A portion of all proceeds goes to charity
FAQs
If you can't find the answer to your question in the Frequently Asked Questions below, please contact us.
How do I order from Books4Change?
How will I know what the condition of the books I am buying are in?
What happens if the book arrives and I am unhappy with its condition?
Where do the second-hand books you sell on Books4Change come from?
How much of the money from book donations go to the charity?
Can I sell you my old books?
What if I can't find the book I am looking for?
How often do you get new stock in?
Could you let me know of new stock arriving and special offers?
Is shipping really free?
Do you deliver to countries outside of South Africa?
What happens if my book gets lost in the mail?
What payment methods do you accept?
What's Ukash and where can I get it?
How do I redeem my gift certificate or coupon code?
Is payment secure?
How long will it take for my order to arrive?
How can I track my order?
How do I unsubscribe from the Books4Change newsletter?
How do I order from Books4Change?
Register as a customer here. Search the shop by entering book titles, authors, keywords or ISBN numbers into the Search Box at the top of each page, or by browsing titles, authors and categories alphabetically via the Quick Search functions in the left column. When you find a book you are interested in, you can click on Buy Now to add it to your shopping cart, or you can click on the title or image to view a more detailed description. If you decide to buy, you can click on the Add to Cart button. As you add books to your cart, you will notice that the changes to your cart are reflected in the Shopping Cart synopsis in the left-hand column of the shop. If you need to delete items from your cart, you can do so on the detailed shopping cart page. Once you're happy with the contents of your cart, click on the Checkout button to proceed to the checkout. At this stage, you may be asked to enter your email address, password and discount coupon code (if you have one) before being redirected to PayFast, our secure payment gateway, where you will be able to choose your payment method and make the payment, whereupon you will be returned to the Books4Change website. You will also receive e-mail confirmation of the transaction and Books4Change will send you your Post Office tracking code as soon as we have dispatched your order.
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How will I know what the condition of the books I am buying are in?
We use the following grading system to describe a book's condition, and every book is given one of the following grades:
1. Brand New. The book has never been read and is in an immaculate condition.
2. Mint. The book is used but in perfect condition. It shows only the slightest traces of ownership. It looks so good, it might as well have been new.
3. Very Good. The book is used but has only minor faults. It might have a slight crease in the spine, very slight dog ears and a name written in the front.
4. Good. The book is used and in a reasonable condition. It might have one major flaw (such as dampstaining or tearing) or a few lesser flaws (such as a cocked spine, slight dog ears and a few markings throughout).
5. Fair. The book is used and in a worn condition. Damage could include a cocked/cracked spine, considerable dog ears, wear and tear and/or markings throughout.
We do not stock books that are illegible for whatever reason or that have any missing pages. Books that have clearly reached the end of their lives are sent for recycling.
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What happens if the book arrives and I am unhappy with its condition?
While we take care to grade our books very carefully, it may happen that you do not agree with our grading and would like to return the book. Fortunately we have a very generous returns policy, whereby we will pay you a refund if you return the books to us within 30 days of purchase. Even if you simply changed your mind about wanting the book/s we will refund you if it is returned in the same condition you got it in. Please see our Returns Policy for more information.
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Where do the second-hand books you sell on Books4Change come from?
They are either bought straight from a number of charity organisations, or are donations we sell on behalf of our charity partners or other charity organisations. By supporting Books4Change, you therefore enable us to provide these charities with a regular income from their book sales. For more info see our Charity Partners page.
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How much of the money from book donations go to the charity?
Books4Change is a for-profit social venture. We sell books on behalf of our charity partners to provide them with an effortless source of additional income that leaves them free to concentrate on what they do best. We do, however have a lot of expenses to cover, including maintaining our website, our business operational costs, order transaction costs, packaging costs, etc. Selling secondhand books is also more labour-intensive than selling new books, as each book has to be individually sorted and added to the system (all of the books being unique). We provide our service to our charity partners free of charge, so they never have to pay us any upfront registration fees, maintenance fees or anything else. They simply receive their 30% of the sales from books donated to them on a regular basis. The rest goes towards covering our costs plus a small profit for Books4Change. We make sure that we derive the most value from your donated books, which means the charity will probably earn more from them than if they sold them at a charity book sale (where the aim is usually to sell out all of the stock as fast as possible, rather than to price them at their real worth).
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Can I sell you my old books?
No, we do not buy books from the public anymore. Why not consider donating your unwanted books to one of our charity partners? We will sell them here on Books4Change on their behalf. Read more about book donations.
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What if I can't find the book I am looking for?
