Blog Archives

COVID-19 BOOKSELLER RESOURCE UPDATE

3/31/2020

Hello Book Friends,

GLIBA is committed to helping you and your store navigate this current time, and we are updating our resources daily. Below you will find a list of resources and we are updating gliba.org on an almost daily basis with current news, updated resources and next steps you can take. Please check back regularly.

As a next step to help our membership, we are waving 2020 member dues for ALL GLIBA bookstores.

Please update your membership here.

A NOTE FROM LARRY
Some of you may have heard I tested positive for COVID-19. I debated whether I should share this information publicly. Ultimately, I decided to for a few reasons. I want you, my bookselling friends and family, to know this issue is real, has affected someone you know, is manageable and that we need to take every precaution to stop it from spreading. I also want my situation to help ground what is happening in reality and hopefully make it less anxiety inducing for everyone. I have highlighted the most frequently asked questions, and am answering them from a patient’s perspective. I hope this helps bring you some peace and lets you know there is some positivity to what seems like an endless and powerfully negative situation.

What were your symptoms?
A dry cough, restricted breathing, chills, sweats, body aches and a fever of 100.5.

How are you treating it?
I have been self-quarantining. I am not staying at home with Sandra and Vivian. I am staying hydrated, eating lots of warm liquids like soup, coffee, tea, etc. Taking Vitamin C and trying to eat regularly. I am also using a humidifier and trying to rest as much as possible.

Where or how did you contract it?
I do not know. I started showing symptoms six days after the last time I had been in public. The grocery store and Walgreens were the last public locations I had been before symptoms showed. I have asthma and I am a habitual face toucher. I cannot confirm, but that combination probably made me more susceptible to contracting it.

How do you feel?
I feel really good. My first day of symptoms was terrible. Since then, my symptoms have been mild, and each day is better and better. Restricted breathing has been the only consistent issue. As of today, I would compare it to being a Midwesterner in Colorado-- I get winded easily and it feels like I haven’t adjusted to the elevation.

Further thoughts:
This is scary but manageable. Very fortunately, my symptoms were mild. Having had the virus, I am positive many of us have had it and just didn’t know. If I had not gotten so sick the first day, I would have not gone to the hospital. I would have assumed my asthma was acting up or I had an upper respiratory infection. This is one of the reasons we need to take every precaution until this is over. With the lack of available testing, it is almost impossible to know who has it. Please take care of yourself. We will get through this. The outpouring of messages and positivity has been overwhelming and I am so grateful. I am doing great and I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing my bookselling family again. - Larry
GLIBA BOOKSELLER CHATS EVERY WEDNESDAY
Register for Chat
Wednesday, April 1st | 12:00PM - 1:00PM CT

To help our membership both stay safe and adapt, GLIBA will facilitate online video conversations for GLIBA booksellers to take place every Wednesday, starting Wednesday, April 1st from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT. Going forward, we will rotate the time of day to accommodate different schedules. Next week’s conversation will be held Wednesday April 7th at 9-10am CDT.

This conversation is meant to keep us united- sharing best practices for dealing with COVID-19, voice concerns, and help plan for the future. It also serves to provide much needed face to face time with fellow booksellers. Space is limited so pease register here and share any questions or best practices you would like to discuss during the call. The call will be held via Zoom.

A link to the chat is below and will be on the registration page.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/6775096962

Meeting ID: 677 509 6962

COVID-19 Important Information

Who do I reach out to regarding permission to carry on business?
• Consistently stores reaching out on the state level have been turned down
• Focus your efforts locally
• We have seen access granted to bookstores by local government including city council Mayors, city attorneys and local assemblymen
• Contacting local government also encourages them to promote and support business in this time

What to do when making your request:
• Avoid requesting to be considered essential on social media.
• Emphasize public safety. Businesses remain closed to the public, only handling online orders with minimal staff maintaining safe distances

Keep in mind:
There is some question as to whether staying open in these ways might hurt your chances for loans or grants later. We have no information on this but it is possible showing a complete loss of income may give you a better chance at loans and grants. Something to consider though most likely your store, like others, will have evident losses to document regardless.

