What Booksellers Want to Know About Edelweiss & eCatalogs

In response to the input of hundreds of indie booksellers who completed the American Booksellers Association's recent survey on the use of e-catalogs, and Edelweiss interactive publisher catalogs in particular, the Edelweiss team has prepared the following FAQ. It addresses booksellers' questions on everything from the benefits of e-catalogs (many), to the cost (free); from what e-catalogs will do to the store's relationship with sales reps (enhances it), to how many staff members can access e-catalogs (the full staff); and much, much more.

What makes Edelweiss better than printed catalogs?

The primary advantages of Edelweiss over traditional printed catalogs include:

• Dynamic, up-to-date title information
• Drastically reduced data entry work due to export/import features
• Inclusion of more and richer title content such as web links and interior illustrations
• Visibility to comp title sales history (for Above the Treeline stores) for faster ordering decisions
• Search, filter, tag, and sort capabilities across a range of publisher catalogs
• Booksellers can share insights with each other by rating and commenting on titles

Some publishers have PDF versions of catalogs online already. What makes Edelweiss different from those?

As PDFs are generally static files of the exact printed catalog, they have many of the same characteristics of printed catalogs -- outdated information, inflexibility, an inability to customize, annotate, sort, mark orders, facilitate rep interaction, or to help you with data entry or comp title references.

How much does Edelweiss cost?

Edelweiss is free to any catalog reader -- this includes booksellers, librarians, reviewers, book industry professionals, and even interested consumers.

Do you have to be using Above the Treeline already to use Edelweiss? What is the relationship between them?

Edelweiss is a separate product from the Above the Treeline business intelligence tool, and you do not need to be an Above the Treeline user to use Edelweiss. However, Above the Treeline users will have an extra benefit because they are able to see their sales history for comparable titles directly in Edelweiss.

I'm worried about what Edelweiss means for my sales reps. Where do reps fit into the Edelweiss picture?

Edelweiss is designed to enhance the relationship between buyer and sales rep, rather than diminish it. With the "mailings" concept (reps can customize catalogs for their accounts) and features such as tagging, priorities, rep notes, rep suggested order quantities, and title messages, Edelweiss has a rich set of tools to ensure your rep can do the best possible job of assisting and collaborating with you on your buying decisions.

Does "digital catalog" really mean that we have to print catalogs out ourselves?

Some publishers are choosing to reduce or eliminate hard copy catalogs, but many are using Edelweiss to augment rather than replace their traditional catalogs. The online version is in the exact same order as the corresponding hard copy. But if there just isn't a hard copy and you want something printed, you would need to print the pages or titles that you want. Also your sales rep could use Edelweiss to print and mail you some or all the titles in the catalog.

Are we being forced to use digital catalogs?

Publishers are moving towards digital catalogs for a variety of reasons. Edelweiss offers a single solution that keeps booksellers and other catalog readers and their relationships with their publishers front and center. It offers a single interface so that you won't need to use something different for every publisher if and when they do choose to direct their accounts to online catalogs.

More than one person on our staff goes over catalogs. How can we do that with Edelweiss?

If you choose to allow it, your full staff can access Edelweiss and see orders that the buyer has made. They can also contribute to notes and tags, and get to all of the rich marketing content -- like high resolution images, links, and illustrations -- that a digital catalog can offer.

Can I make notes in Edelweiss? Can the sales rep? Can I enter order quantities? Can the rep suggest quantities, or highlight important titles?

Yes, to all.

How many publishers are using Edelweiss?

Today, there are over a dozen publishers, with close to 200 catalogs posted. The list of publishers is growing every month, and includes some of the largest publishers in the industry like Random House, Hachette, Penguin, and HarperCollins.

How many stores are signed up for Edelweiss?

This number is growing fast -- currently more than 250 stores.

Where do I find out more or sign up to use Edelweiss catalogs?

Please visit http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com.

Does Edelweiss work with my POS system?

Currently, you can export orders in formats that work with the systems below. You can also create your own custom export files as text or Excel files.

• [i] Merchant
• Booklog
• Bookstore Manager
• IBID
• Square One
• Visual Anthology

Treeline staff is currently working with Wordstock on a full-featured integration with Edelweiss, slated to be available to all Wordstock users in October 2009.

Does it send orders for me?

If your POS system is supported, you can export from Edelweiss, import to your system, and transmit using your standard ordering methods. Or, many stores just allow their rep to pull the order from Edelweiss and place it on their behalf the way that they always have. Edelweiss is not an EDI system or a replacement for any POS system's capabilities in this area, so it does not send electronic orders directly to vendors.

Will competitors be able to see my purchases or notes?

No. Your notes are completely private. Your orders are also private, although you can elect to share them with your rep for that publisher.

How often is the data updated?

Core title data is typically updated once per week using ONIX files supplied by publishers.

If I don't have a sales rep, can I still use Edelweiss if that publisher's catalogs are there?

Yes. The catalogs are available to all registered users.

Can I use Edelweiss with my telesales reps?

Many participating publishers are giving their telesales reps the same access and training on Edelweiss as field reps.

Why is it called "Edelweiss"?

Edelweiss is a small white flower that grows Above the Treeline.