As of July Bunkmate Books has a new website and new online store.
It's only been a year since the last big change to our website, but I've been looking for a set-up that's more sustainable in the long term and I've finally found something I think could work.
The change was driven by a couple of things. The first was a desire to change payment processor, because most of the main ones have strict rules around adult content that are deliberately broad and vague, and I wanted to make sure the site wasn't at risk of getting axed at any moment by a payment provider deciding to cut us off. The second was a desire to move away from Wix as website provider, in solidarity with the BDS movement boycotting specific targeted Israeli companies to put economic pressure on the state of Israel to end the genocide in Gaza.
After much (much) looking around and trying various options, I've found one that looks like it will work. The store is now provided by Shopify with payment gateway services by eway.
Moving to Shopify has provided an opportunity to improve a bunch of features on the site. The main one is that instead of each book having up to three separate pages - one with the main book listing and retailer links, one to buy the ebook, and one to buy the paperback - each book now has a single page where you can buy it directly from Bunkmate Books or find major retailers selling it.
I'm also hoping to shortly have a new feature available, where anyone who purchases an ebook will also be given a link to a page where they can read the story direct on the Bunkmate Books website. That way you don't need to fuck around with e-reader apps or file management, just click the link and read the story. On the old website I could only manage to do that as a separate product on a subscription basis, which wasn't ideal because who wants to pay to rent a book for just a few months? Temporary access is fine, but that's what libraries are for.
That feature isn't up and running yet, but hopefully will be soon. The website is a work in progress, so there are bound to be a few tweaks needed too. And if you had an account on the old website it won't be carried over to the new one. But hopefully it's an improved experience and helps you find what you need.