Here's What you can do NOW
Email your senator: Here’s a template letter your store can send to the Senate urging immediate action and outlining the best policy. Find your senator’s contact information here .
Fill out this form: Join other retailers to tell your senators a “No” vote that needlessly delays passage of small business relief legislation is not okay.
Spread the word: Share the above-mentioned letters to the Senate with your customers and network. Ask for their help lobbying on behalf of your bookstore, small businesses, and the best interest of the local and national economy. Some sample social media captions:

It’s crucial to #SupportLocalNow with #GrantsNotLoans. Today, we sent our senators a letter urging immediate action to help small businesses like ours. See the letter here: https://www.bookweb.org/bookseller-template-letter-re-covid-fiscal-relief and find your senator's contact info here: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Small business owners, make your voices heard here: https://www.votervoice.net/NRF/campaigns/72865/respond

Start preparing documents you may need to apply for loans and grants:

Three years of business tax returns and personal tax returns for all principles.
Your 2019 tax returns or, if that’s not possible, your 2019 year-end financials.
Year-to-date profit and loss and balance sheets
A personal financial statement for any owner who owns more than 20 percent of the company.
A debt schedule for your business.
Your monthly operating expenses from March through September of last year.

Note: Some loans and grants may make you ineligible for others. For example, a disaster loan may make you ineligible for the proposed forgivable loans that are in the proposed senate relief legislation. Ask questions and check ABA’s Coronavirus Resources for Booksellers page for updates as we attempt to find out more.
STATE BY STATE RESOURCES
Illinois
• COVID-19 Information for Small Business
• Illinois Department of Public Health Updates
• Emergency Small Business Grants and Loans Assistance
• Small Business COVID-19 Relief Program
• COVID-19 Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
• Coronavirus .illinois.govIndiana
• COVID-19 Resource Guide for Hoosiers Looking for Assistance
• COVID-19 Resources for Small Businesses
• Indiana Essential Businesses and Operations ListKentucky
• Team Kentucky COVID-19 Resource Page
• COVID-19 Resources for Employers
Michigan
• Application Process Now Live for Michigan Small Business Relief Program Funding
• Resources for Michigan Businesses During COVID-19
• State of Michigan: Coronavirus - For Employers and Workers
• Supporting Your Small Business During COVID-19
• COVID-19 Main Street Resources
• West Michigan COVID-19 Business CoalitionOhio
• Ohio Chamber of Commerce COVID-19 Business ResourcesWisconsin
• COVID-19 Business Resources
• COVID-19 for Businesses and Employers
• Small Business 20/20
• COVID-19 Business Resource Center
STATE AND LOCAL CONTACT INFORMATION
Locate your mayor
Locate your state legislators
Locate your city, county and town officials
Locate your state governor
Locate your state senator
Locate your state representative
RESOURCES
• COVID-19 Resource List Spreadsheet
• CARES Act Summary
• State Specific Resources for Small Businesses
• Specific provisions of the CARES Act that booksellers should know
• Pandemic—But Don’t Panic
Addresses sick leave and other leaves of absence, work-from-home policies, health and safety, compensation, and discrimination.
• Update for Your Workplace
Looks at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which creates the Family Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act that goes into effect April 2.
• ABA Resource Page
• Immediate Steps to Take During the COVID-19 Outbreak
• Publisher, wholesaler, and vendor support
• ABA’s initiatives during the outbreak
• What We’re Hearing
• Opportunities for financial assistance
• Resources for retailers
• Resources specific to booksellers
• General information about the outbreak
• What can independent businesses do to prevent the spread of the coronavirus?
• WhileAtHome.org
Stay up to date on tools, resources, and supports made necessary during this time. #WhileAtHome is a clearinghouse for credible information and action steps.
INGRAM UPDATE
Some of you have already placed your account and/or specific POs on a shipping hold, but INGRAM wants to make sure you completely understand what this means, and what the options are. See the graphic below to find your INGRAM rep.

