Sellers are charged a commission and are paid weekly. Alibris wants a minimum of 1000 books from each dealer and suggests that those listing 5000 or more books will make the money. Specialist dealers may have smaller inventories. Dealers must agree to notify Alibris immediately when a book is sold through another outlet. Alternately, Alibris is offering to warehouse dealers' books.
Some members view the new arrangement as a way to market to a wider audience.
They may even see themselves out buying all day, free of shop hours and rent, while Alibris does the selling. Those who primarily used BookQuest as a way to fill customer wants, however, are fearful this source will dry up. Historically, customer wants were advertised in one of several print publications. Book dealers and scouts would read these publications and reply when they could fill a need. The process took weeks or months.