These are guidelines only.
They are subject to change
without notice.
What are your terms of payment?
We expect payment within seven days. If you want an extension on this, please e-mail, and we'll negotiate.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We prefer Direct Deposit into our NAB account via the Internet (Australian buyers only). Please include your ebay ID, and/or the item number.
- You can also pay cash over the counter at any NAB branch. Please write your ebay ID, or the item number, on the deposit slip.
- Our NAB account details are shown after you complete Checkout.
- PLEASE COMPLETE CHECKOUT IMMEDIATELY. It makes everything so much simpler for all parties. Many of the questions we have been asked by buyers would not have been necessary if they had completed Checkout.
- Please don't be scared of clicking the eBay 'PAY NOW' button. It just means 'Choose your payment method'; you don't have to pay 'on the spot'.
- We also acccept Paypal, of course.
- Paypal eCheques can take many days to clear, so please pay on the day of purchase if choosing this method.
- Within Australia we will accept a personal cheque, if you will wait seven business days until it clears before we post. International cheques attract a hefty clearance fee from Australian banks, and so we cannot accept them.
- Within Australia we will accept a money order or a bank cheque. International money orders attract a hefty clearance fee from Australian banks, and so we cannot accept them.
- We have NO credit card facilities.
- We have also accepted cash for items Picked Up.
- We do not offer a COD service.
How do you calculate postage?
The weight of the book(s), plus the weight of packaging, to your destination.
We do not charge for 'handling', but we do add a little for the consumables e.g. the cost of the envelope, sticky tape, sheet of A4 paper for packing slip, and such.
Why do you prefer pre-paid Austpost satchels? Am I being overcharged for postage?
We never can guess where our buyers will come from. The next suburb? Or the other side of the world? The size and the quantity of the books we sell varies, so we can't (easily) offer a standard-sized package or postage cost. As a result of these two factors, we have settled on these posting solutions.
- For single, small books, e.g. paperbacks - an envelope to suit.
- For thick paperbacks, or light-weight hardbacks - the Austpost 500g prepaid satchel.
- For heavy books, or multiple sales - the Austpost 3.00 kg prepaid satchel.
- For combined purchases, we usually weigh the books, plus the packaging, and use the Austpost on-line calculator to determine an exact cost.
- Please note: Media Mail (a US postal option) is not available from Australia.
We occasionally issue a refund if we find we've overcharged postage by more than say, one dollar. We refund via PayPal, or by including cash in the package.
Austpost satchels, in most cases, work out to be cheaper to post than the 'calculated' postage. In addition, Austpost seems to 'fast-track' these satchels. They often arrive next day.
Some eBayers ask for a postage quote before buying, and we are happy to provide this figure.
Do you give feedback?
Always, and generally, as soon as the buyer pays. We have never given negative or neutral feedback, or sent any rude e-mails. If we find a buyer unsatisfactory, we just block them from further trading, without comment. But 99% of our buyers are pleasant and sensible people.
What notifications do you send?
A notification that the item has been won/sold, followed by an invoice, if there are multiple purchases, or the buyer is outside Australia. As soon as payment is received, we send an e-mail which acknowledges this, and advises the date of posting,
When do you post?
Either the same day payment is received, or the next business day. Usually before 10.00 am.
Do you accept returns?
Not normally. We go to some trouble to inspect and describe exactly each book we offer for sale, and book buyers generally know exactly what they want. However, if a buyer finds that a book we have sold them be damaged, or soiled, or in some other way defective, and our item description does not say so, we hope they will contact us at once for assistance.
Do you give refunds?
Not normally. However, if a book goes astray in the post, we have been known to offer a full refund, even though the mis-delivery is unlikely to have been our fault. A happy customer is more important to us than cash. If a book doesn't arrive within two weeks after receipt of our e-mail which gave the date of posting, buyers should contact us. International buyers: within a month for airmail, three months for sea mail.
