Help/FAQ: Shopping

Ordering Textbooks by Course

Ordering your books online from your bookstore is simple, quick and convenient. All you need to know are the classes and the semester or term.

The process begins by selecting the appropriate school and term (your bookstore may serve more than one school). Now pull out your class schedule. For each of your classes our process will walk you through choosing your department, course and section. After you've told us a class, we'll show you both the required textbooks and any recommended textbooks needed for that class. Then put them in your shopping cart and continue ordering until you've gone through your class schedule.

Since we have partnered with your school you can be certain that the textbooks the bookstore show for the classes are the right books for your class.

Ordering Merchandise from one store

varsitybooks.com offers you the ability to order from a wide array of school bookstores and associated vendors. If you choose to shop at a specific virtual or brick & mortar bookstore please note that your order is being fulfilled from that store and all products, services and appropriate charges are originating from that bookstore.

Ordering Merchandise from multiple stores

Unique to VarsityBooks and the efollett.com network is the ability to shop across a large network of virtual and brick & mortar bookstores. You can shop as many of the bookstore sites with one shopping cart for the things you need and the items you're looking for. After you submit the order, it is split out to the participating bookstores and vendor partners for fulfillment. For you this means that you will see separate costs and charges for each participating bookstore and partner. You will also receive separate shipments as well.

Payment Methods

Here is a list of payment methods VarsityBooks accepts for Cardinal Mooney Bookstore orders.

  • Online

  • American Express
  • Check
  • Discover
  • FlexPay
  • MasterCard
  • Money Order
  • Visa
  • In-store

  • Check
  • Money Order

Availability

For VarsityBooks and our associated vendors, our goal is to provide you with all the products and services that have been made available through the website. On rare occasion some of these items and services may not be available at the time of purchase. If we encounter that situation, then VarsityBooks will make every reasonable effort to provide you with the item or service requested. If the item or service is no longer available, we may offer you a choice of a substitute or Customer Service will contact you.

Textbook Condition Preference

The condition of a textbook is either 'New' or 'Used'...much like a car. However, unlike cars, there are never enough good 'used' ones to meet the demand for them and we occasionally run out of them. Sometimes we may even run out of new ones. This is why we ask you your 'NEW' or 'USED' book condition preference.

If you elect to substitute and we don't have your first choice we will automatically provide you with that same title in the condition we do have in-stock. It's that simple.

Order Status

Your order can be in any of 5 different status codes, including New, In-Process, Back Ordered, Fulfilled or Cancelled. A breakdown of the five standard statuses follows:

New - An order that has not been viewed and no action taken on it.
In-Process - The order has been viewed and processing has begun.
Backordered - The item(s) are NOT in stock and have been ordered for you.
Fulfilled - All the item(s) have been shipped out or are ready for pick-up.
Cancelled -The item(s) have been cancelled and requires no further action.

Should I buy used books?

It's a question of economics. Buying used books can save you as much as 25% or more. Used books are well worth the money, which is why they are in high demand. Be sure to shop early, when our stock of used books is largest, so you can save the most money.

How used is "used"?

We offer the highest quality used books of any online book retailer. Our professionally trained buyers make sure every book passes a quality inspection, which includes a check for minimal markings and highlighting, and to ensure that all pages and binding are intact.

What are my options for receiving my order?

Choosing how to receive your order from an individual bookstore is divided into two parts. Here is how it works:

Step 1: the Your Cart page For each bookstore where you shop, you will be asked how you would like to receive the items in your cart. DEPENDING on the options AVAILABLE at that particular store you may have the choice of SHIP, STORE PICK-UP PAY NOW or STORE PICK-UP PAY LATER.

Step 2: Depending on what was chosen in Step 1, on the Order Details page (if available) SHIP - If ship was selected, you will also need to choose a shipping method such as GROUND, SECOND DAY and NEXT DAY delivery (please note: these choices may vary from bookstore to bookstore). Once decided, applicable charges will be applied, an opportunity to review the updated charges will be provided and the order can be completed(if available) STORE PICK-UP PAY NOW - Because it is a store pick-up there are no other decisions to be made...just review the order and complete. The order will be processed and held at the store for pick-up

(if available) STORE PICK-UP PAY LATER - For this option, a credit card DOES NOT need to be used. And because it is a store pick-up there are no other decisions to be made...just review the order and complete. The order will be processed and held at the store for payment and pick-up. Be sure to check the bookstore site for their hours of operation.

Please Note: Orders purchased from VarsityBooks Virtual Bookstore sites can only be shipped.

What's an ISBN?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Every book published after 1968 has this ten- or thirteen-digit identification number. You can find the ISBN on the back cover of the book near the bar code, or on the copyright page of the book.

Can I place an order over the phone?

If you are interested in placing a phone order with one of the VarsityBooks bookstores, please contact us using the information on our contact page.

Do I have to use a credit card to place an order on this VarsityBooks bookstore site?

Please refer to our payment section for what payment options are available to you for this site.

If I select a textbook in used or new condition, is it guaranteed to be in stock?

We will make every effort to fulfill textbook orders as requested. However, because we have many shoppers on the site looking to purchase the same items as you are, we cannot always guarantee that we'll have the book in the condition initially requested.

Because of this possibility, we provide the option to substitute condition of the book. For example: customer requests a textbook in used condition for their HIST 101 01 class and we've sold out of the used condition but we have a new condition text available because the customer has opted to accept a substitution, the customer would now receive a new condition textbook for their HIST 101 01 class.Please note: When a textbook condition substitution occurs there is a change to the final total of the order.

What if you don't have the textbook(s) I want?

Even though you will find the largest selection of new and used textbooks, in some instances, we may not have what you're looking for in stock. But, please know that the VarsityBooks bookstore inventory changes frequently, especially at the beginning of a term or semester. So be sure to check back often to find what you're looking for.

Can I check the status of the order that I placed the other day?

Yes, every step of the way! Click the "Your Account" link to access your account. Log in using your email address and password and click the order history link. You will see a list of your previous orders and the current status of each. Click directly on the order number we gave you at the time of your purchase to view the details of that order. Please note, however, that your order history is only maintained for one year. If you cannot find information on the order, please send us an email. We'll answer your inquiry as quickly as possible.

I checked the status of my order, but what does this status mean?

Status are defined at 2 levels. The first is at the overall Order level. Orders can have 4 different status codes, including New, In Process, Fulfilled or Cancelled. The second is at the individual item level with an order. Individual items will use the same status codes employed at the Order level with the addition of Backordered.

A breakdown of the four statuses follows:

  • New - The order that has not been viewed. No other action taken on it.
  • Fulfilled - All item(s) have been shipped out to the customer or cancelled.
  • Cancelled - All item(s) have been cancelled by the customer and requires no further action.
  • Backordered - Individual line items may carry this status. Item is currently out-of-stock and awaiting arrival to be fulfilled.

Am I able to cancel my order?

Notify Customer Service of your request to cancel your order and we will make every effort to try to cancel your order.  But, due to our desire to meet the needs of our customers, we do not delay the fulfillment process and as the result we may not be able to cancel your order even if you contact us within the hour of placing your order.  Of course, you may return the order upon receipt.

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