AbeBooks is an online book retail platform, which was established in 1995 in Canada. Today the e-store operates in more than 50 countries across the globe, offering a wide variety of books from popular to collectibles. The website is a marketplace for the world’s booksellers.
Meaning and history
AbeBooks was founded in 1995 by Keith and Cathy Waters in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company started as an online marketplace for books, aiming to connect independent bookstores and booksellers with customers worldwide. The founders recognized the potential of the internet to revolutionize the book industry by making rare, used, and out-of-print books accessible to a global audience.
Throughout its history, AbeBooks has achieved several significant milestones. One of its main achievements was becoming a subsidiary of Amazon in 2008, which greatly expanded its reach and resources. This acquisition allowed AbeBooks to leverage Amazon’s extensive infrastructure and customer base, further solidifying its position as a leading marketplace for books. The platform has also been instrumental in preserving and promoting literary culture by providing a platform for small, independent booksellers to thrive in an increasingly digital world. AbeBooks has facilitated the sale of millions of books across numerous genres and languages, making it a go-to destination for bibliophiles and collectors.
Currently, AbeBooks maintains a strong presence in the online book market, offering a vast inventory of new, used, rare, and out-of-print books from thousands of booksellers around the world. The company continues to support the global book-collecting community by hosting regular online events and promotions. Its user-friendly interface and commitment to customer satisfaction have made it a trusted name in the book industry. AbeBooks remains dedicated to fostering a love for reading and collecting books, ensuring that literary treasures are accessible to enthusiasts and scholars alike.
2006 – Today
The visual identity of a famous online book store is timeless and recognizable. The logo, composed of a wordmark and an emblem perfectly represents the company’s essence and profile.
The dark red and black color palette looks serious and professional on a white background, reflecting the expertise and authority of the e-commerce platform in its field.
The AbeBooks emblem depicts a red bird, whose wings resemble book pages. It is a symbol of freedom and creativity, which reading gives you. It opens you the new world of knowledge and imagination.
The black wordmark ideally balanced the bright and intense emblem, adding a sense of stability and reliability to the company and showing it as a thrust worth and professional one.
Font
The wordmark of the online platform is written with only two letters capitalized — “A” and “B”— and have no space between the two parts of the inscription. The lettering is executed in a sleek and bold sans-serif typeface, which is very similar to Metronic Pro Bold with its thick lines and smooth angles, yet some of them are pointed, which adds uniqueness to the whole logo, making it strong and modern.
Review
The e-commerce platform is not a simple online book store, it is one of the world’s largest marketplaces for books, magazines, and periodicals, which also offers wholesale deals.
Today the catalog of the platform includes more than 100 million books from the sellers across the globe. It is probably the biggest selection of new, used and rare books, which are already out of print.
Besides the books and magazines, you can find collectibles and signed copies on the website, and many more different exclusive items.
The company has its website on English, Spanish, German, French and Italian in order to make customers and sellers from all over the world feel comfortable and free while using the platform.
The marketplace offers international delivery, client support service, and flexible payment methods.