Eight-year-old retailer Audio Adventures began direct sales this spring, renting (and selling) mostly through a Web site, www.audioadventures.com.
The Boulder, CO company was formed to rent books on tape to truckers at highway stops-pick up an audiobook at one spot, drop it off at another down the road. The company is now at 450 locations around the country, has rented over 5 million books and is on track to do $8 million in business this year.
The Web site has 3,000 titles from 60 publishers and can create personalized audiobook lists based on readers’ interests. Customers can order from the site or by phone.
Direct division manager Dan Conser developed the idea for the direct channel in an entrepreneurial class while getting his MBA at the University of Colorado. The direct route was attractive because of its cost-effective way to make the company’s selection available, he says.
Audio Adventures does mail some lists of books based on interest, especially when the person prefers either abridged or unabridged versions. “The hottest category is a six-hour abridgment,” Conser says.
Conser notes that the company also places print ads and did one prospecting mailing off an R.L. Polk list, but was disappointed with the 2% response.
“Right now we’re trying to stay in the virtual world because it’s much cheaper and you can update on a day-to-day basis,” he adds.
About half of Audio Adventures’ business comes through word of mouth.
More Audio Adventures customers rent than buy, which Conser says is the opposite of the industry as a whole. (“We think that’s because they don’t know about renting,” he claims.) An audiobook that sells for $100 can be rented for $10, he says.
Audiobooks are a $2 billion business, of which direct rentals and sales account for 25% (another 5% comes from truck-stop rentals). Books in Motion, Spokane, WA, also offers the products at truck stops.
Competitors in the direct channel include Books on Tape, Costa Mesa, CA; and Recorded Books, Prince Frederick, MD.
Audio Adventures’ rental prices are based on the length of the book, ranging from $3.90 for one to three hours, to $13.50 for 16 or more hours. Through June 30 the site was offering a 10% discount on all orders placed over the Web.
The rental period is 14 days from date of shipment (by USPS Priority Mail).
Shipping costs are based on weight. So, for example, a $5.90 book costs $4.74 in shipping. As an obvious bit of customer service, Audio Adventures advises its clientele to rent more than one tape at a time to save on shipping.
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