Seeing the Need Starting in 1989, several groups tried to establish on-line book search services. Sellers would list their inventory, and buyers would list their wants. This was before the World Wide Web existed, and few ordinary people had Internet access for E-mail or file transfers. Custom software had to be written for the book matching services and their customers. Modem connection to the services was by dial-up telephone call.
Some services let buyers search for their wants using on-line queries.
Other services programmed the on-line computer to match inventory to wants. The books were never handled by the services, which just got buyer and seller together. Revenue was generated by membership fees, connect time charges, and record storage charges. Book people did not flock to these services. Perhaps they were ahead of their time, and perhaps they were not well financed.