A second viaLibri Virtual Rare Book Showcase was recently announced and is now set to open on February 20, 2025.  The results from our first showcase in December exceeded my modest expectations and left me encouraged to see what would happen if we tried another round.  Exhibitor registration has already begun. Several of our original exhibitors have already signed up for our next virtual event and others have promised to join them.

After first open registration back in September I did start to worry that two weeks before Christmas might not be the ideal time to launch an event like ours. None of us had noticed until too late that there were 5 other virtual book fairs that had also scheduled their events for the beginning of December. Even an ardent believer in online bookselling like myself could not help wondering if there  could really be that much demand, especially at a time of the year when our hoped-for customers have so many other obligations and activities to divert them from buying and selling old books.

Fortunately, my concerns in the end proved groundless.  Over 250 booksellers at half a dozen web sites, including our own, did eventually sign up as virtual exhibitors in one place or another.  Buyers did also come and their numbers were eagerly counted, for those who were interested, with software like Google Analytics.

But for me the metric of most interest is not the number of buyers and vendors but, more importantly, the total value of the items that are  bought and sold. More than just page views, those are numbers you can take to the bank.

I don’t usually measure the value of my books by counting them, and yet it is not uncommon for a bookseller to talk about his success or failure at a book fair not in terms of cost or value, but in terms of quantity instead.   This is natural, of course. At the end of a busy online fair however, I often  find myself scrolling through listings and stopping most often to examine the books that have already been sold. These are frequently the most interesting and they provide one of the great benefits  of online book buying in contrast  to “live” fairs.  At a live fair a sold item is removed from sight almost immediately. An online item stays visible to an interested bibliophile until the virtual event has closed.  The amount to be learned from this kind of bibliophilic exploration should not be ignored.

There is, however, a great frustration encountered here.  All the text and images of sold items remain visible until the end of the event, except for the prices.  If you see a sold book that you might also like to own yourself it is difficult, if not impossible, not to wonder how much it sold for. Serious booksellers (not to mention collectors) are inevitably interested in the state of the marketplace.  If so, how do they evaluate a marketplace where they are unable to know the prices of the things that have actually been sold?.  Auction houses actively report the prices of the things they sell (or fail to sell) and report a grand total when the sale is over. Regular live fair organisers like the ABA and PBFA  diligently collect show slips at the close of a fair and then publish the results  for all their members to see. The virtual fairs, on the other hand, usually keep that information all to themselves. This seems like a mistake to me.  It is the virtual fairs that suffer, understandably, from the greatest skepticism regarding how much buying and selling their sites actual produce.  This is where buyers would want the maximum transparency. Without it they would only expect uncertainty, if not complete skepticism.  Exhibitors  who sold nothing would naturally assume that everyone  else did the same.  On the other hand, the exhibitors who did have strong sales might prefer to keep it to themselves – but still being sure to exhibit again at the next opportunity.

For our own contribution to the cause of transparency I would begin by reporting  that total sales at our December virtual showcase added up to $61,610 with sold items priced from $20 to $17,500, including 8 with prices in 4 figures or more.  53 exhibitors sold a total of 58 items  while 33 exhibitors did not sell any of the items they had listed. (These numbers have been adjusted upwards to include a €7000 library purchase that was not formally approved until January.)

The median price for sold items was $395  while the mean price was $1030.  The listed prices had a median of $1200 and a mean of $4137.   Of the 22 exhibitors who reported sales, 13 sold multiple items, while 8 sold at least 4 or more. (These are the original calculations, published earlier).

In its entirety the overall profitability of the virtual showcase was, I think, satisfying. While gross sales came to a total of $61,598 the total participation cost for all 57 exhibitors was only $11,634.   That would mean that overall the average exhibitor’s virtual booth rent came to only 21% of what they sold.

There is one other interesting thing I discovered in our showcase statistics. Like everyone else, I took it for granted that all the heavy  buying at online book fairs takes place on the first day, usually Thursday, if not just the first 2 or 3 hours after things go live. Until we had our own data to look at I had no way to test this assumption. After the showcase was finished, however, I was able to look at some real numbers. What I found was that total sales on Thursday  were only $292 greater than those Friday, Saturday and Sunday combined. Thursday still lead the pack, but not by much.  I also wondered what our data could tell me about measuring visitor traffic as opposed to sales.  Here I found that over all 4 days we had a total of 3693 unique users.  As expected, the largest number came on Thursday  (1796). But after that, to my great surprise, Sunday came in second (975), Friday came in a close third (941) while Saturday dragged in far behind (466). And these were buyers, not just browsers. On Sunday they bought a total of 6 books at an average price of $224. I thought that was a relatively encouraging number, not so terribly far behind the average for all 4 days.

