ABEBOOKS PRESENTS SURVEY RESULTS "OLD MEETS NEW: ANTIQUARIANS ARE E-COMMERCE TRENDSETTERS"

AbeBooks, the world's largest online marketplace for secondhand, rare and out-of-print books, presents a study on German booksellers that shows old books are hot sellers online.

10th October, 2002

(Frankfurt, GERMANY) - AbeBooks today announced at the Frankfurt Bookfair the results of its second survey of German secondhand and antiquarian booksellers.

The survey was given to over 600 German booksellers who list their secondhand, rare and out-of-print books on AbeBooks' German site. The results reveal surprising information that shatters the stereotype of booksellers as being old fashioned in their business approach.

In fact, sellers of rare and out-of-print books are a modern and entrepreneurial group who have embraced the Internet to sell books. Key findings of the study are:

- A greater percentage of used books are sold on the Internet than new books: 13%-16% of all used books are sold online, compared to 2.5% - 3% of all new books

- Booksellers who sell antiquarian books are entrepreneurial: 63% of booksellers in the survey opened their business within the last five years

- Borders don't affect sales: every 10th book sold by German booksellers is bought or sent to someone outside of Germany (top destinations are Europe, United States, and Japan); two-thirds of booksellers stated that this is a rising trend

- Online booksellers in Germany regularly send books to buyers around the world, for example to the Japanese embassy in Nepal, to the University of Greenland library, and to a German bank employee working on the small Polynesian island republic of Vanuatu.

- Selling books online leads to interesting delivery experiences: a woman from New Zealand purchased a book online from a German bookseller then picked it up in person while vacationing in Germany two weeks later
Commenting on this, Hannes Blum, managing director of AbeBooks Europe states: "People think antiquarian booksellers deal with dusty old books in bookshops. This study shows they are a high-tech group using modern technology to succeed. In fact, the antiquarian market is a stronger online market than the new book market."

About AbeBooks
AbeBooks is the world's largest online marketplace for secondhand, rare, and out-of-print books. AbeBooks connects those who buy books with those who sell books, to provide abundant selection at affordable prices.

Bookbuyers love the variety and selection of 40 million books, offered by 10,000 booksellers who list on AbeBooks. Readers find bestsellers, collectors find antiquarian books, students find textbooks, and treasure hunters find books they've been seeking forever. Booksellers love AbeBooks for providing the tools to help them succeed online.

AbeBooks is a global company with sites dedicated to bookbuyers in North America (AbeBooks.com), Germany (AbeBooks.de), France (AbeBooks.fr), and the UK (AbeBooks.co.uk). These domestic sites serve specific countries while making unique book inventories available to all. Through strategic partnerships AbeBooks has become the most important virtual supplier of used books while expanding selling avenues for booksellers.

AbeBooks strives to be the world's best book source where book buyers and sellers find books they want at prices they love.

About AbeBooks.co.uk
AbeBooks.co.uk is the book source for UK booklovers, launched by AbeBooks on August 19, 2002. AbeBooks.co.uk is made up of thousands of booksellers, and was created to help UK booksellers share their books with UK bookbuyers. Features such as paying in pounds and browsing local bookseller lists help bookbuyers feel at home searching AbeBooks' 40 million secondhand, rare, and out-of-print books. AbeBooks' strategic partnerships with Gardners and WHSmith help bring more books to UK bookbuyers. AbeBooks' global partnerships with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and eBay/Half.com help UK booksellers reach even larger global markets.

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For more information please contact:

Contacts
Richard Davies, PR & Publicity Mgr., AbeBooks.com
Ph: 250-412-3238
rdavies@abebooks.com

Angie Reinhardt, AbeBooks Europe Communications
Tel: (+49) 211 7117 069 23 E: areinhardt@abebooks.com