Affinity Programs

Savvy booksellers make the most of every opportunity to inform customers about the latest titles, upcoming events, and store news, and one of a business' most-effective channels is an e-mail marketing campaign.

The American Booksellers Association has announced a near-record dividend for policyholders of its LIBRIS (League of Independent Book Retailer Insurance Services) insurance program. A dividend of three percent of a business' annual premium will be paid to participating ABA members at the end of February; non-ABA participants will receive a one percent dividend.

PartnerShip/FedEx will be providing on-site discount shipping for participants in the American Booksellers Association's 2008 Winter Institute who are enrolled in the ABA Discount Shipping Program.

The American Booksellers Association Discount Shipping Program, administered by PartnerShip, recently announced a new enhancement to its program: discounts on some FedEx Kinko's services. Now ABA members enrolled in the shipping program will receive 20 percent off select color and black/white print and copy services and 10 percent off select finishing services such as signs and graphics.

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, 42.5 billion checks were cashed in 2000. Now, to facilitate the acceptance of checks at member bookstores, the American Booksellers Association is introducing a check guarantee program at discounted rates from Certegy Check Services, a leading service provider to U.S. merchants.

The American Booksellers Association Discount Shipping Program recently announced even better rates for members participating in the program: UPS Freight and Yellow Transportation have increased discounts on less-than-truckload freight shipments to 64 percent from 62 percent. According to PartnerShip, the program's administrator, businesses currently enrolled in the program automatically received the new pricing when it went into effect on June 15.

Whether your bookstore has many employees and locations, or it's just a two-person operation, having a basic accident and emergency control program is good business. Here, the insurance professionals at LIBRIS (League of Independent Book Retailer Insurance Services), the ABA-owned insurance company, offer nine elements that should be addressed by an effective risk management program:

American Booksellers Association members participating in the Constant Contact affinity program will begin receiving rebate checks this week. The checks are being sent to current bookstore members that paid for Constant Contact e-mail marketing services between April 30, 2006, and April 30, 2007. A bookstore's rebate is equivalent to an average of the monthly fee paid to Constant Contact over the 12-month period. The monthly fee is based on the number of unique addresses on a bookstore's list.

American Booksellers Association members saved an average of $3,300 each on shipping costs last year, simply by participating in PartnerShip, a free member benefit.

MasterCard and Visa have announced an increase in interchange rates effective April 1. According to American Booksellers Association affinity partner Bank of America Merchant Services, the overall rate increase amounts to .04 percent. Credit card processors are now adjusting and/or increasing their rates to accommodate this change.