Definitely an improved customer experience...

One of the oft-repeated justifications for ABE's paternalistic usurpation of VISA/MC processing was that it would "improve the customer experience". My most recent experience of this improvement is indicative (and is the third such experience since the change. A client in the EU orders a book. The shipping is more than the matrix price (which it almost always is, as the cap for the matrix is lower than an insured air mail package costs in almost all cases). Under the new "we can process charges better than you" (unless, inexplicably, it is Discover or AmEx), I now have to submit a "change shipping price" request...this puts the order back on "hold" pending the client's approval. I sent the customer-to-be a quick note explaining this process (and apologizing) and started the change request process through ABE.

Here, my client was away from the computer for a couple of days, so the increase request was *automatically* rejected...giving me the ability to ship the book for the original, too low, price or rejecting the sale. I sent the customer a quick note asking if he wished the book to be shipped surface mail (which would fall within the matrix shipping, but is a brutally slow way to get things overseas). He responded promptly, apologizing for being delayed in response and stating that he very much wanted it shipped air mail and that the fee increase was no problem at all.

Except, of course, that asking for the increase again is not possible through ABE's "improved" system. My client has now had to cancel the original order...wait for the book to show up listed again, and order it again.....THEN go through the whole shipping fee increase process AGAIN. It would, of course, be easier to just have him cancel the order and process it directly...but I do not think that is fair or right (regardless of how ridiculous they are).

This would never have been an issue or problem where they not "helping" me by processing my VISA/MC charges (at over 3% more than my merchant account charges). I would have simply waited until I heard from the client and processed it...easy. Now there is gratuitous hoop-jumping and unnecessary annoyance (to both me and, more importantly, my client).

I absolutely support ABE's desire that all "booksellers" accept plastic. They are absolutely right to say that if you want to list books on their site, you must accept plastic and if you do not, they will accept it on your behalf and you will pay whatever usurious processing fee they deem appropriate. However, I am absolutely opposed to their forcing profession dealers/companies to abdicate control of their own back offices *and* pay a considerable premium for the privilege of this loss. Worse still, in my experience, it has done nothing to "improve" the customer experience and has, in several cases, made what should have been very simple transactions/changes unnecessarily complex and annoying.

I am confident that the float on the 2 week lag from charge to payout is pleasing the VC that have invested so heavily in ABE. I wish they cared as much about pleasing their dealers and customers.