Offer for Baker & Taylor e-commerce users...

Dear Bookseller,

 

     Very recently, Baker & Taylor Book Distributor announced that they will soon be closing the retail aspect of their distribution services. This includes the shuttering of their e-commerce solution, "My Books & More". 

 

     Because of this announcement, a lot of stores that run e-commerce through their B&T websites are being forced to find some other e-commerce solution before their sites are no longer hosted. 

 

     ABA has been offering a robust e-commerce solution through the IndieCommerce/IndieLite program for just about 20 years. This program allows ABA-member stores to access a fully-functional e-commerce website, complete with Ingram's 10 million title database, an internal search engine, shopping cart, and credit card processing. The system also allows stores to build their own custom content on their site, including static Pages (with images and curated booklists), as well as Events, which automatically populate to an Event calendar. 

 

     When ABA heard of Baker & Taylor's announcement, we felt it important to offer effected stores an opportunity to try out the IndieLite platform at a drastically reduced rate. Currently, any ABA-member store who will be losing their B&T website has the option of signing up for the IndieLite program FREE for the first 3 months, and at 50% off ($25) per month, for the next 9 months. In other words, eligible stores will be able to run an IndieLite site for 12 months, for only $225.

 

     However, while we are happy to make this offer available, it is also necessary to point out some fundamental differences between the 2 platforms (B&T vs. IndieLite).

 

     First of all, stores with a B&T website are used to having all orders fulfilled by B&T. However, the IndieLite platform is set up differently, with customers having a number of options available to them during checkout. Because of these options (e.g. In-store Pickup, and In-store Payment), most orders that are placed through most IndieLite sites need to be filled by the store (similar to filling an order for a customer over the phone). For the average IndieCommerce or IndieLite store, we tend to find that Ingram is able to fill about 10% of the store's orders, and the remainder must be filled by the store. Again, these are often orders wherein a customer has elected to pick up and pay for their order in the store (both popular options for customers). Ingram does not get involved with orders that are being picked up in person.

 

     There are a few other reasons why Ingram may not fill a particular order on a store's behalf. Documentation on Ingram's role in fulfillment and a list of those reasons can be found here:

 

https://www.bookweb.org/indiecommerce/wholesaler-fulfillment

 

     The next biggest difference between the 2 platforms concerns content. While B&T's solution gave a store an e-commerce web presence, it did not generally allow the store to create their own content for their site. On the other hand, IndieLite gives stores the ability to create specific, custom content (e.g. Pages and Events), and arrange for Menus with links to this content. This may be a significant change for some stores: while a B&T site doesn't allow for content, an IndieLite site nearly requires it. When a store signs the IndieLite Letter of Agreement, they are agreeing that they will make a good effort to keep the site updated at least once a week. But, aside from any contractual obligation, neglecting to update a site on a regular basis tends to go against general website "best practices". In short, with the ability to change content on the site comes a responsibility to do so.

 

     Having said that, we want to present a few questions that stores have recently asked, concerning IndiLite, and our current offer.

 

1. When does the $25/month end? In other words, if I signed up now, I assumed the “first three months” starts for May, but when does the $25/month end? At the end of this December?

 

     The current offer for B&T stores is for 3 months of IndieLite at no charge. Thereafter, the next nine months will be billed at only $25. Finally, a year later, the monthly fee reverts to the original $50 per month.

     Also keep in mind, the first "free" month would be the first full month that you have access to the site. In other words, if you submitted a contract in the second week of May, and received access to the site in the third week of May, then June would be considered the first full month. 

 

2. Does the “indielite.org” link live on a different domain and therefore I can just link to it from my front page (like I do now for the B&T site)?

 

     A store's IndieLite site is essentially a stand-alone site, that doesn't require any other site to be run in conjunction with it, and is designed to be a store's only website (stores are free to run 2 different sites at the same time, but it generally increases a store's costs, and the work involved). All IndieLite sites reside on ABA's servers, and all have what is called a "sub-URL" of the IndieLite domain (e.g. MyLocalBookstore.indielite.org). This link can be posted to another site, or added to email newsletters, etc., but the site will always be a separate entity.

 

3. What is the cost after the first year?

 

     The regular monthly fee for an IndieLite site is $50.

 

4. How often do stores receive sales revenue from their IndieLite sites?

 

     ABA processes these funds twice a month (on or about the 15th and 25th of the month).

 

5. B&T’s online bookstore offered a percentage to us for books sold; a higher percentage if we charged shipping instead of offering free shipping (which is what we did). In any event, what percentage do we get for selling books through IndieLite?

 

     The differences between Indielite, and B&T's e-commerce solution can hardly be overstated. These differences manifest themselves in how the platform is built, and the access that stores have to their sites, as well as Ingram's very involvement in filling orders. 

 

     Most orders that are placed through an Indielite site are actually filled by the store. These are usually orders for which the customer has arranged to pick up, and pay at the store. For orders like these, there is no wholesaler involvement. The store obtains the book(s) from their usual channels (including right off the shelf at the store), and sell it to the customer right through the register. These orders carry no fees of any kind; the entire transaction is between the store and customer, and all of the funds belong to the store. In these cases, the website acts merely a conduit for the customer's information.

 

     A customer can also arrange to pay with a credit card, through the site. In these cases, there will be credit card processing fees that ABA pays to our "payment gateway" (Authorize.net), and our credit card processor (BanCard). These credit card fees amount to roughly 8% of the order total. Again, the rest of the funds belong to the store.

 

     However, about 10% of the time, a customer places an order that can be filled directly through Ingram. The store just needs to click a button, and the order is sent to the wholesaler to fill on the store's behalf. For these orders, Ingram will pick the order, pack it up, ship it out to the customer, close it, and begin the process by which the store receives their share of the funds (via ACH wire transfer).

     If an order is filled by Ingram, Ingram will receive:

 

The cost of goods (usually 60% of the list price)

The cost of any shipping that they incur

A handling fee ($0.50 per item) 

 

     The remainder (including any tax that was collected) is deposited to the store's bank account, twice a month.

 

     Generally speaking, if a store fills an order without Ingram's involvement, the store sees about 90% of the customer's money.

     On the other hand, if Ingram fills an order on a store's behalf, the store sees about 30% of the customer's funds. However, these are orders for which the store did not need to obtain the books, ship them out, or really touch the order in any way.

 

     It is worth noting that most IndieCommerce/IndieLite stores prefer to fill most (or all) orders themselves.

 

     We hope that this information will help stores decide whether IndieLite is a good fit for them, but if you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.