Responding to Customers With ABA Gift Cards Not Sold by Your Store

The ABA Gift Card Program transition to an in-store program is now complete; however, there are a small number of consumers who have valid gift cards sold by stores that have closed or that were a gift from someone in another state. It's important for ABA members to know how to respond to customers in either of these cases.

Here’s what to do:

• If the gift card is not imprinted with a store name, you can find the issuing store by doing a balance check on the givex.com website. After you check the balance, click on “view transaction history” to find the name of the issuing bookstore.

• If you need more information about the bookstore, use the Indie Store Finder on IndieBound.org.

• If the issuing store is still in business, the consumer can call the store to place a phone order, or if the store has a website, the consumer can redeem the card online. The issuing store should be sure to collect the card and/or reduce the balance appropriately to reduce liability.

• If the issuing store has closed, ABA will reimburse the consumer. In this case only, booksellers should direct consumers to mail the gift card and their contact information, including their name and full mailing address, to Gift Cards c/o ABA, 200 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591. The reimbursement process will take four to six weeks from the time of receipt at ABA.
  
  To help booksellers respond to customers presenting gift cards that were sold by stores that are now closed, ABA has created a sign and a reimbursement form.

• If booksellers or consumers need further assistance, they can call ABA staff at the number on the back of all ABA and Book Sense gift cards, 1-888-266-5736, between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

More post-transition information is available on the gift card pages on BookWeb.org.