As the owner of Serendipity Books, an independent bookstore in Chelsea, I’ve spent years working to create more than just a place to buy books. My shop is a gathering space — a corner of Chelsea where neighbors connect, authors share their work, and readers of all ages can find something that inspires them.

But running a small business in today’s economy isn’t easy. Aside from the multi-tasking all small business owners can relate to, there is one cost that’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore: sky-high credit card “swipe fees.”

Whenever a customer swipes, taps or inserts their card to purchase a book, I pay a percentage of that sale to the credit card company and bank. Some think I could pass these extra costs on to my customers in the form of higher prices. Firstly, I don’t want to d

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