Thriftbooks

Infobox_Company
company_name = Thriftbooks LLC
company_type = Private
company_
company_slogan = Spend less. Read more.
foundation = 2003
location = Auburn, Washington
key_people = Hector Rivas, CEO; G. Seth Beal, President; Michael Ward, CIO; Founders: Daryl Butcher, Jason Meyer
industry = Retail
products = Used media. Books, DVDs, etc.
homepage = [http://www.thriftbooks.com/ www.thriftbooks.com]

Thrift Books is one of the largest used booksellers on the internet. Headquartered in Auburn, Washington, it has an inventory of nearly 3,000,000 books and nearly 60,000 books are added per day.

History

Thrift Books was founded in the summer of 2003 by Daryl Butcher and Jason Meyer. The two created software which allowed them to organize and list thousands of book titles per day. Their first “warehouse” was a 3,000 square foot storage unit in Kirkland, Washington. The company had over $1.2 million in sales its first year. [cite web| url= http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001949623_amazonweb07.html | title= Small sellers get the Amazon.com edge | publisher=The Seattle Times | author=Monica Soto Ouchi |date=2004-06-07 | accessdate=2008-06-19] Thrift Books now has over 170 employees at 4 facilities and sells books and other media on more than a dozen platforms. Thrift Books also operates a number of subsidiaries including Green Earth Books, the Atlanta Book Company, and Motor City Books.

Business Model

Thrift Books’s business model “is based on achieving economies of scale through automation.” [cite web| url= http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/books/review/Sussman-t.html?pagewanted=1| title= Attack of the Megalisters | publisher=The New York Times | author=Mick Sussman |date=2008-09-12 | accessdate=2008-09-16] Thrift Books buys books in bulk and sells them at deeply discounted prices. Suppliers include charitable organizations and brick-and-mortar thrift stores in addition to partnerships with library systems. Books are scanned into its database and shelved in one of its four warehouses. Thrift Books lists items on its own website as well as through most other major internet booksellers.

Computer software automatically sets a book’s price below that offered by any of Thrift Books’ competitors. Between thirty and forty percent of its books are listed for only a penny but the average selling price is higher--$2. [cite web| url= http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/07/03/smallb1.html?i=48911 | title= Thrift Books owners have bigger online plans | publisher=Puget Sound Business Journal | author=Caroline li |date=2006-06-30 | accessdate=2008-06-19] Due to such low prices, Thrift Books makes most of its profit from shipping despite charging the same rates as most other booksellers. The minimal price for a book including "standard shipping" was $3.96 in June 2008.

Products

Thrift Books sells used books, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, video games, and audio cassettes.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.thriftbooks.com/ Thriftbooks official website]
* [http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/07/03/smallb1.html?i=48911 Puget Sound Business Journal - Thrift Books owners have bigger online plans]
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001949623_amazonweb07.html Seattle Times - Small sellers get the Amazon.com edge]