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Urgent Alert for All Bookbuyers, Booksellers, Publishers, and Writers!
The United States Postal Service is proposing a HUGE change that will have a very negative effect on the export sales of the US book industry. The USPS is proposing to eliminate ALL forms of international surface mail.
WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?
According to Abebooks.com (which has 8500 US member booksellers), for the month of December, 2006, 51% of international orders from US sellers specified surface mail (under some definitions 61%). By restricting shipping options to air mail only, this will in essence TRIPLE SHIPPING COSTS on over 50% of international orders.
This will not only cause a large drop in export sales and result in tremendous financial hardship (and job losses) for US booksellers, publishers, and authors, it will make US books unaffordable to many international buyers.
Arundel Books is committed to change this. TO ACT NOW CLICK HERE!
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To see the official USPS statement on this issue, see This USPS press release, and This USPS document.
JANUARY 25TH UPDATE: FOR COVERAGE OF THIS ISSUE AND OUR EFFORTS, SEE THE ARTICLE IN "Bookselling This Week"!
JANUARY 26TH UPDATE: SEE THE ARTICLE on Seattle Times website!
If you read them, you will see the USPS is proposing to eliminate ALL forms of international surface mail.
BACKGROUND:
The USPS announced this proposed change (to eliminate ALL international surface mail) Dec. 20th, 2006 when every firm in the country with a shipping operation was running at peak capacity. It slipped by ALL our trade associations like the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the writer's group PEN, the American Library Association, all the large e-commerce firms, etc. Thus the 30 day comment period expired Jan. 19th before companies in the book business had the opportunity to express their concerns.
Does this mean the USPS is bad? No. The US Post Office is a great service provider that does an outstanding job and literally makes the US book industry work. Sometimes bad decisions are made by large organizations when they do not have all the facts. If we make sure that the USPS Board of Governors, and the folks in the US Congress who oversee them, HAVE ALL THE FACTS, we can change minds and outcomes.
Although the 30 day comment period expired January 19th, Arundel Books contacted those in charge of this issue at the USPS to get a brief extension. We have also alerted our trade and professional associations, and some of the larger e-commerce firms, as well as the staff of the Chair of the committee in the US Congress that has oversight of the USPS.
Comments are forwarded to the Board of Governors of the USPS, who use them to evaluate proposals to change postal rates and services.
WE ARE STRONG! There are tens of thousands of companies, large and small, in every Congressional district, that will be adversely effected by this proposed change. Using the internet to spread the word about this issue, and to gather lists of companies that object, we can protect our businesses, and prevent a large loss of export sales and jobs. TO ACT NOW CLICK HERE!
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Why Should America Care About International Surface Mail?
The book business is a key export industry, and every shipment sent overseas by publishers, distributors, and booksellers not only cuts our trade deficit but helps insure that the US remains a leader in Intellectual Property exports, and as a center for creative expression.
In addition, as with most of our competitors, most of our export sales are web-based, which thus contributes to continued US leadership in e-commerce.
Surface (sea) mail is the only economically viable method of delivery for books that weigh over 3 pounds, or have dimensions larger than that which fits in a Global Priority Mail flat rate envelope. Art books and many computer books and technical books are good examples of books that will be very costly to ship overseas.
One of the brightest export sectors of the US economy in recent years has been web-based sales - among which books may be THE the leading product category, with literally HUGE export sales - most delivered via surface mail. Well over half of Arundel Books international sales are shipped via surface mail.
Whether through their own websites, or via major sites like Ebay, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., there are literary tens of thousands of small US companies operating in this space, in addition to the many larger firms in e-commerce, publishing, distribution, and retailers that ship overseas. Surface mail is an essential service supporting this key export market. Eliminating it will severely damage our export sales.
MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD before businesses are damaged and jobs are lost. TO ACT NOW CLICK HERE!
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