Bookseller Advisory Group

Bookseller Policy - Existing

2. Items Available for Sale

Abebooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. Many of our booksellers also offer other items and ephemera such as music, posters, and other collectible items. However, there are certain items that we do not permit to be sold on our Web sites. Abebooks reserves the right to remove any listing at Abebooks' discretion, including without limitation requests from rights holders and publications deemed defamatory or illegal. All booksellers must have the legal right and the ability to sell the items they list on the Abebooks web sites.

a. Acceptable Listings

  • Books
  • Ephemera such as music, posters, maps and similar items
  • Print on Demand items are permitted as long as the description clearly states the following This book is a reprint. Originally published by (publisher details). If the publisher field is used, it must contain only the reprinter's name, and the Publisher Date field should be left blank. In addition, booksellers are required to meet the stated delivery timeframe for all print on demand items ordered.
  • Photocopies are permitted as long as they are free of copyright and in the public domain, or where the bookseller has received prior permission in writing from the copyright holder to reproduce the content. The bookseller must be able to provide proof of permission to Abebooks upon request.
  • E-books are permitted as long as they clearly state they are e-books in both the title and description.
  • International Editions are permitted for sale on the Abebooks web site as long as they are clearly identified as such with the term "International Edition" (no abbreviations) in the book's description field.
  • Audio books are permitted in CD and DVD format. All other DVDs and CDs are not permitted for sale on Abebooks.

 

Bookseller Policy - Updated (changes in red)

2. Items Available for Sale

Abebooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. Many of our booksellers also offer other items and ephemera such as music, posters, and other collectible items. However, there are certain items that we do not permit to be sold on our Web sites. Abebooks reserves the right to remove any listing at Abebooks' discretion, including without limitation requests from rights holders and publications deemed defamatory or illegal. All booksellers must have the legal right and the ability to sell the items they list on the Abebooks web sites.

a. Acceptable Listings

  • Books
  • Ephemera such as music, posters, maps and similar items
  • Print on Demand listings are items that are not in printed form at the time of order. Print on Demand listings are permitted as long as the description clearly states, "This item is printed on demand." Booksellers must adjust the shipping matrix to represent printing and shipping times to accurately reflect the ultimate delivery speed.
  • Photocopies are permitted as long as they are free of copyright and in the public domain, or where the bookseller has received prior permission in writing from the copyright holder to reproduce the content. The bookseller must be able to provide proof of permission to Abebooks upon request. The description must clearly state, "This is a photocopy."
  • E-books are permitted as long as they clearly state they are e-books in both the title and the description reads, "This is an e-book."
  • International Editions are permitted for sale on the Abebooks web site as long as they are clearly identified as such with the statement "This is an International Edition" (no abbreviations) in the book's description field.
  • Audio books are permitted in CD and DVD format. The description should clearly state, "This is an audio book." All other DVDs and CDs are not permitted for sale on Abebooks.
  • Multiple items of the same or similar title shall only be listed as individual and separate listings when these items are shown to be materially different and are priced and described in a way to reflect these differences. Otherwise, a bookseller shall only list a maximum of two (2) of the same title, or use a quantity field so that the title displays only once. Booksellers shall not manipulate listings by price and / or description to display an unreasonable number of listings for a search result. Material differences and unreasonable numbers are defined at the sole discretion of Abebooks.*

* Please note that only until the release of HomeBase 3.0, at which time everyone will have access to the Quantity field, will we allow two identical listings from one bookseller.