MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

lybrary · 06-07-2014, 02:24 PM

It is sad to see independent ebook retailers shutting down. As the owner of an independent ebook retailer myself - Lybrary.com - it makes me think. I want to offer a few answers to some of the questions posed in this thread and would like to ask a few questions myself to help me build and guide my business. Lybrary.com is in business as ebook retailer since 2000, which makes us one of the longest running ebook stores.

Adobe tax: that DRM tax Adobe charges is not very much and can not be the reason why a retailer would go out of business or not be able to compete.

Agency Model: Yes, definitely this has made it extremely hard for independent retailers to compete. Our answer to the agency model was the following. One, we do not retail agency model ebooks. Yes, that means we cannot offer certain titles, but we can better support all those publishers who do not use the agency model. In this way, we help these non-agency publishers be more successful. I think if other retailers would do the same, and most importantly if customers would preferentially buy non-agency ebooks, it might cause the big publishers to rethink their strategy. Well, maybe I am too much of an idealist. Probably the big publishers don't give a damn either way. But you have a choice. Supporting independent retailers like Lybrary.com and others will certainly be good for customers long term.

Second, we don't try to be like the big retailers. We try to find niches where we are better than the big ones. For example we are world wide the leader in magic and conjuring ebooks. We have about 4000 titles in this category which won't find in any other store, certainly not at the big ebook retailers. We are working on building other niches. I think that this is the solution for independent retailers. Find a niche, develop relationships with authors and publishers in this niche. That will allow one to attract customers and content. In those niches we can compete with the Apples and Amazons. We have done this successfully for 14 years and I am pretty sure we will continue to do this for decades to come.

A couple of questions to the experts here.
- what would be interesting subject niches to specialize in? Anything that is not well served by the big boys?
- any particular features or offerings that would make you preferentially choose one retailer over another?

Thanks for reading. I appreciate any feedback, suggestions and recommendations.

Best,
DI Dr Chris Wasshuber
[Promotional link deleted - MODERATOR]

06-07-2014, 02:24 PM	#69
lybrary Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: none	It is sad to see independent ebook retailers shutting down. As the owner of an independent ebook retailer myself - Lybrary.com - it makes me think. I want to offer a few answers to some of the questions posed in this thread and would like to ask a few questions myself to help me build and guide my business. Lybrary.com is in business as ebook retailer since 2000, which makes us one of the longest running ebook stores. Adobe tax: that DRM tax Adobe charges is not very much and can not be the reason why a retailer would go out of business or not be able to compete. Agency Model: Yes, definitely this has made it extremely hard for independent retailers to compete. Our answer to the agency model was the following. One, we do not retail agency model ebooks. Yes, that means we cannot offer certain titles, but we can better support all those publishers who do not use the agency model. In this way, we help these non-agency publishers be more successful. I think if other retailers would do the same, and most importantly if customers would preferentially buy non-agency ebooks, it might cause the big publishers to rethink their strategy. Well, maybe I am too much of an idealist. Probably the big publishers don't give a damn either way. But you have a choice. Supporting independent retailers like Lybrary.com and others will certainly be good for customers long term. Second, we don't try to be like the big retailers. We try to find niches where we are better than the big ones. For example we are world wide the leader in magic and conjuring ebooks. We have about 4000 titles in this category which won't find in any other store, certainly not at the big ebook retailers. We are working on building other niches. I think that this is the solution for independent retailers. Find a niche, develop relationships with authors and publishers in this niche. That will allow one to attract customers and content. In those niches we can compete with the Apples and Amazons. We have done this successfully for 14 years and I am pretty sure we will continue to do this for decades to come. A couple of questions to the experts here. - what would be interesting subject niches to specialize in? Anything that is not well served by the big boys? - any particular features or offerings that would make you preferentially choose one retailer over another? Thanks for reading. I appreciate any feedback, suggestions and recommendations. Best, DI Dr Chris Wasshuber [Promotional link deleted - MODERATOR] Last edited by Dr. Drib; 06-09-2014 at 09:26 AM.