NEW ON-LINE USED BOOK SOURCE BIBLIODIRECT.COM DEBUTS WITH TREASURE HUNT

Readers have a new on-line resource for used books, BiblioDirect.com. Fast, secure and reliable - describe the Web site as well as the dealers and the quality of their service. The site debuts with a "needle in a bookstack" contest.

Forest Grove, Oregon...June 15, 2002..."A Needle in a Bookstack" is BiblioDirect.coms opening salvo against the Goliaths of on-line used book selling. Somewhere in its 1,000,000 books from more than 200 dealers a book worth $2,500 is hiding. The contest starts at 12:01 a.m., CDT, June 15, 2002. Find the book. Call BiblioDirect.com at (620) 231 0999. Be the first to name the author, title, booksellers name and inventory number to buy the book for $1. To help with the search, every other day a new clue will be posted at the Web site: http://www.bibliodirect.com.
   The first clue:
The race is just begun.
Who cannot win? My brother.
The Democrats have one,
Republicans another.
   The brainchild of three long-time booksellers, BiblioDirect.com is a direct response to the mammoth on-line used book databases that insert themselves between seller and buyer.
   Used book dealers thought the Internet would be a new way to acquire customers," said Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson, President of BiblioDirect.com and specialist dealer in books on Latin America and the Caribbean. For a few years in the mid-90s that was true, but it was slow going. Then a better mousetrap came along: on-line used book databases. Hundreds, then thousands of dealers aggregated under a single banner at a single site where buyers could gain access to vast inventories with a keystroke. These were the golden years for on-line bookselling. Individual dealers sold directly to individual buyers, and relationships were formed. Buyers may have started out using the aggregated databases, but many became steady customers of individual booksellers."
   Every Eden has its snake," continued DeWeese-Parkinson. In this case, the
Goliath new book sellers of the Internet bought the major databases. In so doing, they severed the dealer/customer relationship. Now the dealer was the colossal new book seller who offered used books as something of an afterthought. The little used book dealer who actually owned the books became nothing more than anonymous wholesalers for the marketing Leviathans. Buyers never knew who was really supplying their books. No relationships were built by the small used book sellers."
   BiblioDirect.com is a step back to the future. It aggregates dealers, assuring that each dealer meets established standards. Books are correctly identified. First editions are, indeed, first editions and not book club editions. Books in fine condition are actually in nearly new shape and not former residents of a local library with library bindings and stamps all over. Dealers are free to establish long-term relationships with their customers.
   As much as dealers like it, the benefits for the customers are greater. DeWeese- Parkinson and partners Roger and Jan OConnor, owners of Mostly Books in Pittsburg, Kansas, worked on the design of the Web site for a year to put it on the cutting edge of user-friendliness - user-affectionate" they call it.
   • BiblioDirect.coms search engine is wicked fast.
   • When books are found, the information is neatly broken down into easy-to-read       categories instead of the long paragraphs of run-on information found on other databases.
   • Should a prospective buyer want more information about a book, it is easily done       by clicking on Inquire about a book" which sends an e-mail to both the buyer and seller.
   • A buyers credit card number is encrypted and not stored with the buyers name.       When used for a purchase, it is sent directly via secure server to the dealer who may access it only once when the order is processed.
   • Books range from the most common to the rarest of the rare. Every taste, interest,    and price range is represented.
   • BiblioDirect.coms phone number is on the site. Calls are answered by a real       human being. No voice mail. No music-on-hold.
   • Any disputes between buyers and sellers will be resolved by DeWeese       Parkinson with the bias toward creating a happy customer.
   The days of the Internet boom are over," said Roger OConnor, and its just as well for us. Were not looking to sell out and retire. Were booksellers, and we want customers to have a place to come to buy books with confidence and ease. BiblioDirect.com is designed to offer personal relationships in an era of corporate facelessness. There are no fee-adding, inaccessible middlemen."
   Jan OConnor added, Our 'Needle in a Bookstack" contest is just the first of many plans we have to humanize BiblioDirect.com. It will be a fun place to visit and return to often, bookmarked, we hope, by millions of ardent readers. And today we start."

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