it sounded to me that they were just adding e-book service on top of what they were already doing.

I dunno, I think the fact that they are taking on the name of the (existing) e-book site makes it seem more significant than that.

A guy on the forum I linked to checked with them specifically, and they said they are keeping the same shipping options the same, so at least (for now) we'll still be able to order SAL. But the fact that they won't accept new international customers sure makes it seem like they're discouraging international business, and I think that's not a very good sign for us.