# Alibris is selling my book for more than the publisher's list price! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231 "2005-06-14T16:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/1 "2005-06-14T16:18:18Z")
What? Alibris is selling _used_ copies of my book for more than the list price that the publisher has for _new_ copies. Alibris is also selling new copies for almost 150% of the list price of the book!! How the heck do they stay in business? ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/2 "2005-06-14T18:00:02Z")
Isn’t that a supply and demand kind of thing? Is your book OOP? You wouldn’t believe the prices some high-demand OOP knitting books go for. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/3 "2005-06-14T18:02:19Z")
Volume? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/4 "2005-06-14T18:10:06Z")
Alibris isn’t a seller unto itself - it’s more of a cataloguing service for several hundred (or more) independent used booksellers, who can list their inventory there and give a cut when one is sold - kind of like Ebay. So that just means one of their vendors has your book priced that high - possibly because it’s out of print, or you signed that copy and your signature is particularly prized, or just because they’re the type of used bookstore who prices stuff really high assuming their customers are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/5 "2005-06-14T18:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t that a supply and demand kind of thing? Is your book OOP? You wouldn’t believe the prices some high-demand OOP knitting books go for. Nope – it’s up on Oxford University Press and Amazon for $40, but Alibris is selling it for more than that used, and for almost $60 new (!) That’s why I can’t make any sense out of this. > [@](#): > > Volume? That’s like the SNL skit about the Bank that only makes change. “You may ask – how do we make any money? The answer is Volume.” Right. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/6 "2005-06-14T18:13:46Z")
So, can I send my copy to you for inscription, Cal? Return postage paid, of course. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alibris-is-selling-my-book-for-more-than-the-publishers-list-price/308231/7 "2005-06-14T18:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > So, can I send my copy to you for inscription, Cal? Return postage paid, of course. Flatterer. Of course. I’m not soliciting here (which would be against Board rules) – I’m genuinely confused. This makes zero sense to me, unless they’re counting on people not comparing prices at all. On the other hand, I’m still in the red on this, and I wouldn’t mind making back my advance (which I foolishly blew on photos and permissions for the book).