Once having noticed these unexpected results I wondered if it was my negative expectations about weekend sales that had always been wrong, or if there was something we did differently that might explain these results. Eventually a likely explanation came to mind.  Most book fairs, whether live or virtual, are stand alone events.  They are destinations for bibliophiles who already know about them and have planned to attend.  They will want to be there when doors open.  If they come on Sunday it will most likely be a return visit.  In the case of a virtual showcase, however,  there will also be collectors who know and regularly use the viaLibri search engine but may not be aware of our virtual events. They could be browsing or searching at any hour of the day on any day of the week, including Sundays. If they are already looking for books on vialibri.net they may easily decide to take a look at what is happening on vialibri.net/showcases since they will already be there.

As mentioned at the beginning, we are now planning another virtual showcase for Thursday, February 20 through Sunday, February 23. Exhibitor registration is open now. If you would like to be notified and receive further details please click one of the links below.

• Learn more about the viaLibri Virtual Showcase.
• Sign up for our mailing list to be the first to hear about new developments.
• Register as an exhibitor.

After a successful first outing, the viaLibri Virtual Showcase will be returning on February 20th. Register now to secure your place in the internet’s premier book fair.

Why register?

Unmatched access to viaLibri’s audience

• Every day over 4,000 collectors, librarians and dealers from around the world come to viaLibri to search for old and rare books.
• Every day our Libribot matches over 180,000 active wants with the search lists of over 18,000 registered users and subscribers. Links to your showcase items will be emailed directly to interested collectors.
• Over 35,000 searches are executed daily on viaLibri.

A brand new, custom built, book fair system

• The Virtual Showcase provides powerful search tools using flexible unlimited, multi-lingual categories and tags.
• Upload up to 50 images per item.
• Include links to your recent catalogue PDFs in your profile.
• If your website is already being searched by viaLibri then you will be able to easily copy your listings into the Virtual Showcase.

Enhanced features for February 2025

Based on valuable feedback from December’s exhibitors we’re making the following changes to the platform:

• Real-time statistics on page visits and item views will be available in the Exhibitor’s Dashboard.
• Item descriptions can now include bold and italic text, as well as links.
• The categories and tags browsing experience will be simplified to allow easier browsing.
• We’ve added “Previous exhibitor” and “Next exhibitor” buttons to make it easier to browse all the booths in the showcase.
• Several other small tweaks and bug fixes.

Discount for viaLibri subscribers

As before, there is a 20% discount on all registration fees for viaLibri Premium Services subscribers. If you are a subscriber and you are signed in to viaLibri with the correct account then this discount will be applied automatically when you register for the showcase.

Register as an exhibitor

Find out more

It has already been two weeks since we opened registration for exhibitors in our forthcoming virtual showcase. Since then we have have been asked a variety of good questions regarding how our showcase operates and what you can do with it. Anticipating still more questions to come, I thought it might be useful to compile and answer a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that addressed many of the things our exhibitors, current and future, may want to know.

The list that Al and I came up with will be found below. If you have any other questions that have so far been overlooked please don’t hesitate to send them on. An FAQ Chapter 2 will surely follow.

FAQs For Virtual Showcase Exhibitors

Is there a discount for viaLibri subscribers? How do I make sure I qualify?

Yes, there is a 20% discount on all registration fees for viaLibri Premium Services subscribers. If you are a subscriber and you are signed in to viaLibri with the correct account then this discount will be applied automatically when you register for the showcase.

Can I increase my item count after I’ve signed up?

Yes. You can upgrade at any point until 48 hours before the showcase opens. All you will need to pay is the difference between the price of package you currently have and the price of the package you’re upgrading to.

See our help page for more details on how to do this.

Can I replace items once they’ve sold?

No. Once the showcase opens you will not be able to replace any items that have sold. You will be able to remove an item from sale if needed, but you will not be able to substitute a new item in its place.

Does Libribot also look for matches that appear in viaLibri Virtual Showcases?

