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BookRabbit takes on Amazon

21.05.08 Graeme Neill

Social shopping website BookRabbit, which allows users to browse other members' bookshelves online, has launched its website promising to beat Amazon.co.uk on price on more than 100,000 titles.

Books can be bought directly from the BookRabbit website at www.bookrabbit.com, with free delivery also available. Members can take photos of their bookshelves and upload them to the website, using technology similar to number plate recognition software to give members an online catalogue of what they own. Users can browse other profiles, and are shown other members who have read similar titles.

BookRabbit m.d. Kieron Smith said the site was launched to fill a "fundamental gap" in the retail market. "We understand that if you want to be surprised by books, if you want to experience new authors, if you have a passion for reading, then you don't turn to a machine, or the dinosaurs of the book trade to help you – you turn to other readers, and what they have experienced through the books they have read," he said.

The business, which is part of ArgentVive, the company formerly known as SamedayBooks, is also offering independent bookshops the opportunity to upload their inventory onto the site. Customers can browse where their local store is and discover if they have a specific book in stock.

Retail amazon Graeme Neill Kieron Smith bookrabbit

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By June Austin

Sounds interesting, and potentially very useful to both readers and authors. It has always been difficult for POD authors to find out where their books are stocked, as retailers are not the most communicative of people, and tend to assume thjat we know. However, I will now be able to find this information via Bookrabbit, assuming that enough stores sign up ! ArgentVine seem to be a company who are really going places - and one of the few who do let you know when they order your books !

22 May 08 17:12

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