Shipping Policy

Where we ship

elderntomes.com ships to addresses within the United States only (including Alaska, Hawaii, and APO/FPO addresses).

International buyers: please shop our eBay store. eBay International Shipping handles customs, duties, and VAT on our behalf to most countries.

Handling time

Orders placed before 2:00 PM Eastern on a business day are packed and handed to USPS the next business day. Orders placed on weekends or holidays ship the next business day. You'll receive a shipping confirmation with tracking once the label prints.

Shipping method & delivery time

• Carrier: USPS Media Mail.
• Estimated delivery: 2–8 business days after shipping, depending on destination. Most orders arrive in 3–5 business days.
• Tracking: Provided on every order. You'll receive a tracking number by email when your package ships.
• Free shipping: Orders containing 3 or more books ship free.

Note: Media Mail is USPS's dedicated service for books and educational materials. It's slower than Priority Mail but significantly cheaper, which is why collectible bookstores use it as the default.

Packaging

Every book is bagged in a polyethylene sleeve, wrapped in protective padding, and shipped in a rigid cardboard mailer or box sized to the item. Hardcovers with dust jackets get an additional mylar jacket protector. Signed or first-edition copies receive extra padding.

Lost, stolen, or damaged packages

Once USPS scans the package as delivered, risk of loss or theft transfers to the buyer. If a package is marked delivered but you haven't received it, please:

• Check with neighbors and household members.
• Wait 48 hours — USPS occasionally scans early.
• Contact your local post office and file a USPS missing mail search.

Important: USPS Media Mail does not include insurance. (You may be thinking of Priority Mail, which includes $100 of coverage by default — Media Mail does not.) If you'd like insurance added to your order, email contact@elderntomes.com before the order ships and we'll invoice you for the add-on (typically $2.75 for up to $100 of coverage).

For damage that occurred in transit, see our Returns & Refunds policy — damaged-in-transit is one of the two cases we accept returns on.

Address accuracy

Please double-check your shipping address at checkout. We ship to the address provided by Stripe at the time of purchase. If a package is returned to us as undeliverable due to an incorrect address, we'll contact you to arrange reshipment — you'll be responsible for the second shipping charge.

Questions

Email contact@elderntomes.com with order-related shipping questions.