Alibris and Shein – An Unusual Combination in Old Book Selling
- by Michael Stillman
Alibris books sold on the Shein website.
There recently has been perhaps an odd combination in the used and old book marketplace. It is somewhat like Amazon's taking over AbeBooks, but there are significant differences in how it works. The two partners in this cooperative agreement are Alibis and Shein. They may not be on quite the same level in the book trade as Amazon and Abe, but they are still significant in the used books market, though less so in the rare books and more serious range of book collecting.
AbeBooks, Amazon, and Alibris (originally known as Interloc) all started in the 1990s as book selling websites. Amazon, as we all know, expanded to other categories and became the world's largest online retailer, along with other things, such as a website host. AbeBooks stayed focused on selling used and old books. Alibris also expanded into other areas and is also a diverse and large company today, though nowhere near the size of the market dominating Amazon. In 2008, perhaps in deference to its roots, Amazon purchased AbeBooks. Shein was founded in China a decade after the other three and has become a very large online retailer, though again, not on the level of Amazon. Shein is primarily a fashion online retailer, but they have expanded into other areas too. However, old books are outside of their normal specialty.
Shein has been struggling a bit recently. As a Chinese company selling imported goods in America, tariffs are taking a toll. That's particularly hard for a company whose business is based primarily on low prices. They decided to expand into lifestyle types of goods rather than just commodity type items at low prices. In a survey they conducted, Shein determined that one out of three U.S. adults reads books daily or weekly. Obviously, a significant part of their customer base is book readers, so this must have felt like a logical place to expand. By cooperating with a used book retailer (not owned by their major competitor), they are able to get in the bookselling business with low priced books but without having to build a large inventory. There is a logic for both of these companies, as each needs more sales, but whether this partnership will be able to capture a significant part of the business that now goes to Amazon/Abe remains to be seen. Amazon is a behemoth with a long history in book selling and a history of crushing competition. Whether selling old books is sufficiently meaningful to them today to try to respond to the Alibris/Shein partnership remains to be seen. It may be an irrelevancy now.
One thing we've noticed about the used/old books being sold on Shein is they are keeping to their low price model. There are books for tens of thousands and more being sold on Alibris. These are not being carried by Shein. Shein is showing around 100,000 books from Alibris on their website, but these are mostly low or medium low priced books. Shein is not looking to get into the upper end of book selling. If you are a collector at more than a beginner's level, Shein is not going to be a place to look. Stick with your current sources. But, if you want a book to read, Shein is a reasonable alternative.
Leland Little, June 12: The First Illustrated Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Leland Little, June 12: John Morton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signed Pennsylvania Land Survey.
Leland Little, June 12: The Scarce Jansson Edition of a Remarkable Early View of London.
Leland Little, June 12: Signed Limited Edition of The Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Leland Little, June 12: Faden’s Important and Scarce Map of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
Leland Little, June 12: William J. Tate (NC, 1869-1953), Archive of the "Original host to the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.”
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Freeman’s How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X June 30
Freeman’s, June 30: [Queen Anne's War] Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York Accomplished to Queen Anne. $8,000/12,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Mormonism] A Unique Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words Offered to His Congregation, the Day Before his Violent Death, 1844. $8,000/12,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Baseball] [Mantle, Mickey] Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000/12,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Baseball] A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000/12,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Declaration of Independence] One of the First Printed Announcements of American Independence, Subscriber Ebenezer Hazard's Copy, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000/15,000
Freeman’s How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X June 30
Freeman’s, June 30: [American Revolution] Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776! $15,000/25,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [War of 1812] "We Have Met the Enemy and They are Ours": The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry is Appointed Master Commandant in the United States Navy, 1812. $40,000/60,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Star-Spangled Banner] Eyewitness Account of the Shelling of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, in a Manuscript Logbook from the HMS Trave, Present at the Battles of Baltimore and New Orleans, 1814-16. $60,000/80,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [American Revolution] Thomas Jefferson at the Birth of a New Nation: An Important Letter Carried by a Jewish Patriot Communicating the Definitive Treaty of Paris, January 16, 1784. $100,000/200,000
Freeman’s, June 30: [Colonial America] [Plymouth Colony] Plymouth Colony Seeks a Royal Charter: A Rare and Important Plymouth Colony Document, 1690/91. $6,000/9,000
Sotheby’s Selections from The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin Live Sale 24 June
Sotheby’s, June 24: (Benjamin Franklin). The founding—and funding—of the Pennsylvania Hospital. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin, "the Day of the Declaration of Independence is everywhere annually celebrated”. $80,000 to $120,000.
Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin, “probably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field of electricity”. $75,000 to $125,000.
Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin. One of Franklin's very earliest surviving letters. $40,000 to $60,000.
Sotheby’s, June 24: Roger More and Benjamin Franklin. The only complete copy known of Poor Roger. $25,000 to $35,000.
Sotheby’s, June 24: John Jerman. The American Almanack ... for 1731 — the only known copy in private hands. $25,000 to $35,000.
