Alibris FAQ

• A word of caution

On Alibris in your account check if you have their automatic repricing set to yes or no. You will want to login to your Alibris account, click on the Inventory tab and go down to inventory preferences. Look for the pop up menu that says “Automatically reprice your listings”. If you have it set to yes Alibris will automatically reprice your inventory, often with unexpected results. If you have it set to no Alibris will not reprice your inventory.

• Long upload times to Alibirs?

This is from their help pages:

After I upload, how long does it take before my books appear on Alibris?

If you upload adds, edits, and deletes, and they reach the upload system by 4:00pm Pacific Time, your upload will begin processing the same night and will be listed on Alibris by about 4:00am Pacific Time the following day. Uploads received after 4:00pm may not be processed until the following night. In general, your upload will be processed within 12-24 hours after the upload. However, please remember that periodic system delays can occur. For more details about uploading, please contact us.”

• How to check the for rejected items on Alibris.

1. Sign into your Alibris Seller Hub
2. On the right side Under Reports click Inventory History
3. Click the button next to Search rejected listings
4. Select the date range you need for your search.
5. Click the submit request button.

This will generate a report of rejected listings.

• What is the function of the Pre-Confirm option on the AOB Ship Page for my Alibris orders?

The Pre-Confirm and the 'Confirm' options both do the same thing on Alibris' end; they confirm the order. The Pre-Confirm option that you see is a user-requested option that allows you to send an order confirmation without actually shipping the item. The purpose is to keep the order from being canceled because the confirmation window closed before you ship it.

• I received an email stating that my order was canceled for failure to confirm shipping.

There are times when your order confirmations receive an error from Alibris. When this happens it triggers an automated email from us alerting you that we encountered an error when we tried to confirm your order. When you receive this email you will have to manually confirm the order, directly on Alibris, to avoid a cancellation by the venue.

• Why are some of my items on Administrative Hold?

Alibris limits what you can include in your listings and they enforce it very aggressively. You can find how to fix this in the Alibris help pages.http://sellers.alibris.com/content/help-inventory.cfm#1

• Can I list items as Collectible to Alibris?

Yes, we can list Collectible conditions to Alibris. Also, if the Edition field on your AOB listing page is populated with first edition or, 1st ed it will list to Alibris asCollectible.

• Can I include store-specific information in my listings?

Listings that include the following type of information will be rejected by Alibris:

1. Personal seller contact information such as phone number, URL, or e-mail address
2. Seller's terms of sale
3. Any other information not related to book, music, or movie items
4. Any sales pitch lines or references to personal money-back guarantees

• Alibris masks the buyers email address. On the order details you will see a [e-mail] email address. When you are shipping these orders your customer will not receive a copy of the confirmation.

• Why don't some of my orders have shipping reimbursement?

Those are orders going to the Alibris warehouse in Sparks, NV. All you have to do is go to your Alibris account. On the left side you will see “Print MRS Label”. Click on that link and print the pre-paid labels for orders going to the Alibris warehouse. Then affix the label to your package and Alibris will pay the postage for these orders.

• Why don't my multiple item packing slips print properly?

It is because we depend on what is on Alibris for packing slips. This is an easy one to fix, but it must be done each time you get a multiple item order. Just log into your Alibris account, find the multiple item order and click on fill all and save changes. The packing slip will now print as it should from your AOB account.

• How do I make a refund on Alibris?

If the customer has notified Alibris that the buyer is sending the book back, there is a link that you will need to click on the right side of your Seller Hub page .. and then just follow the the links. But, wait til you receive the book before you issue the refund.

• This is an interesting tidbit on refunds ..

If the customer returns directly to you and you want to refund the purchase price only (not the shipping reimbursement) you will need to contact Alibris. You can do that via their email or their live chat.

• What is the Alibris policy on marking items as shipped?

The following was copied and pasted from the Alibris Seller Hub on February 23, 2012:

REMINDER!

As soon as you receive an order and make sure that you have the item and that it matches the description and condition you provided, please update that order as “Filled” (Shipped), even if you aren't going to physically ship it that day. Too many sellers are waiting too long to update orders, and those orders are canceling automatically. Remember that you have 2 business days to update an order, and that doesn't necessarily mean a full 48 hours. A business day ends at 5pm Pacific time.

• What are the Alibris Listing Restrictions?
  • Books, movies, or music with the following attributes cannot be listed:
    • Moldy, smelly, badly stained or unclean items; scratched or patched tapes, DVDs, or CDs, unless specifically described as such Books with missing pages or incomplete movie or music products Books, movies or music that are distributed for promotional use, including advance reading copies (ARCs) and uncorrected proof copies until published
    • Pornography
    • Photocopied materials or unauthorized reprints
    • Counterfeit, stolen, illegal or fraudulent items
    • Defamatory, trade libelous or unlawfully threatening or harassing items
    • eBooks
    • Prohibited International Edition Textbooks (see definition below) may not be listed, unless the listing specifies that the books will be sold only to customers who do not reside in the U.S., Canada or Australia.

You may not ship Prohibited International Edition Textbooks to the Sparks, Nevada distribution center for delivery to addresses in the U.S., Canada or Australia.

“Prohibited International Edition Textbook” means an international edition textbook: (i) that is manufactured outside the U.S.; (ii) that the publisher or author has not authorized for importation into or sale in the U.S.; and (iii) that may not lawfully be imported into or sold in the U.S., Canada or Australia (as applicable; the applicable country is determined by the location of the proposed buyer).

Any of the above may be returned to the seller at the seller's expense and may be cause for removal.

The above information was copied and pasted from the Alibris help pages on August 3, 2010 and is subject to change. We provide this info as a courtesy to our users.

• What do you know about shipping to an international address?

Alibris uses a freight consolidator where all international shipments are sent. Each order must be in a separate package and should have the order number on, or near, the shipping label. If you have more that one item in an order they can all go in one package. Be sure to put a packing slip inside the book. If the packing slip won't go inside the item put the item and packing slip in a plastic bag being sure to securely close the plastic bag.

• I have an order going to the Alibris warehouse. Why don't I have any shipping reimbursement for this order?

Alibris pays the shipping for these orders. You will need to go your Alibris account and print an MRS label and attach it to your package.

• Contact info:

http://sellers.alibris.com/content/contact-home.cfm 1-877-ALIBRIS or 510-594-4573 (Seller Support Voice Mail). Live chat is staffed 9-5 M-F, Pacific time closed 11-12 on Wed for meetings. Also, you might try these: [e-mail] or through the Seller Services line at 510-594-4509.