It was disappointing, because they would have been nice sales. One of the first bookstores to have a web site with a searchable database was Cook Inlet Book Company. Owned by a third-generation bookseller, Lynn Dixon opened the site so customers interested in regional titles wouldn't have to hop a northbound just to pick up a few books. Cook Inlet Book Company's agenda, both in the store and on the site, is to be the acknowledged experts in books on Alaska and the north. That agenda has carried us through the opening of the chains, with no dip in our sales, and has extended our reach as an informational center for schools and libraries throughout the state.
Online competition is another matter.
Cook Inlet is still working on creative ways to tackle competition from other Internet booksellers. We are constantly battling them for placement on Alaskan-based sites. We are watching our backs and letting these places know that we provide the same interface, the same commission, and are a local business. Rather than focus on sales, Mossberg said he is making the site a haven for booklovers rather than just a destination for cybershoppers. With an e-mail link for orders, Elliot Bay's web master, Michael Mossberg, said it's hard to know how to track sales precisely through the bookstore's web site, especially since their 800 number is also online.