Finding a second-hand book in New Zealand has just become easy: Abebooks, the Canada-based online bookseller, has set up shop in New Zealand.

Abebooks lists new, used, rare, and out-of-print books, and pitches itself as ‘the world’s largest online marketplace for books’. Its move into the NZ market is hugely significant news, especially for NZ second-hand book buyers, because you can now search the stocks of 66 New Zealand booksellers in one hit. Shipping costs will be low, and books will be delivered faster.

The new domain www.abebooks.co.nz directs surfers to an Australia and New Zealand-specific search page. A search for a title will throw up listings from both Australian and NZ booksellers; using the Advanced Search facility and selecting the ‘Country’ drop-down box allows you to restrict your results to NZ booksellers only.

Abebooks claims to have over 50 million books in its virtual inventory, offered by more than 12,000 booksellers around the world. Booksellers pay a subscription fee to list their books.