At AbeBooks, we have learned that happy customers frequently become return customers. Often, book buyers satisfied with the service and products of one bookseller will do business with that bookseller again in the future. Good service includes a low postage fee and speed for ordered books. We have developed guidelines to encourage timely shipping speeds and fair shipping prices in order to keep our, and your, book buyers happy. We require you to pack your parcels well to prevent damage and to send your books within two days of receiving the orders.
When you receive an order you can further adjust the shipping charge if needed. Extra charges can be requested for a heavy/oversized books or multi-volume sets, to pay applicable taxes, or to purchase insurance for a valuable book. Likewise, if a book is light or if the shipping charge is too high, you can also reduce the shipping charges when processing the order.
For instructions on adjusting your overall shipping rates and speeds, Click Here!
To request Extra Shipping Charges for an Ecommerce Order:
1. Select the [Extra Shipping] option in the status column
2. Click the [Save Order Changes] button
3. Enter the extra charge in the “Increase By” text box
4. Click the [Save Shipping Details] button
If you add a charge, an email message is sent to the buyer notifying them of the request. The buyer then has 4 days in which to accept or decline the extra charge request. If the buyer rejects the request or does not respond at all, then you still have the choice whether to process it at the original shipping quoted or to reject the order. Orders that are rejected after a buyer declines an extra shipping charge do not count against your Bookseller Rating.
Note: Booksellers who accept additional payment methods are required to contact the buyer directly after processing the order, to arrange extra charges.
To Reduce Shipping Charges for an Ecommerce Order:
1. Select the [Reduce Shipping] option in the status column
2. Click on the [Save Order Changes] button
3. Enter the reduced amount in the “Decrease By” text box
4. Click the [Save Shipping Details] button
The shipping charges are automatically reduced and the order is processed. A confirmation of the new amount is sent to the buyer. However, you do not need to wait for the buyer to respond to the shipping reduction. We assume that buyers are happy with any reduction.
To Reduce Shipping Charges for a Multiple Item Order:
To reduce the shipping on multiple books in one order, you will need to reduce the shipping for each book in the order; you cannot reduce the shipping cost of any one book to zero. If you attempt to reduce the shipping to zero, an error message will appear and you will be asked to insert shipping changes again. For example: you receive an order with two books in it. The shipping on the first book is £7 and for the additional book it is £3. If it would cost you only £5 to ship both books, then you can reduce the shipping cost of the first book by £3 and the second by £2 when you process the order.
To Reduce Shipping Charges for a Bookseller Direct Order:
1. Process the order by selecting the [Will Ship] option in the Status column
2. When requesting payment from the buyer you can simply, deduct the appropriate amount for the reduced shipping. You may want to send the buyer an email explaining the reduction in shipping charges.
Please Note: We are unable to reduce the commissions for the adjusted shipping price for a Bookseller Direct Order. This is also the case for increased shipping costs.