Let us know what you are looking for by using the handy form on our Request a Book page. We will try to locate it for you within 5 working days. We might even have it in stock - it takes a while for us to upload new stock onto our online system. We'll e-mail or phone you with our price and don't worry - you are under no obligation to buy it from us if you have changed your mind or can't accept our offer. Please bear in mind that some books are truly very hard to find, or simply so popular that no one wants to get rid of theirs, but we will surely try our best. We will probably also not be able to get a hold of a specific edition of a book, but hey - a good read is a good read, no matter how it's dressed!
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How often do you get new stock in?
All the time. If you follow us on Twitter you will be the first to know of new titles as soon as they are loaded onto our system, but be sure to act quick - the book you have been holding out for might get sold right before your eyes if someone else wanted it too - if you snooze you lose!
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Could you let me know of new stock arriving and special offers?
Sure. We communicate with our customers in many ways, including through our e-mail newsletter, our blog, Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is the best channel for learning of new stock as they arrive, while our monthly newsletter will not only let you know of special offers for the month, but also contains interesting facts on books, genres and authors. On our blog we (and our guest contributors) share our passion for books with the world, while being a fan on facebook will allow you to interact and share with us and other Books4Change fans in many ways, including polls, discussions, reviews, comments, etc.
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Is shipping really free?
We offer a free delivery option to any South African Post Office (local addresses only). Unlike most other online shops you don't have to spend a minimum amount before free delivery takes effect. We also offer other delivery options that are not free, but you'll find that these are very reasonably priced.
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Do you deliver to countries outside of South Africa?
Yes, Books4Change now offer international delivery to almost any destination in the world! Please see International Delivery Methods and Cost for more details. If your destination zone only has an option for Standard shipping, but you wish to receive your books by Airmail instead, please contact us by email with the product codes of the books you wish to order, and we will send you a shipping quote based on the exact cost for airmail calculated using the total weight of your order.
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What happens if my book gets lost in the mail?
While we have full confidence in the South African Post Office, we can not give you a 100% guarantee that your package will not get lost or stolen in the mail. In the event that this might happen, we will give you a full refund of the purchase price by means of a cash-back voucher which you can use to place another order at books4change.co.za.
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What payment methods do you accept?
Through PayFast (our secure payment gateway service provider, South Africa's version of PayPal) we accept:
Instant EFT, a patented Electronic funds transfer system (through Internet banking) which eliminates the 2-day waiting period for Internet transfers;
Ukash, a voucher based payment system that originated in the UK. Ukash vouchers can be bought at your local Pick 'n Pay or wherever the Ukash logo is displayed. Choose PayFast as your payment method and enter your 19-digit Ukash voucher number, along with the value of the voucher you purchased, when prompted;
and Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards issued in South Africa.
We also accept Direct Deposit, whereby you place your order online and make an offline transfer into our bank account via a cash deposit at your bank or via an Internet banking transfer (2-day waiting period applicable).
Please see our Payment Methods page for more information.
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What's Ukash and where can I get it?
Ukash has been designed for people who want to use cash rather than a card when buying goods and services on the Internet. Spending Ukash is like spending cash. You don't need to be a certain age. You don't need to register. And there's no chance of anyone accessing your financial details. You can buy Ukash Vouchers from Pick n Pay stores across South Africa, as well as thousands of convenience stores, petrol stations etc.
Ukash is currently available in the following countries:
UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Cyprus, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Uruguay, China, Bolivia, Colombia and Malta.
Visit the Ukash website for more details.
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How do I redeem my gift certificate or discount coupon code?
Upon checkout you will be asked to enter any coupon codes. Once you have done this and clicked on 'Go' your cart total will be adjusted accordingly.
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Is payment secure?
Yes, our payment gateway processor, PayFast, actively combat fraud through the effective use of technology and complex algorithms designed to detect and prevent fraud. Your account login, personal details and all money transactions are secured using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology with high security 256 bit encryption. PayFast also make use of 3D Secure for credit card payments.
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How long will it take for my order to arrive?
Payment via Instant EFT, Ukash or Credit Card (through PayFast):
We will dispatch your order as soon as you place it - usually on the same day, or the following morning if you placed it in the afternoon, or Monday morning if you placed it on a Friday afternoon.
Payment via Direct Deposit:
Your order will be dispatched as soon as the money has cleared in our bank account (usually within 1 to 2 working days).
The rest is up to the Post Office. Our free delivery service usually takes between 3 to 5 working days. Remember to take your postal card and ID along when you fetch your parcel from your local Post Office branch!
Delivery times on international orders take much longer, depending on your destination and local customs office. Expect anything from 3 weeks to 3 months.
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How can I track my order?
We will e-mail your parcel's tracking code to you within 2 working days of your order. You can then phone the Post Office or visit their website to track your order, using this code.
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How do I unsubscribe from the Books4Change newsletter?
Each e-mail newsletter you receive will contain an 'unsubscribe' link you can click on if you no longer wish to receive our monthly updates by e-mail.
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