Gift Cards

Since the news broke about the new national electronic gift card program for stores participating in the Book Sense marketing program, booksellers have had many questions. To help them easily find answers, we've provided an FAQ page to answer many of the common questions. To go to the page, click here.

Or visit http://www.bookweb.org/read/6303 to view gift card designs, a financial analysis and other news.

As booksellers begin to consider the Book Sense Gift Card program, the question of costs and profits arise. Various retail studies have shown, however, that money invested in a gift card program is money well spent, and booksellers who already have gift card programs in place attest to their ease of use, an increase in sales, and high consumer satisfaction.

The Book Sense Gift Card program will launch with five distinctive gift card designs. Based on the input of a number of booksellers, the card designs are appropriate for any occasion and for general and children's bookstores alike. To see the five gift card designs, click here (PDF format).

Very soon, bookstores with Book Sense will able to sign up for the new Book Sense Gift Card program. This innovative program will provide booksellers with a number of choices regarding card designs and processing options. ABA has partnered with Givex, one of the fastest-growing transaction processors, whose sophisticated service will allow for a customized solution for the more than 1,200 bookstores participating in Book Sense.

ABA is finalizing details of its national electronic gift card program for stores with Book Sense and will begin rolling out details regarding program costs, equipment requirements, and sign-up in the July 10 edition of Bookselling This Week. The association will also soon finalize a selection of generic gift card designs with a generic backer or presenter. Booksellers will be able to add their store logo and information to the front of the card and to the backer for an additional fee.

As was announced at this year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles, the American Booksellers Association has signed a letter of intent with Givex to launch a national electronic gift card program for stores participating in the Book Sense marketing program.

The Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) held its Spring Seminar and Book Awards on April 4 - 5 at the Park Road Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. The weekend's programming included an ABACUS "Sneak Preview" and an ABA/SEBA Booksellers Forum. Representing ABA at the meeting were ABA COO Oren Teicher and BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos.

On Saturday, March 8, approximately 25 people braved a snowstorm and bitter cold temperatures to attend an ABA Booksellers Forum, held in conjunction with the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) Spring Meeting, in Minneapolis. The UMBA Spring Meeting ran from March 8 - March 9 and was held at UMBA's offices.

On Thursday, February 20, approximately 25 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, held in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. According to a number of attendees, the ABACUS sneak preview and ABA's investigation into developing an electronic gift card program were the hot topics of the day's numerous discussions.