Shipping, Trades & FAQ
GENERAL SHIPPING INFORMATION
All shipping rates are carrier-calculated. All packages are carefully wrapped to ensure your newest stories arrive safely. All orders of books only (so the package is eligible for Media Mail) $40+ ship free! No code needed! Just select "Free Book Shipping (Media Mail)" at checkout. Accidentally select the wrong mail class and missed out on the free Media Mail shipping? No problem -- just send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com and we'll fix you right up! Please note we don't alter mailing selections unless you request it.
Does your shipping rate look a little high on your order of books + other items? Please note that we always refund shipping overages of $1.00 and up. When you purchase books + other items, like crystals, candles, etc, the shipping is usually higher at checkout than actual cost, and we'll take care of it once we pack your order. We're sorry about that -- it's an issue that we unfortunately don't have control over at this time.
Once we drop your package off at the post office, it is out of our hands and we only have access to the same tracking information that you do. Though we welcome you to keep us in the loop if your tracking information is unusual, please be aware that occurrences like delays between shipping and scan-in, delivery notifications before the package is actually delivered and detours are common right now. We always recommend calling your local delivering post office with concerns!
PROCESSING
**please expect a 2-4 business day processing time currently due to extenuating circumstances**
All orders are shipped within 1-2 business days unless otherwise noted. Any potential shipping delays will be announced on the banner at the top of our website and right above this paragraph so you are aware ahead of time. The processing time for your package starts the next business day after your order was placed. Saturday and Sunday, as well as holidays, are not business days and are not included in the processing time. We usually pack up your orders and take them to the post office on Wednesdays & Fridays.
We'll be taking some time away from 9/17-9/23, so all orders placed after 9/14 will ship on 9/27.
RETURNS
We do not accept returns, but if your order arrived with an unexpected issue, please contact us within five business days of receiving your package at spiralbookcase@gmail.com and we will be happy to address the issue. All sales made in-person at the storefront at 4257 Main Street are final sale.
PRE-ORDERS
Arrival time varies based on each product, so please read the product page carefully. Payment is always required for pre-orders. Rarely, our distributors will have made a mistake in the number of items available or the timeframe in which they will ship. If this occurs, we will inform you just as soon as possible.
LOST OR STOLEN PACKAGES
We cannot be held responsible for lost or stolen packages as we do not control postal and delivery services, though we know how frustrating it is, and are happy to assist you in filing a claim if we can.
SPECIAL ORDERS
Looking for a book that's not listed on our website? Send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com and we will do our best to assist you!
TRADES
We are accept book trades and donations at 4257 Main Street! Please read the information below carefully and send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com if you have any questions.
In the Philadelphia area and looking to trade in some interesting books in excellent condition? We offer store credit for your used books that can be used toward 100% the purchase price of used books in the shop or 50% the purchase price of new books. Credit can be applied to in-stock books featured on our website or to special orders. We generally offer 20-25% the retail price of your books in credit, which reflects the policy of many used bookshops. Please note we do not outright buy books. Please note we donate all books we don't accept for trade; please only bring books you are ready to part with. We are unable to return the books we don't accept.
Please limit trade-ins to two (2) grocery bags worth of books at a time. We have a small space without a basement and just don't have room to store more books as we go through them. Please give us up to two weeks to review your trades, though usually we're a bit quicker!
We are currently accepting: newer fiction (published within the last two years), short story collections, social justice and theory, small press, poetry, fantasy, science-fiction, children, young adult, witchcraft & occult, folklore, select romance (we prefer queer, fantastical books over Danielle Steele -- though no shade intended!), select cookbooks (vegan, cocktail, unusual cuisine, and in very good condition) and select mystery/thriller (we prefer psychological over detective.) We love special/limited editions and signed books, particularly from Waterstones, FairyLoot, Owlcrate, Illumicrate, etc. Our taste is what you see on our website: dark, strange, magical, queer, feminist, radical.
We are NOT currently accepting: magazines, encyclopedias, textbooks of any kind, manuals of any kind, books about sports, popular Young Adult series (ie Twilight, Divergent, Eragon), any book series without the first book, and any and all titles with tears, water damage, highlighting or other mark-ups.
Credit can be used toward 100% the purchase price of used books and toward 50% the purchase price of new books. Credit can be redeemed in-store at 4257 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127, on our online store and on special orders.
To redeem your credit on our online store, please either email us with the items you'd like to purchase so we can create an invoice for you reflecting your credit, or simply purchase the items you'd like. Then, send us an email with your order number and we'll refund you the appropriate amount. For popular items that may sell out, requests made after working hours or for secondhand books that we only have one copy of, we do suggest just placing the order and allowing us to refund you.
We do not outright purchase used books. We welcome and appreciate donations of books as well -- please send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com to see if your books are a good fit.
AUTHOR READINGS & OTHER IN-PERSON EVENTSDue to the restraints of our current staffing, we are unable to accommodate any new events outside of sidewalk pop-ups. Interested in reaching out to us for an event? Please contact us at spiralbookcase@gmail.com. Please keep in mind we are a very physically small shop, so we may not be able to accommodate your request, though we'd love to hear about it!
WILL YOU CARRY MY BOOK?
The Spiral Bookcase offers a carefully-curated book selection. Between our specific tastes and our small storefront, we're only able to carry books we're really, really excited about. If your book is carried and distributed by Ingram, please feel free to send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com with a press release about your title. We'll excitedly look into it! If your book is published by a small press, micro press, or independently published, we are happy to offer local + indie authors consignment placement. Please send us an email at spiralbookcase@gmail.com with information about your book. We will follow up if we feel your book is a good fit for the storefront and do our best to answer every inquiry, even if the answer is "not for us." Please note we love and support indie authors, including writers who use Amazon's print on demand. We know there's not a lot of options out there, so we don't like to take our fiery hatred of Jeff Bezos out on indie authors.
WORKING WITH US
We are not currently hiring. Please note that due to the volume of interest, all hiring inquiries sent outside an active hiring period will be deleted. We are a very small shop and do not hire seasonally. Thank you!
Check out this page!