HomeBase 3.0 Alpha Testing Underway
Alpha testing of the English version of HomeBase 3.0 began on March 10! The Beta release is set for March 31, assuming all goes well with the Alpha test, and the release of other supported languages is tentatively scheduled for April 21. If you are interested in Beta testing HomeBase 3.0, please take our survey.

Internal Launch of AbeBooks.it
AbeBooks.it was launched internally on March 10! This initial launch is for testing purposes, so we can make sure any bugs are ironed out prior to the final release. The external launch is scheduled for March 31. Don't forget that all of your books will automatically be listed on AbeBooks.it!

Home Page Redesign
Based on extremely positive feedback during the testing phase, we also launched a redesigned AbeBooks home page on March 10. While it might take a bit of getting used to, we trust that you'll find the new design user friendly and easy to navigate.

AbeBooks Search Web Services
Alpha testing of AbeBooks Search Web Services began on February 18th. Our Search Web Services provides price comparison sites (as well as other high volume, multi-product sites) real-time access to search over 110 million AbeBooks listings. Our initial tests are being conducted with price comparison sites, and the Beta release is planned for April 21.

"Ask AbeBooks" Re-launched in Bookseller Forum
The "Ask Abebooks" folder was re-launched in the Bookseller Forum on Friday, March 7. This folder is a place for booksellers to ask questions of AbeBooks regarding AbeBooks web site functions, policies, and programs.

Full details and guidelines for using "Ask AbeBooks" can be found here.

Collateral Toolboxes
Thank you for all of your requests for collateral toolboxes! We will have collateral material available on site at the shows below. Please email us at collateral@abebooks.com if you would like some of these materials, so that we can be sure to bring enough with us.

• PLA National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota March 26-28
• New York Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, NY, April 4-6
• LA Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, CA, April 26 & 27

Customer Support Tip

Using Downloadable Monthly Reports
by Jessica
At this time of year, many booksellers require AbeBooks financial records for income tax purposes. You can access all of your account history for 2007 using our Downloadable Monthly Reports. I've provided instructions for downloading a single month's report; please just repeat the process for each month, and then copy and paste the data into one main file. You can sort, format, and edit the reports in a way that works best for you.

Click here for the instructions.

Upcoming Book Fairs
We're looking forward to meeting many of you at the PLA National Conference and the 2008 Spring Book Show later this month, as well as at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair and the LA Times Festival of Books in April.

AbeBooks will be attending the following conferences and book fairs:

• Public Library Association National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 26-28. Please come and see us at Booth #450.
  
• 2008 Spring Book Show in Atlanta, Georgia, March 28-30.
  
• The New York Antiquarian Book Fair in New York, New York, April 4-6.
  
• The LA Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, April 26-27. We'll be in Booth #654.

Can Free Shipping Boost My Business?
Acknowledging the heated discussions among AbeBooks booksellers regarding our Free Shipping program, we did some analysis of the actual impact on the sales of sellers who joined the Free Shipping program back in February of 2007. Focusing specifically on small and medium sized sellers, with average selling prices between US $10 and $200, we are happy to report that free shipping has positively influenced the business success of these sellers on AbeBooks.com. We compared sales for the 12 month periods before and after joining the Free Shipping program. One of our Rare and Antiquarian booksellers who has been with AbeBooks for more then 10 years actually experienced 53% growth!

Let us share the following 3 examples with you:

If you want to learn more about the Free Shipping program, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Support.

Most Expensive Books Sold on AbeBooks in February!

See the most expensive sales of February.