Alibris Seller Participation Agreement

Alibris Basic for Publishers: New Seller How-to Guide

Please familiarize yourself with our Policies and Procedures in order to understand our day-to-day operations and the terms by which we'll be doing business together.

This How-to Guide explains the Alibris Basic program for publishers, starting with instructions on how to get your publications into the Ingram catalog, and hence the Alibris catalog. Having your bibliographic data and cover art in our catalog will assist potential buyers in identifying and purchasing your book(s). Please save and print this tutorial to use as a quick reference as you get started. You will be well on your way to becoming a successful seller once you review the following information and perform each step in order.

Step 1: Obtain an ISBN for each of your books Step 2: Choose your book-cover image format Step 3: Provide your covers and bibliographic data to Ingram Step 4: Manage your inventory via the Alibris Seller Hub Contacting Alibris for assistance

Step 1: Obtain an ISBN for each of your books

You will need a 13-digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each book that you intend to list through Ingram and Alibris. ISBNs are explained and can be obtained at www.isbn.org. Once you have an ISBN for each book that you intend to list, follow these steps to send your covers and bibliographic data to Ingram for inclusion in their catalog.

Step 2: Choose your book-cover image format

You probably want to include a cover image with each of your listings. You may supply your book cover images either as digital files or as hard-copy book covers that will be scanned into digital images. Please review the following two sections for detailed information about these formats, and then select the method of your choice. You will need to make a selection before proceeding with the steps for submitting your images/covers as detailed in the "Step 3: Provide your covers and bibliographic data via Ingram" section.

Submitting digital images of book covers
All digital images must be supplied in JPEG or TIFF file format with the following characteristics:

• Clean, clear, and sharply defined
• 72-300 dpi
• RGB color
• At least 648 pixels on the longest edge

IMPORTANT: All images must be named by ISBN. Images must be named by the 10 or 13 digits of the ISBN, plus the file extension (for example, "123456789X.jpg" or "123456789X.tif"). Hyphens and other characters must not be included. If an image can be used for two separate ISBNs, please save the image once under each ISBN. Images named in any other manner will be rejected.

Images are reviewed for quality and format. All book images must be a two-dimensional (flat) scan of the front cover without borders or drop shadows. Non-book product images may be three dimensional photos with a white background. We will not accept and display images that do not meet all of these requirements.

Submitting the physical book cover to be scanned
Please submit a clean, undamaged book to be scanned. Remember to pack the book carefully to avoid damage during shipping. This will result in a high-quality scanned image for pairing with your listing. Inside the front cover of each book, remember to include your name, e-mail address, and telephone number for contact purposes in the event that further information is needed.

Step 3: Provide your covers and bibliographic data to Ingram

Displaying book cover photos and uploading bibliographic data for your published works will increase their appeal to potential buyers—and result in increased sales too. Now that you have completed preceding sections you can upload such information to the Alibris catalog via the Ingram Book Group, our wholesaling partner and provider of much of our own catalog data. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Download Ingram's template documents. Ingram requires the following two documents to facilitate uploads:

IngramBiblioDescriptions.doc: This document defines the requirements and data fields of the "IngramBiblioExcel Temp.xls" document, which is the file you upload to Ingram.

IngramBiblioExcelTemp.xls: Complete the fields in this document with the bibliographic data pertaining to each book you're planning to upload through Ingram.

2. Fill out the bibliographic Excel template completely. You must use the Excel template provided, without modifying any of its original formatting, as it is designed for the Ingram upload system.
3. Submit your book cover images. Refer to the "Step 2: Choose your book-cover image format" section above. Choose a preferred method for supplying your book covers. If you choose a digital format, proceed to the next step; if you prefer to supply hard copies, skip to step 5.
4. Burn your information on a new CD-ROM. Transfer your completed Excel template (and your digital images, if any) to a CD-ROM. Your name, e-mail address, and telephone number must be listed on the outside of the disc; this ensures that Ingram may contact you in the event that further information is required.
5. Mail your submission to Ingram. Securely package your CD-ROM (plus hard-copy book covers, if any) and mail it to the following address via an insured, trackable method:


Ingram Book Group
Attn: Catalog Administrator—MS #216
1 Ingram Blvd.
La Vergne, TN 37086-1986

Please allow up to 30 days (though it may happen within 14 business days) for your submission to be processed and for all data to populate our catalog. Successful submissions will automatically be uploaded into the Alibris catalog without notification. Ingram will notify you of rejected submissions via e-mail or phone.

Due to the increasing cost of postage and the large quantity of media that is received, Ingram is unable to return any submitted materials. All materials will be disposed of at the discretion of Ingram and will not be allowed for resale.

Step 4: Manage your inventory on the Alibris Seller Hub

As an Alibris seller, you have access to inventory management tools when you log in to the Seller Hub, the home of our global network of independent sellers. Through the Hub, you can upload listings, manage item prices, confirm and cancel orders, and administrate other aspects of your seller account. However, this How-to Guide mainly focuses on getting your inventory listed for sale, so once you have completed each of the preceding steps and have verified that your book covers and bibliographic data have been processed by Ingram, please then list your inventory via the Alibris Seller Hub.

Using inventory management tools
Sellers can add items one at a time using our online inventory-management tools. (This feature is not available for music and movie sellers.) To add individual listings to Alibris inventory, click Add Items from the left-hand navigation menu.

Beginning on the Add Items page (Figure 1), follow these steps to add an item:

1. Search for the book you have in hand by entering the ISBN (or the title and the author's last name) and clicking the Search button.
2. Select the matching title and enter your conditional information. If no exact match is displayed, then your Ingram catalog item is not available yet. (See the "Step 3: Provide your covers and bibliographic data via Ingram" section.)
   

   Figure 2: Describe your listing via the Add Item to Inventory page.

3. Once you have found a matching item (Figure 2), check the bibliographic data pre-populated in the form from the Alibris catalog to ensure that it matches the book in hand. Make any necessary edits and add additional descriptive information. Next, add the publisher list price and discount level for the item (if it differs from the discount level you selected at sign up). The default discount is 40%, which is the standard discount that authors or publishers give to distributors who sell their books. This discount feature allows you to select how much you want to make from the sale of the book. Hereýs an example: you enter a price of $100.00 with a discount level of 40%. For each sale, you will receive $60.00 for the item (regardless of any commission Alibris charges). You can change your default discount level for your account by clicking the Your Account link in the left-hand navigation bar on the Hub. If you prefer not to use this feature, you can opt out of the publisher program by contacting Client Services.
4. Click the Add button. A new listing will be added to your inventory in the Alibris inventory database and should be replicated to the retail Web sites (and all other pertinent sales channels) within 24 hours.

Uploading a preexisting database
If you already have a database of for-sale items, you can upload it to the Seller Hub for inclusion in your inventory. You may choose to download our template file for a sample format. Please note that our sample template file is similar but different than the one you will use or have used to send your listings to Ingram. This is not the same process as adding your items to your inventory for sale on our site.

Once your inventory file is ready for upload, select Upload Listings in the Seller Hub left-hand navigation menu.

Click the Browse button on the Upload Listings page (Figure 3) to locate and select your file for upload to Alibris. The Upload Listings page will explain the options for how our inventory system will process your upload file. For information on other methods, or if you need upload assistance, please see our upload help section.

Contacting Alibris for assistance

We care deeply for our sellers. Your success adds to our own success. Therefore, our dedicated client services specialists are available to assist you. Contact us with your questions that aren't answered by this How-to Guide.