| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronic Commerce |
| Founded | September 2000 |
| Founder(s) | W. Douglas Ross & Andrew E. Bilinski |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Virginia, United States |
| Products | Book rental service |
| Services | Online book rental |
| Website | www.booksfree.com |
Booksfree is an online book rental company, the first to offer flat rate rental-by-mail to customers in the United States[1][2]. Established in 2000 and headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, it boasts an inventory of over 100,000 titles and more than 13,000 subscribers[3]. On June 8, 2007 the company announced that it had delivered its millionth book.[4]
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The company was founded in 2000 by Douglas Ross, who had previously run a computer systems company, and Andrew Bilinski, who had worked for the US Air Force, EDS & BDM International. Ross originally come up with the idea for Booksfree in 1999, and after selling his company was looking at what to do next. US$1 million of start-up funding was provided by friends & associates. In 2008, Booksfree was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s top 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies. In February 2009 they shipped their 2 millionth book.[3][5]
The company has been described as "the books version of Netflix",[6] and therefore has a similar business model to online DVD rental companies. Titles are offered in paperback, CD & MP3 CD audiobook formats. Separate monthly membership plans are offered for each medium starting at $9.99 for books, $12.99 for MP3-CD audiobooks & $22.49 for CD & MP3 CD audiobooks. A combination membership encompassing all media is also available. Each plan limits the number of items that can be checked out at any one time. Subscribers can pay a higher monthly fee in order to increase that limit. It is also possible to rent individual titles without having a membership.[7]
Subscriptions to the site have grown from 4,000 in 2002[5] and 5,000 in 2003[8] to over 13,000 in 2007.[3] The vast majority of Bookfree's subscribers are women,[5] and the company has received coverage in many magazines aimed primarily at a female readership such as Woman's Day, First for Woman, and O, The Oprah Magazine.[9]
The company's founders were quoted in 2002 as considering their main competition to be libraries and online book retailers, noting that each has drawbacks compared with Booksfree.[5] Comparisons between the services generally focus upon the availability of audiobooks from Booksfree and their decision to not carry hardcover books.[10].