If you are considering making a Special Order for the first time or if you haven’t read this page in a while, you should probably read through this page from beginning to end. Otherwise, if you think you’ve got a good grasp of what our Special Order service is all about, you may proceed to our order form here.

What is a Special Order?

If it were possible to fit all the books in print in our store, we would, but it just can’t be done. What is possible though is the next best thing, a Special Order. A Special Order happens when you tell us you are looking for a book and we do not have it in stock so that we tap our worldwide network of publishers to get it for you.

How do I place a special order?

Pick up a form at our store or use the form at the bottom of this page. Our paper form looks something like this (below) so you can use this sample to guide you.

We will then advise you on availability, price, freight cost, expected delivery and other pertinent information by phone or e-mail within 48 days.

How much will my book cost?

Ordinarily (maybe 90% of the time), a special order will end up costing you the cover price of the book. That already includes the cost of shipping it from the publisher to our store. That’s a pretty good deal.

What about used books?

We are able to locate and source used books but only recommend this for titles that are rare or are already out of print. This is because used copies are not necessarily cheaper than new books and usually take twice as long to locate and to ship. Also, since used books are not sourced from publishers, we cannot guarantee the quality or condition of a used book.

Do I have to made an advanced payment?

The service to look for your book and to process your order is free. When you have been informed of the costs involved with ordering and shipping the book and you are absolutely ready to push through with your Special Order, you will have to pay a non-refundable fee equivalent to 50% of the full cost for a new book. For books that are especially difficult to source, we will sometimes require full payment. For used books, we always require full payment.

How long will my order take?

Special orders take from two to eight weeks to arrive depending mostly on the availability of the book. To keep shipping costs manageable we will include your order with our regular shipments which more or less arrive once a month. We post shipping schedules and ordering deadlines on the home page of this site.

Please note that arrival dates cannot be guaranteed because of too many things happening in between ordering to delivery that are not under our control.

How will I know when my book has arrived?

We will call or send e-mail to inform you that your book has come in. Please make sure that we always have your current address, telephone number(s), and e-mail address.

Why would I not get my book?

While we will exert every effort to fill your order, sometimes a book is simply not available. A book may already be out of print or indefinitely not in stock. Sometimes a book may be in stock in a publisher’s catalog but actually isn’t. We will inform you if this is the case.

How successful are you at finding books?

We’re happy to report that our Special Order service has had at least a 95% success rate. Try it out. We happen to think we’re offering the best of this kind of service in the country. The next time the title of that elusive book comes to mind, let us worry about it.

Tell us about the book you’ve been looking for here…