The July 6 IndieCommunication e-newsletter from the IndieCommerce team includes information about ABA’s new partnership with Eventbrite, wish list upgrades, and an update about consumer-direct fulfillment from Ingram.

ABA Partners With Eventbrite to Offer Booksellers Event Ticket Management Services

The American Booksellers Association has established a new partnership with Eventbrite, a sophisticated event technology service that allows users to manage ticket sales for events.

As part of the new partnership agreement with Eventbrite, ABA members will have access to a substantial Eventbrite discount and 24/7 customer support via e-mail and phone. ABA members will also receive a one-hour onboarding session with an Eventbrite representative.

Eventbrite allows event-holders to set up an event page in minutes, offer multiple ticket options, and learn more about their ticket-buying community with customized questions. In addition, event-goers can purchase tickets directly on stores’ websites and social media pages.

Booksellers who have an existing account with Eventbrite can easily migrate to the new members-only program to take advantage of lower rates and enhanced customer support and training.

To get started, ABA member booksellers should fill out the online form here [6]. Once the form has been submitted, Eventbrite’s Blake Ballardo will be in contact with more details.

Questions about this new partnership, which is available to all ABA member stores, should be directed to Director of IndieCommerce Phil Davies [7]. IndieCommerce stores can contact [email protected] [8] to learn more about integrating Eventbrite with their IndieCommerce sites.

ABA offers a number of members-only affinity partnerships with vendors that offer discounted products, services, and business opportunities. Learn more on BookWeb [9].

“Wish List” Upgrades for IndieCommerce Sites

The wish list feature places an “Add to Wish List” button alongside the “Add to Cart” button on product pages, search results pages, book lists, etc. This feature can be used in many different ways, such as for the creation of personal wish lists to keep track of books to read, wish lists to share with family and friends, gift registries, lists for book drives and book fairs, and more. For details on recent upgrades to the Wish List feature and how to implement them on your IndieCommerce site (this feature is not available on IndieLite sites), visit the IndieCommerce Help Center [10].

Some of the new features include:

1. Store admins can adjust “In-store Purchase”

2. Bulk upload of items to wish lists: Stores that maintain wish lists for schools, libraries, etc. can now upload numerous titles at one time.

Visit the Help Center for more information [10] on these new upgrades or contact customer support at [email protected] [8].

Ingram Distribution Center Added to All IC and IL Sites for Consumer Direct Fulfillment

Ingram’s Fairfield, Ohio, distribution center is now included in its Customer Direct Fulfillment (CDF) service. This should decrease the fulfillment time for many orders that your store sends to CDF. IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites now have access to a total of six Ingram distribution centers for Ingram’s Customer Direct Fulfillment.

Booksellers are encouraged to send their thoughts, questions, or suggestions via e-mail to IndieCommerce staff [11] at any time.

Past editions of IndieCommunication are available on the IndieCommerce Updates page on BookWeb.org [12].