The 'Ins' and 'Outs' of Online Ordering

The 'Ins' and 'Outs' of Online Ordering

We love our website. It allows us to keep our "doors" open 24 hours a day, which allows you to shop for books in your underwear at 3 in the morning.

But, as magical (and psychotic, and malicious) as technology can seem, it just cannot do everything, and falls short of human ability in many situations.

So, while none of us need to mind the store at 3AM (thanks to the website), it is our responsibility to remind our valued customers to be aware of how things work here online.

Picking up your order in the store

First, please be aware that, while we have a lot of books on the shelf, and while you are able to choose any book in our vast database of titles to be picked up in the store, we simply DO NOT have 2.5 million titles here in our 3,000 sq. ft. store. So, if you choose a particular title to be picked up by you in the store, PLEASE do not come immediately to the store after placing your order. We will have to look at the order, and let you know if it can be filled right away. Most titles that are listed as "Usually ships in 1-5 days" can be here in the store for pick-up in 2-3 days. And don't worry... we will call or email you immediately as soon as your order is ready.

Ordering books to be shipped

Of course, like other online retailers, we offer you the ability to place orders for books online, enter a credit card, and arrange to have those books shipped to you or someone else. However, not all 2.5 million titles in the database are readily available to be shipped. If you are placing an order to be shipped, please keep the following in mind:

If a book is listed as "Usually ships in 1-5 days", chances are it will arrive on the appointed doorstep within a day or two.

Unless a book is listed as "Usually ships in 1-5 days", your order will likely be delayed. A book that is listed as "Special Order", "Coming Soon", "Not Yet Published", or "Out of Print" is one that is NOT currently available from the distributor that we use most often to obtain books. This means that to fill such an order, we will need to look into other distributors, or to the publishers themselves. The more places we have to look for the titles, the more the order will be delayed. And some of these books, while listed in the database, are simply not available anywhere. Please be prepared for the possibility that all or part of your order cannot be filled.

Whichever way you choose to get your book, you'll be supporting a store that supports your community, for which we thank you! If you can't find the book you're looking for on our website, give us a call. We'd be happy to help you locate a copy.