The Book Sense Gift Card Program FAQ What is a gift card? A gift card is a plastic equivalent of a paper gift certificate. It is the same size and shape as a credit card. Each card has a magnetic strip, a readable number, and a bar code printed on the back. Why switch from paper to plastic? High consumer demand: Gift card sales are projected to exceed $73 billion by 2007 Source: FoxNews Channel/Business, April 10, 2004. The average consumer spent 11.5 % of their holiday budget on gift cards and 74.3% purchased a gift card (up from 69.9% in 2003) Source: NRF (BIGresearch), November 2004. Increase bookstore sales: Most retail outlets show at least a 20% increase in sales when offering gift cards. It's easy to increase customer impulse buys by displaying inactive cards all around the bookstore (no need to hide gift cards under the front desk.) Better security: Cards are invalid until activated by an authorized bookseller. Cards can be deactivated in the event of theft or fraud. Accurate accounting: Ability to track all sales and redemptions on a daily basis via a variety of reports. Booksellers will need the ability to maintain proper records as required by most states. ABA strongly urges booksellers to familiarize themselves with their local and state laws. Booksellers should be aware of tightened regulations regarding the use of money spent by consumers on gift cards and gift certificates. Many states have become very aggressive in enforcing unclaimed property laws (money paid by consumers for a gift certificate, but unused for merchandise.) No more cash back or store credits (unspent balance remains on the card.) Please click here for statistics and facts to support a gift card program. Please also refer to Bookselling This Week for other news stories. Why should I invest in this gift card program when paper gift certificate program costs are minimal? It is true that the Book Sense Gift Card program has higher costs associated with it, but we do not believe that the two programs should be compared solely on cost. It is important to keep in mind the consumer demand for gift cards. Consumers, (we believe that all such issues should be looked at through the eyes of the consumer) want gift cards, expect gift cards, understand gift cards, and have adopted them as the accepted form of gift certificate at an astounding rate. In 2003 over 70% of all gift certificates sold were in card format. All statistics show that gift card sales are at least 15%-20% higher then gift certificate sales. There are stores reporting 30%-50% increases as well. Why is this so? Gift cards, if properly promoted, are displayed all over the store, not kept under the counter like gift certificates. This exposure alone will dramatically affect sales. For an analysis of potential returns for booksellers participating in the gift card program, please click here. For an analysis of potential returns of gift cards vs. paper gift certificates, please click here. What happened to the paper Book Sense gift certificate program? On October 28, 2004, Book Sense announced via Bookselling This Week, a plan to discontinue the Book Sense Paper Gift Certificate program. Details and updated information are described below. To download this information in PDF format, click here. Notice to booksellers with Book Sense: Due to overall increased consumer demand for electronic gift cards and the continued growing popularity of Book Sense Gift Cards in particular, the American Booksellers Association has announced the discontinuation of the Book Sense Paper Gift Certificate Program. To ensure a smooth ending for the program, please note the following: Book Sense stopped selling Book Sense Paper Gift Certificates to stores as of December 31, 2004. The Book Sense Letter of Agreement has been amended to remove participation in the Gift Certificate Program as a requirement. Stores will not be required to participate in the Gift Card Program. Effective June 1, 2005, bookstores should have stopped selling Book Sense paper gift certificates. Any Book Sense paper gift certificate sold and dated after June 1, 2005, will not be valid and will not be considered for reimbursement. In keeping with the wording on the face of the certificate, "Redeemable at any store with Book Sense nationwide," all bookstores with Book Sense should continue to accept valid Book Sense gift certificates even if they have never sold one. This policy was set in order to protect consumers. Booksellers should check to see that the certificates was not sold after June 1,2005 and that the certificate is valid as per other criteria set forth by Book Sense and by local/state laws where applicable. Reimbursement instructions are provided under the heading How to Redeem a Book Sense Gift Certificate elsewhere in this document. Book Sense will continue to provide reimbursement for all valid Book Sense gift certificates in accordance with established reimbursement guidelines for as long as necessary. Book Sense paid 10 cents for each unsold Book Sense paper gift certificate returned to ABA via a traceable manner (e.g., UPS) by June 15, 2005. This schedule was established to allow bookstores ample time before June 1, 2005, consumer sale cutoff date to either switch to the Book Sense Gift Card Program or to develop a store-specific paper gift certificate. Booksellers are encouraged to sign-up for the Book Sense Gift Card program; however, booksellers are not required to adopt Book Sense Gift Cards in order to remain a Book Sense participant in the overall marketing campaign. How will booksellers sell and redeem gift cards? Givex, the Book Sense partner in gift card processing, provides a variety of methods to choose from including a secure Book Sense branded Web site (Web based transactions or WebPOS), a terminal (Internet communication or direct dial), and/or the telephone (IVR). The WebPOS.givex.com, store.givex.com and IVR as a back-up system are all included as part of the program. Booksellers will not have to commit to any particular method and training