Gift Cards

Penguin Young Readers Group aims to help us celebrate all of our special relationships -- with a free, limited edition ABA Gift Card and matching holder.

This spring, Eric Carle's classic character The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 40, and to commemorate the occasion Penguin Young Readers Group is sponsoring a special ABA gift card.

Booksellers can begin ordering free, limited edition "Are you very hungry for books?" gift cards at noon EST on Monday, February 2, via the ABA gift card order site.

The tough economy is expected to take a toll on gift card sales this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation, which is forecasting a drop in sales of about 5.6 percent even as the popularity and demand for gift cards grow.

Due to technical difficulties, the launch of the Walter Wick "Can You See What I See?" ABA Gift Card promotion on Friday, October 31, was delayed; however, all four gift card designs -- Cool Collections, Dream Machine, Once Upon a Time, and On a Scary Scary Night -- are now available on the ABA Gift Card Program order site.

Bookstores participating in the ABA Gift Card Program can begin ordering free Walter Wick "Can You See What I See?" gift cards with presenters, courtesy of Scholastic, at noon EDT on Friday, October 31. There are four card designs to choose from -- Cool Collections, Dream Machine, Once Upon a Time, and On a Scary Scary Night -- each with a Can You See What I See? Game Pieces presenter. Scholastic is covering the cost of the cards (22 cents), the transaction fee (50 cents), and the presenters (12 cents).

During the 2007 holiday shopping season, bookstore gift cards were the third most popular gift cards purchased, below only those from department stores and restaurants, and above seven other categories, including electronics, discount, and clothing store cards, according to the National Retail Federation's "2008 Holiday Survival Kit."

Gift cards are a multimillion-dollar business, and independent booksellers participating in ABA's Gift Card program have sold more than $1.1 million gift cards since the program's inception in September 2003.

Three new IndieBound-inspired ABA Gift Card designs, which were chosen with the help of booksellers who voted for their favorites this past spring, are now available. The new gift cards, which can be ordered with or without a bookstore imprint, are:

Booksellers who have placed orders for this year's FREADOM gift card and presenter, sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), will soon receive them.

Monday, July 14, is the deadline for ordering this year's newly redesigned FREADOM gift card, featuring both a statement explaining that the participating bookseller is contributing 10 percent of the value of the card to defending the freedom to read and Roger Roth's popular illustration of the Statue of Liberty reading a book. Stores will receive their orders in time for Banned Books Week celebrations (September 27 - October 4).

This week, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) unveiled a new design for its popular FREADOM gift card. Now, along with Roger Roth's popular illustration of the Statue of Liberty reading a book, the face of the FREADOM card explains to customers that the participating bookseller is contributing 10 percent of the value of the card to defending the freedom to read.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is seeking bookstores to sell the 2008 version of its popular FREADOM gift card, featuring Roger Roth's illustration of the Statue of Liberty reading a book.

With the launch of IndieBound, the Book Sense Gift Card program has become the ABA Gift Card program. Although the websites of the card program administrator, Givex, look different, the functionality has not changed. There is a new URL for the card reorder site, www.jettdirect.com/aba/, and booksellers accessing the old site, booksenseorders.givex.com, will be automatically redirected.

ABA's gift card and e-commerce programs will be the focus of staff-led users group meetings on Friday, May 30, at BookExpo America. Participants, and those who are new to each of the programs, are invited to join in meetings at the L.A. Convention Center, where they'll hear about the latest program developments, as well as have a chance to share tips and tricks with fellow booksellers.

Stores participating in the Book Sense Gift Card Program can request two new card designs sponsored by Random House Children's Books and Listening Library. The free, limited edition gift cards, which are ready to ship to eligible booksellers, feature artwork from the Dr. Seuss classics Horton Hears a Who! and Oh, the Places You'll Go!