Book Condition
Books are graded using the following commonly accepted terms:
AS NEW: Is only to be used when the book is in the same immaculate condition in which it was published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dustjacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect, without any tears.
FINE: Approaches the condition of 'As New' but without being crisp. For the use. of the term 'Fine' there also must be no defects, etc., and if the jacket has a small tear, or other defect, or looks worn, this should be so noted.
NEAR FINE: Approaches the condition of 'Fine' and better than 'Very Good'. For the use of the term 'Near Fine' there also may be a minor defect that should be noted in either the book or the jacket. A typical 'Near Fine' book exhibits very minimal wear.
VERY GOOD: Can be used to describe a book that does show some small signs of wear -but no tears- on either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted.
GOOD: Describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted.
FAIR: Is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding , jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects must be noted.
POOR: Describes a book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is as a 'Reading Copy' because it does have the complete text, which must be legible. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scruffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.
EX-LIB: Copies must always be designated as such, no matter what the condition of the book.
BOOK CLUB: Copies must always be designated as such, no matter what the condition of the book.
BINDING COPY: Describes a book in which the pages of leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or nonexistent.
In all cases, the lack of a dustjacket should be noted if the book was issued with one.
With a special thanks to AB Bookman's Weekly.
Yes. Please contact us.
Shipping charges are developed on the premise that they are designed to generally recover the costs of the packaging materials used and shipping fees charged, and are not designed as an additional 'profit center' to make extra money.
Books that are heavier than normal cost more to ship, and you may be contacted for additional charges to recover these costs. Books that weigh less than normal may have the total amount charged to you reduced without notifying you, so you may see a charge on your credit card for less than your original approved amount.
Identity Theft Prevention
No one likes to be a victim of identity theft, so you may be contacted by us to verify the transaction information including the 'CVV' or the 'Card Identification Data' (CID), the three or four digit code on the back of the card in the signature pan(see below) if your order fails to pass initial scrutiny. This serves to protect both of us.
We can be left 'holding the bag' when we hear from the charge card company several months later that although they issued an approval authorization for the transaction and then we shipped the item, the buyer has now declared that his/her card must have been stolen, and someone used the account information, and we knowingly shipped to a third party address, and therefore we now owe the bank for the disputed transaction amount.
Therefore, we won't ship to another address without having all the credit card transaction information including the billing address made available to us and verified.
A brief explanation & pictures of the CVV or CID location on your card
Purchasing a book from us and having it shipped probably costs less than the gasoline you would consume driving to the store, and has no retail 'carbon footprint', as the postman visits you daily anyway.
Purchasing a used or out of print book could be considered a very high form of recycling. Books, both new and used, must be shipped to you using various materials in packaging your order and getting it (hopefully) undamaged to you. The heavy duty tissue paper is new, composed of 40% post consumer recycled paper content. The bubble wrap is new, made from polyethylene resins derived from natural gas. The foam 'peanuts' if used, are made from polystyrene and are 100% recycled. The cardboard box is new, composed of 30% post consumer recycled cardboard content.
Business to Business note: MSDS's if needed are available on request within OSHA time limit requirements.
