AbeBooks.com—one of the world’s largest online marketplaces for new, used, rare and out-of-print books—has released survey results pointing to evidence that the majority of online used-book sellers in the United States are Baby Boomers.
Between October 2006 and January 2007, AbeBooks polled 1,949 U.S. booksellers that sold through its network of Web sites.
“Hard work is the key to successfully selling secondhand books on the Web,” said Hannes Blum, CEO of AbeBooks.com. “Although this profession is relatively new, it requires dedication to build up an online inventory of books and considerable effort to find books ideal for the Internet. We’re seeing a commitment to put more used books for sale online—sellers already offer over 100 million books through AbeBooks, so that could expand to 120 million by the end of 2008 ….”
Key findings about booksellers include:
-79% are more than 45 years old;
-More than 50% have a degree or a higher qualification;
-Most sellers had left white-collar careers to become booksellers;
-11% work between 51 and 60 hours per week, and 9% are working more than 60 hours a week;
-25% will increase their online book inventory by between 10% and 25% in 2007;
-21% plan to launch their own e-commerce Web sites;
-74% had set up their Internet selling operation without outside IT assistance;
-60% of sellers operate purely online
-68% list falling book prices as their biggest fear for the future