Cheapbooks

CheapBooks.com is a book price comparison web site founded in 1997 by David Tiberio. CheapBooks compares prices on new and used books, as well as textbook rentals and buybacks. CheapBooks also offers a book search service that groups books by title and author. Book news and reviews are aggregated daily from major news sources.

CheapBooks Inc, a private corporation, is headquartered in Syracuse, NY. CheapBooks has no venture capital or outside investors. CheapBooks sells hundreds of thousands of books per year.

Infrastructure

CheapBooks utilizes 15 datacenters, geographically dispersed across North America, in customer-centric locations. In-house load balancing technology allows visitors to access data more efficiently.

CheapBooks is developing its support backend from a flash media card and DVD, allowing the site to operate from a WIFI enabled laptop. This allows one programmer the ability to maintain and operate the site worldwide.

History

Initially selling magazine subscriptions, CheapBooks started offering books, electronics, music, and movies by the fall of 1998, from its Manhattan location. Some of the more interesting items ordered by customers included a Lay-Z-Boy reclining chair and power tools.

In 2004, CheapBooks moved to Syracuse, NY. CheapBooks became an Amazon Marketplace seller and offered textbooks, software, music, and DVD's shipped from its Syracuse location. In January 2005, CheapBooks liquidated its inventory and focused on providing book search services.

In 2004, CheapBooks negotiated to sell the company for $3.4 million to a private company. The deal did not go forward when the buyer was unable to secure the total funds.

In 2005, comedian Rich Natole was hired as the voice behind the "CheapBooks.com" slogan used in TV and radio advertising. Natole began lending his voice to CheapBooks radio ads in 2005, and TV ads in 2006.

On November 15th, 2006, CheapBooks hosted an event with Syrus Yarbrough of MTV's "The Real World: Boston". The event aired nationally on the TV show "World's Greatest Businesses", on the ION and PAX networks.

In April 2007, CheapBooks hired its first and only employee, Caryn Cooper, who acts as a business assistant.

References

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* cite news |last=Patterson| first=Brittany |title=College required texts can cost much less online
url=http://www.houstonianonline.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=8369517c-2d91-4c27-adf9-38bbbf39ec4d |date=2006-01-24
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External links

* [http://www.cheapbooks.com/ CheapBooks Inc]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=cheapbooks Videos] YouTube