IF you have a hold placed on your account it will stop ALL orders shipping to your store.

We just completed programming changes so that this will NOT affect Direct to Home (DTH) orders (if you are filling your own web or phone orders).
If you have had a hold on your account prior to this and have been processing DTH orders, please check ipage, or check with your rep to make sure they are now processing.
The hold will NOT affect IndieCommerce or Bookshop.org orders as those do not bill to your Ingram account.

IF you are still in need of having wholesale orders ship to your store for curbside pickup, or if you are processing and shipping your own phone and/or web orders, we cannot have your account on hold.

In order to pause your frontlist orders you will need to reach out directly to your rep, who will place a “Future Ship Date” on those POs which you can reevaluate as that time approaches.

As things are changing daily for so many booksellers, INGRAM would like to have the most current circumstances for your store. If you have a minute, please send a note to your rep with the answer the following questions:

Are you open to the pubic?
Are you allowing curbside pickup?
Are you doing local deliveries?
Are you using Direct to Home via Ingram/ipage?*
Are you using IndieCommerce and/or Bookshop.org

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Update from ABA CEO Allison Hill

3/30/2020

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Dear all,

Well, the “new normal” is still a moving target. What we thought was a sprint and then a marathon is turning out to be an ultramarathon. Now is the time to look beyond the “one step in front of the other” strategy of the past couple of weeks, and to start looking at what it will take to cross the finish line:

Look at the temporary systems you’ve set up and do a realistic assessment of what you will need to improve or change to sustain it if the new normal is 8–12 weeks from now, as some are now predicting. This may mean asking publishers for additional boxes or ordering more bubble wrap. This may mean cross-training staff or taking a day off to recharge your batteries. It may be having a planning meeting with some of your team, or visiting one of the ABA online forums to share best practices with other bookstores.
Refresh your messaging to your customers and your community. Consistent, authentic, creative, substantive communication with your customers right now is good for your ongoing relationship.
Negotiate and communicate with every vendor. Make sure they know what's going on with your store. Ask for help. If you don’t know who or how, contact us.
Remember that Amazon isn’t shipping books right now. If you are, use this to your advantage. Send handwritten thank you notes with every order, or write a quick message on the outside of the box. Throw in a galley. Send a bounceback coupon for back-to-school shopping. In other words, bring your in-store, personal-touch shopping experience to your customers’ experience shopping online with you.
Prepare for changes in consumer behavior:
- Clean. Cleanliness will have a whole new meaning post-COVID-19 and customers will have a new expectation, especially in the short-term, when people are still skittish. Now is a good time to deep clean your store.
- Technology. These past few weeks, your customers have developed a new relationship with technology as many of them have used delivery apps, shopped online, and/or used Zoom for the first time. Look at ways you can improve your technology offerings. Add Apple Pay to your checkout. Make sure you have an e-commerce platform of some sort. Partner with delivery service apps. Add a digital gift card to your e-commerce site. Use Google text to communicate special orders. Etc.
- Experience. Offering virtual experiences now could gain you new customers for when your doors open again. People are stuck at home and increasingly bored. Your social media can have tremendous impact in connecting with your customers, and attracting new customers. Hold virtual author events on Zoom. Use Instagram Live for storytimes. Use Facebook Live. Create videos. Post animated GIFs on your social media.
Focus on other revenue. Now is the time to start applying for relief money, grants, etc., and some deadlines are already fast approaching. Check the ABA website for opportunities in your region. Read the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Guide & Checklist, ABA’s summary of specific provisions of the CARES Act, or the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship’s CARES Act guide and frequently asked questions sheet. (And don’t be scared off by the term “forgivable loans.” These act like a grant rather than a loan.)

Also, it's important for booksellers to remember that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act takes effect this Wednesday, April 1. The law includes significant changes to employee pay as it relates to the COVID-19 outbreak, such as mandating paid family leave and paid sick leave.