Sometimes, one or two of our heavier books have gone astray, for a month, and in one case, two. We think this is because an Austpost mail contractor considered the buyer's mailbox too small for the package, and left a note saying 'Pick the package up at the P.O.' but this note was thrown out, due to being hidden among the junk mail...
How do you package books for posting?
Nearly always in a newly-purchased envelope. We first wrap the book in clean newspaper, to protect it from rubbing and bumping. Some books we also place in a plastic bag, especially if they are older and might be subject to moisture. Larger shipments may be sent in a cardboard box of any useful size, if it is strong enough. Magazines are enveloped with a piece of stiffening cardboard, in a bid to prevent their being bent or folded. We try to use as much recycled packaging material as possible, rather than buying anything. We use bubble wrap for delicate items only.
How do you address the package?
We print our packing slip/receipt and address label straight from the buyer's page, so whatever address is shown on that page is the one that is shown on the package. If you wish your purchase to go to another destination, just e-mail us with the details.
We have noticed that many Australian eBay users are confused about what to put where the eBay address window asks for their 'City'.
In the USA, where eBay is focussed, 'city' means 'the town/suburb/city/community where you live', but in Australia, 'city' means only 'capital city'. As a result, some Australian buyers, most of whom live in suburbs put, for example. 'Melbourne' for 'City' instead of (say) 'Moorabbin'.
Although the inclusion of the buyer's postcode ought to make it clear where to send their package, we do worry that their parcel might go astray, due to this culturally-biased misunderstanding.
Do you combine postage for multiple sales?
Yes: this offer is shown on all our listings.
Do you give a significant postage discount for larger orders?
Not normally; our book prices are kept low, for quick sales, so our profit margin is small. For large orders, we give an exact postage quote, which is the figure Austpost will charge us. In this case, we absorb the cost of the packaging materials mentioned above. |
Octavobooks is a store for book-lovers,
operated by a book-lover.
___________________________________________
FAQ (continued)
Why don't you use Express Post prepaid satchels?
We do, if the buyer requests it. As a rule, we don't think the extra expense is justified. AustPost is really quite fast and reliable, in our experience.
Why don't you use Registered Mail?
We do, if the buyer requests it, or if the book is rare and valuable, and not easily replaced. In the latter case, we pay the cost of registration.
Why don't you use Insurance?
We will, if the buyer requests it.
Why don't you use descriptive phrases like 'good condition' in your listings?
For some people, 'good condition' means 'Perfect: like new'. For others, 'good condition' can mean 'Obviously used, but not actually falling apart.'
We prefer to describe in the listing whatever defects a book possesses; a potential buyer can then decide if it matches their idea of 'good'.
Where do your books come from?
We regularly visit charity stores, Trash 'n' Treasure markets, library sales, school fêtes, and similar 'bargain' sources. We also sell a few items from our personal collection, which is becoming unmanageably large.
Do you keep a Want List for buyers who ask?
We do keep such a list, but since we never have any idea what we're going to find when we go 'shopping', we can rarely deliver. But we do try!
Can you get me a specific book?
Not usually. But often we can point you to other places where that book is for sale.
Do you sell new books?
No. Octavobooks is our hobby. Selling new books would turn it into a job. We have no intention to 'grow' our business like that. It would cease to be fun, and become merely work. We are not interested in Money with a capital 'M'. We just need a little cash (with a small 'c') to fuel our creative projects.
What kinds of books do you specialise in?
Australiana, especially history. Biography. Quality and collectible children's books. Music (serious music, not pop or rock). Art. Craft. Self-sufficiency. Military. Science. Humour. Pet care. Wildlife. Gardening - if it's Australian plants. Cooking - if the book is old or odd. Curiosities. True crime. Quality fiction, e.g. the kind Penguin or Picador prints. Classic SF. Fantasy. Hobbies. Reference works. Technical works if they are old and interesting, perhaps useful to hobbyists, e.g. radio repair manuals, or furniture building and restoration. Academic works. Poetry.
What kind of books DON'T you sell?
