentaries on the New Testament published in 1488 but now with a contemporary binding. Nicholas De Lyra was a Franciscan teacher who worked at the Sorbonne and later led France’s Franciscan order.