FAQs

Here are answers to our most commonly asked questions. Or you can email us!

Browsing, Buying and Selling

Many of our books are remainders, which means they're new books that are discounted.

*Remainder Marks* - Please note that some books may have a texta mark - a stripe or dot - which can be found on the base, side or top edge of the book pages, occasionally touching the edge of the cover to indicate they are a remainder.

How can I search for secondhand books (or filter them out)?

We sell secondhand books in 'Very Good' to 'Excellent' condition. If you want more info on a book's condition, just send us an email.

Don't want to see secondhand books while you browse?Here's how to filter them out:

1. Go to any collection you want and use the Filter buttons - you can now browse by “Brand”. Click Book Grocer to filter out all the secondhand books (these are shown under the brand “Secondhand Stock”.

2. You can visit this collection: Non-Secondhand Books which gives you all the non-secondhand books on the site. Then, use filters to further refine your browsing.

Can I sell my books to you?

We buy books (collections over 200 books, ideally) and libraries. Here's how to sell your books to Book Grocer. You can email us at secondhand@bookgrocer.com if you have books you would like to sell or donate. Please provide your postcode of residence and an indication of the approximate number of books, and attach some photographs of the books. A few points that may help:

metropolitan Melbourne is the main area we are buying from at this stage
we are interested in both fiction and non-fiction in most categories
condition should be good to excellent condition (ie no sun damage, creased/cracked spines, markings on pages)
we do not buy textbooks, newspapers, periodicals, magazines, or children's books

Getting the books to us:at present we are most likely to be able to make you an offer for your books if you are able to drop the books at our warehouse in Tullamarine. If you live in metropolitan Melbourne and have a larger collection we may also be able to collect your books once we have an agreement.

How can I use a discount code?

We offer a discount of 5% when you purchase more than one Book Box in a single transaction. Please use code BOX-5 at checkout to get this discount. Problems? Just drop us an email and we'll help.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes! Book Grocer ships to New Zealand, Singapore, UK, US, Canada and the EU. Full information about our shipping rates can be found here.

Where are your Advent Book Boxes?

Our Advent Book Boxes are available between August and November each year. Head over to our Advent Book Boxes for more information!

Can I join the Book Grocer Book Club?

Head to our Book Club page for more information about Book Club. Our Book Club Box contains 12 wrapped books with a label for each month. Book Club Boxes are available for sale between October and January each year.

How do I choose Instore Pickup?

Stores which are available for instore pick up will appear as options at Checkout. All instore pick up options are free.

Paying, Shipping and Tracking

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major payment methods, credit card, Shopify Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal (including Paypal's Pay In 4, its version of Afterpay). We also provide 30-day terms to organisations like libraries, schools and Early Learning Centres. If you're from one of these places, you can choose On Account as your payment method (remember to enter your organisation name when you're checking out).

Do you offer Afterpay?

We offer Paypal's Pay In 4 - this is Paypal’s version of Afterpay and the same basic idea (pay across 4 instalments). You can choose this if you select Paypal at checkout. On the Paypal page, down the bottom you will see “Pay Later” options, and the first one is Pay In 4.

How can I use a gift voucher or gift card?

If your gift card is 16 digits long in 4 sets of 4 letters and numbers, you can use it by entering it into the "Discount Code or Gift Card" field of the checkout.

If your gift card starts with BGA... , this is a voucher from our stores. Please send us an email and we will convert this to a gift card you can use online.

What are your shipping options?

Our Shipping Policy and rates can be found here.

How do I track my order?

We will send you an email with your tracking number once we have fulfilled your order.

You can also find your tracking number if you log in to your account.

If your tracking number begins with...

346GL you can track your order at https://auspost.com.au/mypost/track/search
32464 you can track your order at https://www.directfreight.com.au/
85100 you can track your order at https://portal.booksystems.com/p/track
In-Store Pickup our staff will email or text you once your order has arrived at your chosen store.

How can I cancel or change my order?

Our Refund Policy can be found here. Just get in touch if you have any issues or concerns with your box. Email is best - help@bookgrocer.com - we endeavour to get back to you within 24-48 hours.

Please note that if an item in your order is unavailable, we will refund that item and we will ship the rest of your order to you. If you have an item in your order that is the main reason for placing the order, and you do not wish your order to ship if this item is unavailable, we ask that you make this clear in your Order Notes or in an email sent to us as soon as your order is placed.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes! Book Grocer ships to New Zealand, Singapore, UK, US, Canada and the EU. Full information about our shipping rates can be found here.

Tell me about 'Authority to Leave'

Due to the high cost of shipping in Australia, we ship all of our parcels with an Authority To Leave (ATL). This gives the delivery company the ability to leave the parcel at your address in a safe place for collection in the event that you are not at home when the delivery is attempted.

They may also drop the parcel at a nearby depot or post office and leave instructions for you on how it may be collected.

If you do not wish to have your delivery sent with an ATL, please advise us when checking out or by emailing hello@bookgrocer.com.

Other Questions

My Paypal payment has been reversed, and I'm not sure why?

We have found that Paypal sometimes blocks purchase of items that have certain words in the title (and any other books that are being purchased with it). As far as we can understand, the words that Paypal is currently blocking include: Persia, Persian, Iran, Tehran, Guantanamo, Cuba, Aleppo, Mosul, Syria, Syrian, Pyongyang, North Korea. If you are unable to use Paypal to purchase your chosen book (like "The Beekeeper of Aleppo" or "Cuba (Revised) The Sights") this may be the reason. Regular credit card payment will work. We apologise for this issue which we have no control over.

What books are in your Mystery Boxes?

If we told you, it wouldn't be a mystery! You'll get a range of books from all over the shop, and if you want to purchase or have purchased more than one box, we can make arrangements to put a different selection into each box. The books in these Mystery Boxes are about $3 each, so it's worth giving it a try. If you're more specific about what you want, try one of our customised category-specific boxes which show a full list of books inside.

Can I build my own Book Box?

We get asked this a lot! Unfortunately, it isn't possible to build your own book box. We build the boxes here taking into account stock levels at the warehouse, which enable us to do box 'runs' or sets of identical boxes that we can then list on the website. The efficiencies of building a large number of identical boxes helps us keep our costs down, enabling the books in the box to be sold at very low prices. However, if you want to build your own bespoke box by ordering the exact books you want, our prices are still pretty great and we do offer Flat Rate Shipping on all orders, no matter how many books you purchase.

Is this the real Book Grocer site?

Bookgrocer.com is our website. We've had some imitators pop up, pretending to be us. All you need to know though, is that if the address bar at the top of your browser says https://bookgrocer.com - you're on our website! If it says something else - you're not on our page, and you should leave immediately! Find out more here.

Where are your stores?

Book Grocer stores can be found in Melbourne, Canberra and Newcastle.

FAQs

Browsing, Buying and Selling

Paying, Shipping and Tracking

Other Questions

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