Ebay has rules about this, so of course we don't sell the items they have banned. But we're generally not interested in 'best-selling' fiction, unless it's a collectible first edition. Sport, unless it's an old book that may interest a collector. Self-help. Magic, crystals, astrology, and other 'new-age' stuff. Religion, except for reference works. Chick Lit, though we do sell Plaidy and Heyer - but only because they are relatively hard to find.
Which buyers won't you deal with?
Those with more than two unpaid item strikes. We use the eBay 'filter' that blocks them from bidding or even communicating. Past 'slow payers' are also blocked. We'd like to publish here a list of 'slow payer' excuses we've been offered, but no-one would believe they were true.
How do you deal with non-paying buyers?
We send an e-mail reminder on the fifth or sixth day after purchase. On the seventh day, an Unpaid Item Case is opened. Seven days after after this, if there has been no response, we relist the book and block the bidder from ever doing business with us again.
Will this FAQ be updated regularly ?
We shall endeavour to keep it au courante. Current version is dated 15 September 2009.
Why do you say 'we' when there's obviously only one of you?
We're told it's good business practice. It's also rather royal, don't you think?
Stephen Gard
CEO, Leading Hand Cleaner, Chief Storeman,
Head Buyer, Receptionist, Typist, Bookkeeper.
Octavobooks
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Some Notes About Book Buying
The Internet makes book buying so much easier! The hard bit is finding the book you're after. Some of the problems book-seekers encounter are...
1. 'I've forgotten the title...'
... or you've remembered it incorrectly, so it doesn't pop up anywhere when you search.
2. 'I've forgotten the name of the author...'
... or you've spelt it incorrectly, so it doesn't pop up anywhere when you search.
3. 'I've forgotten (or have no idea) who published it...
... and probably when or where it was published. If you were a child when you last read this book, it's unlikely that you ever knew such details.
4. 'I think it had a red cover (or a blue one, or a picture of a horse, or...)
... and that might have been another book entirely, or a later edition of the one you want.
Can Someone Help Me Remember My Book?
Asking for help on ebay's Want it Now could be fruitful. Or you could post a question at Booksleuth (abebooks.com) on this page:
http://forums.abebooks.com/abesleuthcom
Where Can I Search?
Ebay's Want it Now is a good place to post a request. A few book-sellers hang out there, looking for customers, so you may get a quick response. And many an ordinary eBayer may just have a copy of what you want, lying around. On the other hand, you may wait weeks for an answer from the Want it Now page, or get no response at all.If you are keen to quickly locate the book, and don't mind paying bookstore prices, here's a few places to search:
www.amazon.com
www.abebooks.com
www.addall.com
Or try:
Some Spelling Errors and Misunderstandings We've Seen
Edition
(It's 'edition' not 'addition' - First edition, second edition, latest edition...)
Successful, big-selling books usually get reprinted, and continue selling. Sometimes the author takes the opportunity of a reprint to make changes to the text. In this case, a book with an altered text or otherwise changed content is called a 'new edition'. Reference books, for example, can run into dozens of editions; they are constantly updated and re-published. Collectors prize first editions because of their rarity, but readers who want a book chiefly for its accurate content will usually want the most up-to-date edition.
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Book Club Editions
An especially popular book may be published, cheaply, by a Book Club. Collectors tend to turn their noses up at Book Club Editions as not being the 'real thing', but the contents are (usually) the same as the original. If a buyer is after a copy of a certain book just to read (not being a collector), then a Book Club Edition will probably suit them. But sellers should be aware that the difference matters a great deal to some buyers, and should make it clear if a copy is a Book Club edition. Many of the books for sale in charity stores are Book Club editions, and are thus worthless to collectors.
Some Book Clubs are:
Readers Book Club (RCB on the spine)
Book Club Associates (BCA on the spine)
Crime Club
Science Book Club
Re-print
A book may be reprinted many times with its contents unchanged by the author(s). In this case, all subsequent examples are 'reprints', not 'later editions'. When dating a book, one must look carefully at the imprint information, usually on the back of the title-page, to find out when this copy was printed, as opposed to when the work itself first appeared - both dates are often shown. The imprint may state 'First published 1955', but if you look down at the bottom of the imprint page, you may find: 'This edition 1983. Reprinted 1994' or similar information. Offering this book for sale as 'Published in 1955' would be incorrect.