Read ABA’s summary of specific provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Read the Department of Labor’s resources on COVID-19 and the workplace
Importantly, read the department’s comprehensive Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers

Among other provisions, the law requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees two weeks of paid sick leave if the employee is unable to work (or telework) because of a federal, state, or local quarantine order; self-quarantine; COVID symptoms; care of a quarantined individual; or the need to care for children due to the closure of school or place of care.
The law provides employers with a refundable tax credit equal to 100 percent of qualified sick and family leave wages paid. Employers can claim the credit quarterly. And the CARES Act provides for advanced refunding of the payroll tax credits enacted in the Families First law. The credit for required paid sick leave and the credit for required paid family leave can be refunded in advance using forms and instructions the IRS will provide. ABA’s Advocacy team will provide updates as they become available.
For specific questions about how these changes may impact your store, contact your payroll or human resources company, your state’s Department of Labor, or reach out to ABA’s Advocacy team at [email protected].
Most importantly, we’re all running as fast as we can right now but we need to stop for a moment and consider the other side of the finish line. We will get there. What we do now will ensure we’re ready when we cross, and the new normal finally begins.
ABA is here for you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.

Best,
Allison

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Information from ABA CEO Allison Hill

3/27/2020

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Dear all,
Happy Friday, everyone. I’m keeping this update short and sweet today, just assigning some (recommended) homework for your weekend:

Research Relief Opportunities via ABA’s Resources Worksheet
A small group of ABA team members have been working hard to compile useful general and state-specific resources for small businesses, with a focus on unemployment information, grant and loan information, and general business resources. As you all know, things are changing hour-to-hour. We will do our best to keep these resources updated on a weekly basis; however, if you come across any information that is outdated, or if you have found new information that might benefit the larger ABA community, please let us know. You should also be aware that these resources do not currently include information relating to the recently passed CARES Act. We will update you with more information as it becomes available.
Review ABA’s Summary of the CARES Act for Members
This afternoon, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Here’s a look at specific provisions of the CARES Act that booksellers should know.
Consult a Lawyer on COVID-19-related Labor Law Issues
The ABA’s law firm, Kelley Drye & Warren, has provided two webinars for us to share with members:
- Pandemic—But Don’t Panic addresses sick leave and other leaves of absence, work-from-home policies, health and safety, compensation, and discrimination.
- Update for Your Workplace looks at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which creates the Family Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act that goes into effect April 2. In this webinar, they explain the new law and the circumstances under which paid sick leave and expanded family leave will be available to employees. They also share practical advice and discuss potential hidden issues such as the WARN Act, which in some situations requires advance notification for layoffs.
Eat, Sleep, Take a Walk, Breathe
And remember the spirit of what we do. Although you can’t be there for your customers in all the ways you’re used to, indie bookstores are still the heartbeat of our communities. The work you’re doing to survive and sustain your store best you can right now, no matter what that looks like—open or closed, delivering curbside or shipping books—is of service to your customers and your communities, now and on the other side of this.

ABA is here for you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.
Best,
Allison

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The E-Commerce Newsletter For Booksellers

3/23/2020

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Something To Consider If Your Store Is Forced To Temporarily Close
In the event your physical bookstore is forced to close, consider using Ingram for fulfilling orders on your website. Sending orders directly to Ingram for fulfillment from your website is referred to as Customer Direct Fulfillment (CDF). Website orders sent to Ingram will be processed using ABA's Ingram account. Ingram will ship the orders to the customers on behalf of your store. Ingram will invoice ABA for those orders and we will adjust it against what the customer paid for that order. The reconciliation report on your website (Store -> Reports -> Money Management) will provide the details of the disbursement.