Yes, the viaLibri Virtual Showcase is fully integrated into the rest of the viaLibri system.

Libribot is our wants matching service. Over 175,000 sets of search criteria have been saved in our database by our registered users, and every one of them will be checked against the listings in the showcase. Any users whose wants match items in the showcase case will be emailed a list of those items just before the showcase opens.

Normally there are limits on how many wants are searched per day for each user, depending on subscription level. We are waiving those limits for the showcase, so all wants will be checked against showcase items, regardless of subscription level.

Are there any limits on the number or size of images that can be uploaded?

Not that you’ll notice, no. You can add up to 100 images for each item, and each image can be up to 50MB in size. As long as you’re uploading normal JPEG photo files you shouldn’t have any problems.

Can I import items from my own website?

Yes. If your website listings are already included in viaLibri’s search results via our Harvest service then they can easily be copied over to the showcase. See our help page for instructions on how to do this.

How do payments for items in the showcase work?

viaLibri will not take any payments as part of the Virtual Showcase checkout. When someone buys an item from the showcase you will receive an email notifying you of the purchase. It is then your responsibility to get in touch with the buyer in order to specify the final postage charges and arrange payment.

Will buyers be able to reserve items?

Yes, buyers will be able to reserve items by clicking a button on the item page. This reservation will only last for 20 minutes: long enough for them to do some further research, but short enough that it shouldn’t get in the way of another sale if they’re not a serious customer.

Exhibitors can also reserve their own items (i.e. put them on hold) via the Exhibitor’s Dashboard. There is no time limit on these reservations.

When do I have to add my items by?

All items must be added 48 hours before the start of the showcase. After this point you will still be able to edit items and add images, but you will not be able to add new items.

Will items still be visible after they’ve sold?

Yes, items are still visible in the showcase once they have been sold. They will be clearly marked as “Sold” and their price will be hidden.

Can I set the order that items are shown on my profile page?

Yes. Once you’ve added your items in the Exhibitor’s Dashboard you can drag them up and down to set the order of items. These changes are saved automatically so there’s no need to press a button once you’re done.

How many categories or tags can you assign to each item?

There is no limit. You can use as many categories as you need to effectively describe your items.

What can I do if my item doesn’t belong in any of the existing categories?

You can easily create your own more useful categories and add them to the large selection already provided.

Do item listings include the name of the exhibitor?

Yes. Every item found when searching or browsing will have its seller clearly identified.

Can the Showcase translate items into foreign languages?

Yes. Located at the bottom of each item page there is a “translate” link which can translate item descriptions between 33 different languages.

Does the Showcase convert prices into foreign currencies?

Yes. Prices can be displayed in 13 different currencies.

To browse all the items in the showcase do I have to view each exhibitor’s items separately?

No. One click is enough to browse all items. To facilitate browsing, those results can then be sorted by year of publication, price, author, title or exhibitor.

Can descriptions of items of interest be saved for later reference?

Yes. On each item page there is a link labelled “Add to clipboard.” Clicking this link will save the item to your viaLibri “clipboard” where you can easily find it again later, even after the showcase has closed.

Can items be purchased directly from exhibitors without using the showcase checkout form?

Yes. You do not have to make a purchase using the showcase checkout form. However, if you know that you want to buy something it is to your advantage that the item be marked quickly as sold so that no one else can buy it before your order has been received by the exhibitor.

Register as an exhibitorLearn more

Our patient readers should be pleased to hear that we have now set the date for the opening of our first viaLibri Virtual Showcase. You can mark it on your calendar for December 12, 2024 and set your alarm for 15:00 GMT.

The showcase will stay open until December 15 at 22:00 GMT.

Registration for exhibitors is open NOW!

If you are a collector you will, of course, still have more than six weeks to wait, but I’m sure you can find something else to keep you busy until then. If not, I would suggest that you should spend some time adding to your want list and refining your search filters there.

As a potential buyer this could prove especially interesting since our Libribot will also be checking your want list and alerting you to any fresh items of interest the moment the virtual doors open. If you have ever thought about expanding and refining your want list this would be an ideal time to do so.

On the other hand, if you are a bookseller you can now register to become an exhibitor and spend your free time preparing the special items you will be displaying before all the viaLibri users in attendance around the world.

• Learn more about the viaLibri Virtual Showcase.
• Sign up for our mailing list to be the first to hear about new developments.
• Register as an exhibitor.