As we grew our wholesale business, we began to explore the latest technology. In the mid-nineties, things were happening so fast it looked like a blur. We got on the internet with A.O.L. and started a company called "Books from Cyberspace." We were way before Amazon. A.O.L. wasn't even a portal to the web at that time; it was its own community like Prodigy and CompuServe. We were selling N.Y.Times bestsellers.
I was getting just a smattering of orders, but they were formed all over the world. I soon figured out they were from busy early adaptors who were traveling. A lot of them were for gifts because these travelers were able to do there shopping online. We were out front on this new trend. After all, it was the mid-nineties.
I though a brilliant way to compete was not by discounting our prices to compete with the few other booksellers online was to offer those gift buyers a way to conveniently take care of the gifts giving while they were remote. So we offered them a book a card relevant to the occasion and a small present. They could choose a book from the N.Y. Times best sellers and occasion card, like a birthday card, and say a box of chocolates. We called this "Book Bundles from Cyberspace."
Well, we moved on with these ventures and were early pioneers. I also suggested that since we were distributing books, we could start distributing other merchandise as well. There was still no "Amazon." But, the owners were happy and content to stay in their lane.
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