Not all orders will be eligible for Ingram fulfillment. The Wholesaler Fulfillment help document lists all the conditions that an order has to meet to be sent to Ingram.
Regarding wholesaler discounts, Ingram will provide the standard discounts - for example, 'REG' is 40%.
If you want to send to Ingram as many orders as possible from your website, which is referred to as Customer Direct Fulfillment, please follow these steps:

Make sure the site has the following shipping options:
Media Mail (only one condition - within US)
UPS Ground (only one condition - within US)
The shipping method title is important. Disable all other shipping options
Disable In-store pickup
Credit card should be the only allowed payment option. Disable all other payment options
Adjust the store preferences:

Store -> Configuration -> Account Information and Preferences -> Store Preferences

a. Wholesaler Fulfilled - checked
b. Short Discount. - checked
c. Special Order. - checked

Some orders will get sent to Ingram automatically. For some, you have to login to the site, you will see the 'Send to Ingram' button and you have to use it. Give it a try and if you have any questions drop us an email at [email protected].

Addressing Customer Concerns About Their Purchase
Over the past week we’ve all received emails from online retailers and shipping services about the steps they are taking to keep online orders safe from viral contamination.

Customers who visit your website have these same concerns. You can address them by creating a text block on your website’s home page that describes the steps your store is taking to keep their purchase virus free. Talk about CDC guidelines you have implemented in your store such as cleaning and disinfecting frequently used surfaces, washing hands, wearing gloves, etc. Be sure to include this messaging in your email and newsletter correspondence with customers as well.

As Covid-19 spreads, your customers are going to become much more sensitive to how their online purchases are handled. Addressing those concerns now will improve your chances of customers returning to your website for future purchases.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to email us with any thoughts, questions, or suggestions.
The IndieCommerce team

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A Letter from ABA CEO Allison Hill

3/18/2020

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Dear Booksellers,

Seems like some good news is in order...
The American Booksellers Association is very happy to announce a donation of $100,000 to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc). Binc’s ongoing support of bookstore employees facing hardship is especially important right now as booksellers and bookstores face financial challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis. ABA has heard from many member bookstores concerned about their booksellers’ welfare right now. We are happy to help Binc in their efforts to assist booksellers with medical expenses, quarantine-related expenses, lost wages, and personal household expenses during the crisis as well as bookstores that are unable to pay store rent and/or utility expenses due to store closures or restrictions related to the virus. For more information, please refer to the Binc website.
ABA is offering booksellers three months of membership dues relief or credit. Stores that pay quarterly will not be charged for next quarter; stores that pay monthly will not be charged for the next three months (March, April, and May); and stores that pay annually will automatically get 25 percent of their payment back (the refund process may take up to a week).
Additionally, IndieCommerce store revenue will be paid out more frequently during the crisis—once a week—in order to help stores with cash flow. (Please note that it will take a few days for money to appear in your account.)
Amazon has announced that it is deprioritizing book sales until at least April 5. This news, coupled with the increases stores were already experiencing in online sales, means ABA is prioritizing our support of bookstore e-commerce. IndieCommerce continues to set up IndieLite sites for free through May 31 for bookstores that don’t currently have e-commerce sites, and the team is working around the clock to ensure that existing e-commerce sites can keep up with increased volume. We are in ongoing communication with Ingram as they continue to work to support direct-to-home sales from store websites as well.
As a response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in more than 30 countries. Facebook will begin taking applications in the upcoming weeks. Sign up to receive updates here.

Finally, some states have pushed back sales tax due dates due to COVID-19. For updated information, visit TaxJar’s Sales and Use Tax Filing Due Dates Affected by COVID-19 and your state government’s website.
All booksellers are invited to join an open forum to discuss their questions and concerns and share support and ideas about the COVID-19 outbreak with colleagues. The “COVID-19 Open Forum” meetings will be held via Zoom every weekday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET through April 30. Join the Zoom calls here; the meeting ID is 749 778 583. ABA’s membership team will moderate the forum.
Tomorrow’s issue of BTW will be a COVID-19 dedicated issue, so there will be no separate COVID-19 update tomorrow. Watch for BTW or check the COVID-19 page on BookWeb for updates.
ABA is here to support you; please reach out if there is anything we can do to help. And I’m going to keep repeating this as our mantra right now: We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.

Best,
Allison

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