is available from Givex by telephone. All manuals are posted here (BookWeb password required). Demos of the WebPOS are also available; please email [email protected] to schedule a telephone appointment. Are any Bookstore POS (inventory control) systems integrated? Anthology, BookLog, Computac/Square One, IBID, and WordStock are certified to process Book Sense Gift Cards: For more information on requirements and costs for Anthology (integrated credit card processing module), contact Jim Bean at (800) 392-1726 or via e-mail at [email protected]. For more information on requirements and costs for BookLog (Credit Card Verification Interface and PC Charge, Version 5.7), contact technical support at (800) 977-8212, ext. 260, or at [email protected]. For more information on requirements and costs for Computac/Square One (release level 13.x and PC Charge) contact Mike Hartman at (603) 298-5721 or via e-mail at [email protected]. For more information on requirements and costs for IBID (verision 14), contact IBID Technical Support at (800) 443-8897, ext. 1 or via e-mail Mike Feldman at [email protected]. For more information on requirements and costs for WordStock (version 4.20C) click here or contact WordStock sales at (800) 753-WORD or [email protected]. If your vendor is not listed here, please contact them directly to inquire about integration timelines. How does a gift card work? A gift card is similar to a credit card in that it uses similar technology. The magnetic strip, the readable number, and the bar code contain information about the card. When a card is swiped, scanned, or when the number is entered into a touch pad (or keyboard), a call is made to the Givex database that then allows the authorized bookseller to either add value, subtract value, check a balance, etc. What are the costs and fees associated with this program? For a complete breakdown of the costs and fees associated with the Book Sense Gift Card program, click here. How long should I plan for card production? The Book Sense generic card designs take 5-7 working days to ship. Booksellers that desire a logo or type treatment added to a generic card should plan for 10-15 working days for production. Booksellers that require a proof will be charged a $45 service fee and should anticipate 2-3 additional working days. Please refer to the Customizing a Generic Gift Card PDF for more details. Booksellers who wish to create a custom card should plan on a minimum of 6-8 weeks once a design has been approved. Please refer to the Custom Book Sense Gift Card Guidelines PDF for more details. Click here to view all of the Book Sense gift card designs in the marketplace. Note: We suggest that stores that wish to imprint their logo or create custom cards should consider purchasing a minimum order of generic cards to merchandise around your bookstore and to use as backup while waiting for your imprinted or custom cards. How do I sign-up? Your bookstore must be a regular member of the ABA and have a valid Book Sense Marketing Program Letter of Agreement on file. To view the complete instructions for signing up and to download Book Sense Gift Card Program Participation Agreement, the Gift Card ACH Agreement, and the Gift Card Program Order Form, click here. How do I fill in the order form if I have multiple locations? Each bookstore location must complete an individual card order form; however, a store may choose to set-up one ACH account for all locations and have all cards shipped to one location to save on order processing and shipping charges. Please contact Jill Perlstein with any questions at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6642. How are taxes calculated? Amounts calculated for State, Local Sales and Use taxes on card production and equipment vary. An invoice will be emailed to you prior to ACH if taxes are applicable. How will the money be transferred? All ACH transfers for the Book Sense Gift Card program are processed once a month. Booksellers should expect a notice emailed at the end of each month, or within the first few days of the month, for all costs and net credits/debits for the previous month's activity depending on the bookstore's level of activity. Booksellers can expect to see the following transfers hitting their bank accounts on the third Friday of each month: $20 monthly fee (no further notice is given for this fee after the initial program sign-up notice) Cost for card and presenter orders Shipping for card and presenter orders Training sessions Swipes and other equipment Bookstore-to-Bookstore settlements (notice given via the compensation report) Increments (billed quarterly) All transfers will appear on your bank statement as Givex USA. Prior to September 2005, transfers were processed on a bi-monthly basis--on the first business day of the month and on the third Friday of each month. The change to one monthly ACH transfer effectively gives booksellers two additional weeks to pay program costs and fees. Note about Bookstore-to-Bookstore settlements: Prior to August 2006, Compensation reports were only emailed when bookstore-to-bookstore activity resulted in a net credit or debit to the bookstore's account. In an effort to provide all booksellers with relevant information, all locations will now receive a monthly Compensation Report. The Compensation Report is generated by Givex and lists bookstore-to-bookstore activity (meaning that "Store A" either redeemed "Store B�s" gift card and/or "Store B" redeemed "Store A�s" gift card) during a specific month. Previously, when Givex would generate a report that contained no bookstore-to-bookstore activity, the report would be discarded and only reports with activity would be emailed to the locations involved in the transactions. Under our new system, all locations will receive this report whether or not there has been activity. Therefore, it is possible that booksellers will receive Compensation Reports that may contain the phrase, "There is no data for this query." Do not be alarmed, it merely indicates that all cards