Abebooks buys FillZ

Abebooks.com, the online listing service for used booksellers, bought FillZ, a provider of bookseller software. ABE plans to offer FillZ software to help its members manage their inventory and process orders.

FillZ said it will "remain marketplace neutral. This means that all marketplaces will enjoy equal opportunity to integrate with FillZ," the company said in an e-mail to subscribers.

Just a few years ago, ABE was the biggest online used-book marketplace. But it's lost ground as Amazon Marketplace signed up thousands of dealers, and eBay could take another bite when it launches its new Express fixed-price marketplace.

"Sites like Amazon, eBay, and Abebooks have different requirements for sellers," Hannes Blum, Abebooks's president and chief executive said in a company statement. "FillZ makes it extremely simple for booksellers to overcome the fragmented nature of the market. We’re aware of their international potential and what they can offer to booksellers around the world."

Abebooks has about 13,000 members, while Amazon has an estimated 85,000 third-party booksellers. In November ABE bought BookFinder, an online comparison shopping site for book buyers.