Booksellers Receiving Initial Orders of Book Sense Gift Cards

Booksellers who were among the first to sign up for the Book Sense Gift Card program are now receiving their card orders from Givex. Training manuals are being sent in PDF format to booksellers via e-mail from Givex, and ABA is sending a folder to participants that includes a window decal, counter card, and shelf-talkers to help promote the gift cards in the store. If booksellers have ordered gift card processing terminals, they will be shipping under separate cover from the manufacturer. Booksellers who have ordered training session will be contacted by Givex.

Booksellers who wish to have gift cards available for the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the busiest retail sales day of the year, need to sign the Book Sense Electronic Gift Card Program Participation Agreement and order cards now. The agreement and order forms are online at www.BookWeb.org/read/6372.

Signing up now will also allow for bookstore staff training to ensure a positive customer experience.

Once booksellers have completed the order form and have signed and completed the ACH agreement, the timeline for receiving cards is as follows: Orders placed for generic cards (without logos) will be shipped within a week. Cards that are imprinted with a logo or text onto a generic card will take 10 - 15 days once a usable logo has been submitted. For details on the necessary format for the submission of logos, click here. To see examples of the generic gift cards with an imprinted logo or text, click here.

If booksellers opt to design a custom card, orders take 8 - 10 weeks to produce after the design has been approved by Book Sense. It is suggested that bookstores order generic cards in the meantime so as to not miss out on holiday sales. Custom cards can always be ordered at a later date.

Please watch for news of updated directory services in upcoming issues of BTW.

For comprehensive information on the Book Sense Gift Card Program, go to www.bookweb.org/read/6303. Questions should be addressed to ABA Marketing Director Jill Perlstein at [email protected] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 1283.