Month: May 2017

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Sign of the times. Eventually we’re going to have more Self Published Authors using Google Photos.

As the Google I/O Developers Conference 2017 convenes today at Mountain View California expect to hear more announcements and upcoming new developer integrations

Presently the most economical way to self publish and market a book is through www.lulu.com or the Amazon Kindle publishing. There’s a lot of aspiring writers in different ages as well as avid book readers who look forward to new ways of publishing books.

So let’s hang in there and watch for the new advancements like publishing though Google Photos.

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What happens now with the Healthcare Act?

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sick

An American Sickness a great recent bestseller written by Elisabeth Rosenthal who is physician verifying how dysfunctional the American Healthcare system is.  With recent changes from the Affordable Care Act to the new Healthcare Care, the question lies if the new law even made the American Healthcare to be more “Un-Affordable” paving the way for Americans to be more non-insured.

The easiest way of comparisons with the 2 laws referred to is the normal encounters on our daily living that touches on anything about our health. Such instances would be when going to the pharmacy if one has a regular prescription re-fill, was there a change in your copay, did you used to not pay anything or did your co-pay increase or decrease?

If you have to visit your providers like medical doctors, dentist or optometrist, is there a co-pay changed or are your providers still on the selected HMO or PPO network of your insurance? In such cases if your a the state funded Medicaid, are your providers willing to accept this type of insurance? Sometimes it’s not just a matter of not accepting medicaid, some providers don’t qualify or don’t want to go through the hassle of a long list of compliance and reporting requirements so they can participate in state funded insurance networks.

With the onset of the new Healthcare law, patients with pre-existing conditions will fall under a high risk pool? What it means and outcome we still don’t know at this point. However, what’s going to happen is that these individuals will again end up choosing not to any prescribed preventive care due to affordability or as seen the past racking up huge unpaid medicals bills with collection agencies running after them again. This book discusses on the best practice of negotiating with billing offices when they receive a huge medical bill. Thank god nowadays the credit reporting systems have now classifications and the credit bureaus may or may not allow collectors  inundating one’s personal credit file on unpaid medical bills. In spite of this in 2014 as quoted in the book, the Medical and Debt Responsibility Act requiring credit bureaus to delete reports of delinquent medical debt once settled or resolved never made it through the committee due to the credit agencies opposition. And as the book and we all know, Medical cost and billing is big huge business in the American Healthcare system.

It’s still to early to see the outcome of the new Healthcare law but each person must be vigilant on how it will affect each of us and to ensure were not eaten alive with the big business of the Healthcare system.

Alex Esguerra

ADLE International

 

Media Mail Tracking A Persistent Issue in Bookselling

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Why does a USPS Tracking Number show up as Not Available or Not Valid?

Quora.com on Tracking Issues We started ADLE International in 1998 and it’s 2017.

After almost 19 years in bookselling with all the new technology, mobile and apps integration, one thing is still far outdated. The USPS website tracking on Standard Media Mail desperately needs help Mr. Postmaster General. We now have the 45th President Donald Trump and this issue maybe one thing that can be addressed.

Nowadays that online selling platforms start-ups are trying to get a slice of independent booksellers, they have little idea why USPS tracking issues persist and why standard media mail  is the standard cheapest way to ship books in the bookselling industry.

There’s these magical emerging start-up marketplaces that will not pay booksellers by withholding the payments they have processed until a valid tracking shows delivery or en-route information. Sadly, as much as they are emerging due to their mobile technology, traditional booksellers will shy away from this platforms. On the earlier posts, we have discussed why some third party channel web e-commerce providers don’t want books a category as they there’s no money. So a small independent bookseller making cents in an order to be  totally deprived of a $10 net sale will definitely get scared away just because a “USPS tracking is not available or not valid” per the USPS website.

From the Ebay and Amazon years when buyers claimed not receiving the books shipped and constant email exchanges, these new marketplaces does not even provide the customers phone or email to booksellers so a bookseller can’t even confirm in case the book was even delivered. Hence, sometimes the USPS tracking number will never even update but the end customer will received the order. Of course, we would only find out if indeed it was not received if the customer complains.

As much as feedbacks and ratings still help make the case to click buy, it’s still about pricing when making the decision to buy and of course fast delivery. I must say though that in this 19 years, booksellers have tremendously improved by incorporating tracking numbers when they send  a book package in the mail.

With all this said, moreover as stated our US Postal Service are still way behind. From the issue that the tracking number does not even get scanned until the final post office destination to the USPS website updating the tracking information. Were still seeing customers emailing where the package is due to no tracking information then on the same night, the customer emails back they just received the delivery.

So I rest my case, for sure other independent booksellers have their own experiences on this never ending issue.

Alex Esguerra

Affordable Books