Terms and Conditions

Terms of sale:

While we will occasionally sell books which may be of interest to collectors, our main aim is to provide books in a condition suitable for reading or study.

We do give a brief description of each book or journal indicating its age and general condition.

However, the majority of the books offered for sale have had at least one owner/reader, and buyers should be aware that many have small inscriptions on front inside pages, or occasional underlinings other other pages, or other small imperfections or blemishes which will not normally be referred to in our descriptions.

Phrases such as in excellent condition or in very good condition are of course subjective and if you feel that we have misrepresented the book to your disadvantage then we will be happy to refund the purchase price of the book once it has been returned to us in its original condition (see more on refunds below).

Thames Books is a mail/internet order bookstore only. It is not possible for customers to collect their purchases from us personally.

Payment:

We welcome payment using PayPal. There is no requirement to be a registered member (although that speeds up the process slightly) and you may pay using a wide range of internationally recognised debit and credit cards.

We are also happy to accept payment with cheques drawn on UK bank accounts, or British postal orders. If you opt to pay by this method the book/s will be reserved for you for up to five working days. We will not hold the book/s on reservation for longer except by special arrangment. Once payment is received your purchase will usually be dispatched within one working day, although we reserve the right to wait for the cheque to be cleared before dispatch.

We do NOT accept cheques drawn on banks outside the UK, or international money orders, as the cost of processing these is currently too high.

Postage/Shipping charges:

Purchases are dispatched as soon as possible following receipt of payment (normally within one working day). In the UK all purchases are dispatched by first class mail, and internationally by airmail. In some cases - where the book is particularly expensive - we may add a charge for recorded delivery or insurance, the cost of which will be made clear at the checkout.

Our shipping charges are based on the actual cost of the postage, the packing materials and handling costs. We do not offer an automatic reduction in shipping charges where more than one item is purchased, but if you are planning to buy several items then please contact us before making your purchase.

Refunds:

If you are unhappy with a purchase then you should email us at

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stating your reasons for wishing to return the book. We will normally offer a full refund of the purchase price once the book is returned to us in its original condition.

Occasionally books will go missing in transit. If you have still not received a book seven working days (UK) or twenty-one working days (outside UK) after receiving notification of its posting then please get in touch. But be assured that this happens very rarely.

Contacting Thames Books:

Email is usually the easiest way to contact us. We cannot offer a 24/7 service, but the majority of queries will be answered in a few hours. You may also contact us by telephone 44 (0) 870 486 1391. Voicemails will be also normally be dealt with in a few hours. And of course you can write to us at 13 Sunbury Lane, London, SW11 3NP, UK.