Question: How many books will be for sale at the viaLibri Virtual Rare Book Showcase when it opens on July 31? Answer: 2626
Question: What is the value of the items that will be for sale? Answer: More than $6,000,000
Question: How many booksellers will have rare and wonderful books for sale at our Showcase. Answer: 58
Just in case you had been wondering, we thought we should let you know that another viaLibri Virtual Showcase will be happening again soon. Preparations have already begun.
When we first began back in December we weren’t at all certain how booksellers and collectors would respond to seeing yet another virtual event claiming space on their already crowded calendars. Now that much helpful feedback has been received we are ready to apply our lessons to showcase number 4.
After our third showcase, we heard a similar concern from several booksellers: “I love your website, but what if I don’t sell anything?” It’s a fair worry. Trying a new sales channel involves risk, especially when dealing with rare or specialized items that need patience and effort to sell. That feedback set us to thinking: What could we do to eliminate the risk?
To answer the question we decided to try something different. At our next showcase you will only have to pay $75 to be an exhibitor and will be able to display up to 60 books for sale.
The twist? If nothing sells, that’s all you will pay. Only when you actually sell something do we charge a small commission (4-10%), invoiced after the showcase has closed.
Additionally, if you are one of our Harvest Level Premium Subscribers your savings will extend even further and you will pay no registration fee at all. For everyone we say, “Try us out. See what happens. If it doesn’t work for you it costs you nothing.”
We have seen great books find eager buyers at every showcase so far. Serious bibliophiles are highly motivated in pursuit of their interests. Selling should not be hard. The only thing needed is for the right book to meet the right collector. We also understand that building a new marketplace takes time, and not every book finds an immediate buyer.
Our new marketing model reflects that reality. We are confident in our platform and our growing community of book lovers, but we also want our booksellers to feel secure in the possibilities we aim to offer on our site.
Whether you’re a showcase veteran or someone who has so far only been curious or cautious, now feels like the perfect time to give our showcase a try. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? You only need to showcase some of your choicest and freshest books to an engaged audience. If you sell nothing it costs you nothing. And who knows whom you may meet in the process.
In the meantime we recommend that you sign up for our mailing list so you don’t miss the chance to register for the upcoming showcase.
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?
Based on valuable feedback from December’s exhibitors we’re making the following changes to the platform:
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.
Tuesday morning we received the unfortunate news that the 2025 ABAA California Book Fair has been canceled. The smoke from the catastrophic Los Angeles fires would have been enough, alone, to keep most buyers away from this event. But on top of that was the fact that the Pasadena Convention Center, the regular and planned location for the fair, has been converted into a temporary evacuation center to be run by the Red Cross and FEMA. With no alternative location the book fair had no choice but to close. We are sorry to see the interruption of this important cultural event that is so important to the booksellers, libraries and collectors of Southern California. We look forward, in 2027, to the return of the ABAA California Book Fair to its Pasadena Home and hope to see you there.
In the meantime we will soon conduct our own virtual book fair in a location where we hope you and your books will be safe from both fire and flood. This event will be the Second viaLibri Virtual Showcase and will take place over 4 days from February 20th until February 23rd. Buying and selling will not begin before those dates, but exhibitors can register as sellers and begin uploading their books as soon as they are ready.
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.