Among recent IndieCommerce developments have been the introduction of a new customer service rep, the addition of Google eBooks™ published by Penguin, and an increase in the percentage of each Google eBooks sale going to member stores.

• In response to feedback from IndieCommerce stores, ABA has expanded its support team with the addition of a new IndieCommerce Customer Service Representative.

  Valerie Federici [4] joins Member Relationship Manager for IndieCommerce Scott Nafz [5] on the IndieCommerce customer service team. Prior to joining ABA, Federici worked at Polarn O. Pyret, where she helped maintain the company’s e-commerce site. Federici and Nafz are backed up by Technical Support Coordinator Chanthee Keokhaw [6] and Member Relationship Managers Elizabeth Nichols and Kaitlin Pitcher. [7]

• On March 30, Google eBooks published by Penguin became available through IndieCommerce websites. Penguin has an agency pricing model for e-books.
   
• Google eBooks is now the exclusive provider of e-books for ABA member IndieCommerce sites. One of the benefits of this arrangement is that booksellers started receiving an additional three percent of each e-book sale.
   
• Effective April 1, ABA began collecting 4.5 percent of all non-ebook credit card transactions for users of ABA’s shared Authorize.net [8] account. Stores with their own Authorize.net [8] account are not charged any per-transaction fees by ABA. (It is important to note that ABA takes absolutely nothing out of any sale of e-books by IndieCommerce stores.)

  An Authorize.net [8] account, including Advanced Fraud Protection Suite and Customer Information add-ons, which are highly recommended by ABA, costs approximately $45 a month. Stores should consider not only the cost of the account (relative to 4.5 percent of their monthly credit sales) but also Authorize.net’s other advantages. A great deal of information on signing up for an Authorize.net account [9] is available on IndieCommerce.com [10]. ABA’s point person for questions about Authorize.net is Chanthee Keokhaw [6].
   

• In addition, for members interested in launching an IndieCommerce site, ABA is running a limited time-only, special offer. ABA members that sign an IndieCommerce contract between now and May 31, 2011, can use IndieCommerce for only $100 per month for the first three months. If a total of 300 IndieCommerce sites are live by October 1, 2011, the regular monthly cost of $225 per month will go down to $175 per month for all stores.

  To learn more about launching an IndieCommerce website, visit the new IndieCommerce.com support and resource site [11] and then contact an ABA Membership Relationship Manager [7] about getting online with IndieCommerce.