Even if you can find no date inside the book, a bit of common sense will tell you that a book with an ISBN cannot be all that old. ISBNs were introduced in the mid-1960s. And if the book has a bar-code on its rear cover, it can't be older than 1974.
Q: "Is this copy of Scuffy the Tug-Boat that I found in a charity shop an original first edition?"
A: Look at the cartoon pictures on the back. Like so many Little Golden Book classics, Scuffy was first published in the late 1940s, before TV started. If the copy you found shows Sesame Street characters on the back, it can't be from the 1940s.
Some book-trade abbreviations:
HC - Hardcover (hardback; cloth)
SC - Softcover (softback, paperback)
ISBN - International Standard Book Number
ISSN - International Standard Serial Number
Book Talk
Title page
Half title
First facing page
Paste-down
Front matter: first blank pages, plus the half-title, Contents etc.
End matter: last blank pages
Foxing (brown splotches due to a fungus)
Text Block: all the pages gathered together.
Remainder mark: the book did not sell, and is now being sold at a large discount much less than the price printed on the cover.
Wraps: another name for soft cover, or paperback
Age-toned (the pages are turning brown; especially on books printed cheaply)
Brittle
Book Plate: the owner's name on a fancy, decorated, paste-in slip of paper, usually on the front end-paper, or paste-down
Gift inscription
Dog ear: corner of page turned down.
Rough Cut pages
Water stained: Someone may have spilt their coffee or Cola on the book, left it out on the rain, dropped it into a swimming pool. It may have been splattered by a fireman's hose during a house-fire, or a hurricane that blew the shop windows in. Some books never recover from this, others just show slightly 'wavy' pages.
About Dust Jackets
Dust Jackets (dust wrappers) were originally just a blank paper cover to protect the book while it was being handled, on its way from the printer to the book store, or by customers browsing. The person who bought the book would afterwards remove the dust jacket and throw it away. The 'real' book would then be revealed in all its glory, often stamped in gold and with a handsome leather hard cover. Even the trashiest novel's covers were made to look handsome. Then a publisher got the bright idea of putting advertising on the dust jacket, bearing a plug for the book it contained, and promoting the publisher's other books and authors. It was only a step to then make a pictorial dust jacket a part of the 'package'. The value of a book may depend on whether it has its original dust jacket (facsimile reprints of dust jackets are available), and what condition the jacket is in. Since the paper wrappers of older books were never meant to last long, it's rare for these to have survived.
Some Dust Jacket Talk
Chipped
Closed Tear
Price-clipped
Curling
Laminate lifting
Split
'Old' does not always mean 'valuable'
As Max Beerbohm once said, way back in 1919, "95% of all fiction published is trash", and the rule has not changed. Many of today's most popular books are intended to be read once and then thrown or given away. If you're not sure what 'trash' means when it comes to literature, just look again at those book-shelves in any charity store. Rows and rows of fat, hardbacked first editions in glittery, perfect dust jackets, by 'Famous Writer', and 'Popular Author' and 'Uses Three Names' (very popular with American writers of trash). Dozens of books in perfect condition - sitting there waiting for the recycling dumpster. Just as much trash was published fifty or a hundred years ago as there is today, and such books today are just as worthless and disposable as trashy outdated ones, speaking of them as works of literary art.
However, when it comes to 'collectibles', there's no rule except the rule of demand. We are often amazed at the prices some people will pay on eBay (and elsewhere) for books that are simply rubbish, speaking of them as literature. But because they are 'collectible', the prices are high.
Books may be collectible for all sorts of reasons. The only way you can know what's 'hot' is to watch the 'Books and Collectibles' on ebay and see what's being listed and what price it goes for.
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