News

BOOKEASY ONLINE USAGE SOARS 200% 
FOR HOLIDAY ORDERING

Somerset, NJ -- December 10, 1998 - As booksellers prepare for the busiest season of the year, they are increasingly using the BookEasy Internet inquiry and ordering service to place orders, in addition to accessing real time updates on price and availability. BookEasy, a subsidiary of VISTA Computer Services, announced today that the value of orders placed via the service was up 200% in the quarter ending November over the previous quarter. Overall usage of the service was up 100% in the same period.

"Indications are that booksellers are leveraging the BookEasy Internet service as a more efficient way of reaching publishers during the busy holiday times," says Peter Clifton, Chief Executive Officer of BookEasy. "Booksellers can check price and availability, place orders directly to any participating Affiliate or via EDI on the Whitaker central bibliographic facility. They can also check the status of orders with all Affiliate publishers and distributors, rather than placing separate calls to each."

Usage patterns demonstrate that booksellers are tailoring their usage to their particular needs and trading patterns. Some log-on six or seven times a day, others once or twice for multiple operations. The approximately 700 users are based in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. The service, which is free to booksellers, is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day, allowing booksellers to minimize time spent away from the shop floor during business hours.

One year after its launch, BookEasy Affiliated US companies include the Von Holtzbrinck Publishing Services companies (Henry Holt, Farrar Straus & Giroux, St. Martin's Press, and Tor, among others), National Book Network, and Broadman & Holman, trade publishing subsidiary of Lifeway Christian Resources. In the UK, BookEasy partners currently include Macmillan Distribution, The Book Service (Random House UK, Little, Brown, and Grantham Book Services), Marston Book Services, Bookpoint and Exel Logistics. HarperCollins UK and Wiley UK sites are scheduled for launch in early 1999.

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