Not Too Early to Be Thinking Holiday Gift Card Orders

While the holiday season may still seem far off, the time for booksellers to begin preparing gift card orders for the biggest shopping time of the year is now. The Book Sense Gift Card Program, just completing its first year of operation, has already helped more than 200 bookstores dramatically increase their sales.

"Each year, the consumer demand for gift card grows," said ABA Marketing Director Jill Perlstein. "As such, we want to remind booksellers that it's not too early to prepare their gift card orders for the holiday season, as we expect the demand for cards to be even greater this year. For those bookstores that do not yet sell gift cards, we encourage them to take advantage of gift cards' extraordinary popularity by joining the Book Sense Gift Card program."

The Book Sense generic card designs take five to seven working days to ship. Booksellers that desire a logo or type treatment added to a generic card should plan for 10 - 15 working days for production. Booksellers that require a proof will be charged a $45 service fee and should anticipate two to three additional working days. (For more details, click here.) And booksellers who wish to create a custom card should plan on six to eight weeks once a design has been approved. It is recommended that, to have a custom design in place before Thanksgiving, the card design process begin no later than early September.

"We suggest to stores wishing to imprint their logo or create custom cards that they consider purchasing a minimum order of generic cards to merchandise around their bookstores and to use as back up while waiting for their customized cards," Perlstein said. (The Tome Dark Gift Card and its coordinating presenter are temporarily unavailable.)

Booksellers who are planning to attend a regional association trade show this fall should note that this year's ABA trade show exhibit will focus on "Book Sense Gift Cards: One Year Later" and will feature live demonstrations. The exhibit will give booksellers the opportunity to see firsthand how the gift card program works. Moreover, as an incentive to try the gift card, ABA will waive the one-time $25 set-up fee for booksellers signing up at each trade show. (Booksellers planning to sign up at the show should bring their checking account information.)

The Book Sense Electronic Gift Card Program Participation Agreement, order form, card designs, a schedule of fees, and answers to many of booksellers' questions about the gift card program are available online at www.BookWeb.org/read/6303.

Questions about the program may be addressed to Jill Perlstein at (800) 637-0037 or (914) 591-2665, ext. 1283 or via e-mail at [email protected]. --David Grogan