sold by "Store A" during the month were redeemed in "Store A" or are still unredeemed. If the report lists bookstore-to-bookstore activity, the net amount (a debit or a credit) will be transferred to or from the checking account on file on the third Friday of the month for the date listed on the report. Only authorized ABA staff and Givex have access to compensation reports. Booksellers are encouraged to run reports provided on store.givex.com to track gift card activity and to reconcile accounts. You'll find it easy to manage your program by regularly running the Transactions Report and the Historical Balance Report (and referring to the Compensation Reports when provided) for any period you wish to reconcile. Refer to the manual for store.givex.com posted in the Book Sense Gift Card section on www.BookWeb.org/read/6303 for more information on reports. In addition to the credits or debits from the Compensation Report, Givex will continue to withdraw the $20 per location monthly program fee in addition to other amounts that may be due for gift cards, service fees, presenters, increments, shipping, equipment, or other program fees. The $20 monthly program fee is indicated on the initial invoice when joining the program; all subsequent monthly fees are simply withdrawn without any other written notice. Questions should be emailed to [email protected] or contact Jill Perlstein at (800) 637-0037, ext 6642. Will Givex keep my banking information confidential? We recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of all information provided by our customers. Your banking information will be kept strictly confidential in secure location at Givex. What do the gift card designs look like? After receiving input from booksellers, ABA created a variety of generic Book Sense gift card designs with coordinating presenters (also known as backers or card carriers.) To view the current designs click here. The presenters are designed to allow merchandising around the store and to act as an envelope when the card is given as a gift. Booksellers can add their store logo and information to the front of the card for an additional fee. New designs will be offered as the program continues to grow, including cards and/or presenters for special occasions and specific book promotions. For more information click here. How many cards can I order? Minimum order for each generic card design without a logo is 100. After the minimum is met, additional cards can be ordered in quantities of 50 per design. The minimum order for cards with a logo is 250, additional cards can be ordered in quantities of 50 per design. There is a minimum of 1,000 cards for a custom design. What is the policy on expiration dates and inactivity fees? In keeping with tightened local and state regulations regarding the use of money spent by consumers on gift cards and gift certificates, Book Sense Gift Cards do not have expiration dates nor do they carry inactivity or other related fees. The following wording (updated for clarity on some card print runs) appears on the back of all Book Sense gift cards: Present this gift card at time of purchase or use online through participating BookSense.com stores. This gift card is valid in the selling store as well as in all participating bookstores with Book Sense. To locate a bookstore call 1-888-BookSense or visit www.BookSense.com. Not redeemable for cash. Not replaceable if lost or stolen, unless original sales receipt is presented or otherwise required by law. No value until purchased. We strongly suggest posting your bookstore's policy near the point of sale. Please also refer to these Bookselling This Week articles for important information about unclaimed property funds: http://news.bookweb.org/news/3244.html and http://news.bookweb.org/read/2176. Will there be a minimum and maximum for which cards can be sold to a consumer? Cards can be sold for any amount but not for more than $250. Multiple cards should be activated for customers who want to spend more than $250. We also advise that you post your store's policy in a conspicuous place. How do I re-order cards? Cards can be re-ordered online at booksenseorders.givex.com. Use the same login and password provided by Givex that you use for store.givex.com to this secure site. Once you have logged in, you select the card type, enter the quantity and confirm the shipping address. Payment for the re-order will be through ACH. Click here for a pdf of helpful instructions. (Bookweb password protected.) When should I re-order cards? We recommend that you re-order when you reach 100 cards (or 50 if you have ordered generic cards). Card production close to major holidays gets extremely busy, so please order early. Allow 2-3 weeks for a generic card with the logo added. Generic cards without the logo will take 5-7 days to ship. What format should my logo be in when adding a logo to a generic card? Please refer to the logo specifications document (PDF format). Is there marketing support? Yes, upon sign-up stores will received materials to help promote gift cards. Please refer to this link on BookWeb.org for additional materials and information: http://www.bookweb.org/read/6649 Can I allow my customers to buy Book Sense Gift Cards and use their Book Sense Gift Card as a form of payment on my BookSense.com web site? Yes, please contact BookSense.com customer service for details, call 1-800-637-0037, ext #2 or email [email protected]. Will booksellers be able to sell Book Sense Gift Cards through other local merchants? Yes; however, no details are available at this time. Can booksellers sell Book Sense Gift Cards at a discount? Yes; but, if the card is redeemed for the full amount in a different bookstore; the selling store is still obligated to transfer the full amount to the redeeming bookstore. Other Questions? Contact: Jill Perlstein at 1-800-637-0037 or 1-914-591-2665, ext. 6642 or via e-mail at [email protected] or Linda Ford, ext. 6644; e-mail [email protected]. updated 08/02/06 Topics: Marketing, Book Sense, Gift Cards,