Online booksellers face higher
　　costs for shipping abroad

　　THE Postal Service is taking the ship out of shipping, and thousands of small online booksellers are bracing for trouble. 
　　The post office said last month that as of mid-May, it would no longer transport goods internationally via cargo ships for individual customers. These so-called surface deliveries have been the crucial method by which booksellers have sold books to foreign markets because the cost is about one-third that of air mail. 
　　Analysts said Amazon.com would not be affected by the change; international book shipments represent a small fraction of its business, and because, like other high-volume businesses, it can qualify for discounts on foreign shipments. 
　　But many thousands of smaller used-and rare-book merchants say they will suffer, since they rely on foreign demand.
　　If postage costs as much, if not more, than the book, it'll be hard to sell books, said Rob Stuart, owner of FrenchboroBooks.com, a seller of rare and antique books in Frenchboro, Maine.And maybe 25 percent or more of my books sell internationally.
　　In announcing the changes last month, the post office said demand for international air-mail delivery was increasing at the expense of sea-borne services, which account for just 2.7 percent of foreign deliveries.As a result, efficient international surface delivery networks have diminished and costs have dramatically increased, the Postal Service said.
　　Mr. Stuart called the changes a brutal reality that put him in a difficult position, since his entire town may feel the effects. His company has shipped enough rare and antique books to sustain mail deliveries for the 75 residents of Frenchboro, an island about eight miles off Maine's northeast coast. Now Mr. Stuart, who is also a town selectman, said the island's mail deliveries could be threatened, and he may also be forced to lay off a part-time worker. 
　　Yvonne Yoerger, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service, said customers aren't yet aware of other options. She said customized agreements for surface mail are being developed for higher-volume shippers that will be enhanced over the next several months to address the needs of small businesses. The Postal Service has a longstanding commitment to small businesses and is working to accommodate customers needs as the international mail changes take effect, Ms. Yoerger said. 
　　Philip Bevis, chief executive of Arundel Books, which sells online and in its Seattle store, said he did not believe such customized agreements would extend to small booksellers like him. 
　　I think the Postal Service dangled that to defuse any pushback, Mr. Bevis said. If they were really serious about this, they would've pushed back the cancellation of surface mail until they could incorporate these other standards. Because small booksellers typically list their inventories with multiple Web sites, like Amazon, AbeBooks.com and Alibris.com, the new shipping costs will be felt, to varying degrees, up the industry's food chain until those customized agreements are final.

　　参考译文：

　　网上书商面临挑战

　　邮政业将不再用货船运送货物，数以万计的网上小书商正准备迎接由此带来的麻烦。
　　上月邮电业宣称，从五月中旬开始，将不再为个人客户办理货船国际商品运送业务。这些所谓的水面运送方式，一直是书商们将书卖往海外市场的主要方法，因为它的花费只有航空邮件的三分之一。
　　分析家说这种变化不会对亚马逊电子商务公司（Amazon.com）造成影响。书籍的全球运送只代表了它的一小部分业务，而且像其他拥有大量业务的公司一样，它有能力承受海外运输市场业务的减少。
　　但是数以万计的专卖旧书和珍本书的小书商说他们将要遭殃了，因为他们依靠的就是国外的市场需求。
　　罗勃•斯特，是FrenchboroBooks.com 公司的老板，在缅甸的Frenchboro, Maine 卖珍本和古籍，他说：如果书的邮费比书本身的价格高，或者即使两者一样多，就很难把书卖出去了，而且我有25%或更多的书是卖往全球的。 
　　在上个月宣布这些变化时，邮局说在损失了占海外业务2.7%的货船业务的情况下，国际航空运输业务增加了。因此，有效的全球水运网络衰落了，而运输费用也大幅度增加，邮电业如是说。
　　斯特先生称这些变化为残酷的现实，将他置于一个非常困难的境地，因为他所在的整个小镇都可能感受到这些变化带来的影响。他的公司已经用货船运送了足够多的珍本书和古籍，以此来支付给75位Frenchboro居民邮书的费用，Frenchboro是一个离缅因州北部海岸约八英里的一个小岛。现在斯特先生是小镇的行政委员，他说，这个小岛的邮政运送业务正面临威胁，而且他也可能不得不辞掉一个兼职工人。
　　邮电业发言人，Yvonne Yoerger说，顾客们还没有意识到其他的选择。她说，对于水运约定俗成的共识正在制定中，它们将更有利于那些拥有大笔业务的发货人，从而满足小公司的要求。她还说：邮政业将长期致力于为小公司服务，并且当全球邮政业务发生变化时将努力满足顾客们的要求。
　　非利普•布瑞斯是Arundel Books的行政长官，这家电子商务公司在网上和西雅图的书店里出售图书。他说他不相信这些约定俗成的共识会扩展到像他一样的小书商那里。
　　布瑞斯先生说：我认为邮电业只是以此作为幌子来缓和任何反对意见。如果他们真的关心此事，那么直到他们能够将其他标准包含进来，他们也许就不会接受取消水运邮政业务。因为小书商们都将他们的图书清单放在多个网页上，如Amazon，AbeBooks.com，Alibris.com，那么直到这些约定俗成的共识已成定局，新的运送费用才将在不同程度上满足邮电业的食物链要求