When is your Book Trade counter open?
Our Book Trade Counter is open by appointment only. Click here to book an appointment.
Do all of your books show up on your website?
Yes! Our catalogue includes everything in-store, in our warehouses, and the many thousands of new books we can special order from our distributors.
If you cannot find a book on the shelf, be sure to check with our staff and they can help you locate what you need.
How do I find a book on your website?
How to Search Our Catalogue
On the front page, you can use the search bar below Browse Books to search our catalogue. Enter keywords from a book’s title and author, and our catalogue will show results matching those keywords.
Russell Books Pro-Tip
The Advanced Search is a great way to narrow down your results if you only want one specific book. By clicking Advanced Search, you can fill in specific fields like author, title, and ISBN.
If you want to view only the results that are available in-store, check the Remove Special Order items box after entering your search criteria and before hitting the search button. This removes items unavailable in-store and in our warehouses from your search. If you would like to view results that includes items that can be ordered from our distributors, leave the box unchecked.
Understanding your Search Results
This is the search results page. Here you will find the results that match your search terms. To view more specific information about each item (like price, quantity, condition, availability and location) click on the item’s image or title.
This is an item landing page. Each ISBN in our catalogue has its own page that will show what copies are available on our shelves, in our warehouse or as a special order. It also lists the price and condition (New or Used; Very Good, Good or Fair). You can click the arrows below ‘Warehouse’ or ‘Special Order’ to expand the sections and see what copies are available. Select a copy by clicking the bubble next to the price.
Books listed in each section have different transit times:
- In-Store — the item will be on our shelves at 747 Fort Street.
- Warehouse — the item will be in one of our warehouses and will take 1-2 days to arrive in-store.
- Special Order — the item can be ordered from our distributors and will take 2-14 days to arrive in-store. For more specific information about transit times, please email us at info@russellbooks.com.
If the item is available in-store, you can find it by using the department category (below the Seller ID and above “Add to Cart”). This indicates the physical section where this book is located — in the example above, the book is located in the Cooking – Raw section.
Once you have selected the copy you want, add that item to your online cart by selecting ‘Add to Cart’.
If you are browsing our website and intend to come into the store in person, please note that warehouse items will take 1-2 days to arrive in-store. If you wish to purchase a warehouse book and pick it up in store, your best option is to purchase it on our website and select the PICKUP FROM STORE option during the checkout process. After you have entered your address but before you enter your credit card details, a box will pop up in between with shipping options. One of these options will be PICKUP FROM STORE. There is no charge for this service, and you will receive an email letting you know as soon as the item is ready to be picked up.
Not sure what you’re looking for?
You can browse popular categories such as Fiction and Children’s Books by visiting our Browse Books page!
I found a book on your website. Where should I look for it in your store?
Searching Our Catalogue
When you click on an item in our catalogue, you will be linked to bibliographic and inventory information for that specific ISBN. The information on this page will tell you its location, condition, price and availability.
Location
- In-Store — the item will be on our shelves at 747 Fort Street
- Warehouse — the item will be in one of our warehouses and will take 1-2 days to arrive in-store
- Special Order — the item can be ordered from our distributors and will take 2-14 days to arrive in-store. For more specific information about transit times, please give us a call at 250-361-4447
If we are out of stock on an item in our store, you can check the availability of other copies by clicking on the Warehouse or Special Order options.
Finding a Book In-Store
You can check the location of a book by referencing its department (indicated by the green arrow on the image above). In this example, the department is RB – General Fiction. That means the book would be located in General Fiction.
If the department says Warehouse or Special Order, the book is not available in-store, but can be brought in for you at no extra charge.
Unsure Where to Start?
Our staff are always happy to help you find a book. If you’d like to check on the availability of a book before coming to the store, we encourage you to send an email to info@russellbooks.com or give us a call at (250)-361-4447 .
Can I put a book on hold?
The best way to get a book put aside for you is to purchase it through our website and select the PICKUP FROM STORE shipping option. After you have entered your address but before you enter your credit card details, a box will pop up in between with shipping options. One of these options will be PICKUP FROM STORE.
There is no charge for this service, and you will receive an email letting you know as soon as the item is ready to be picked up.
We are happy to hold purchased items for you if you cannot come to pick them up immediately. If you have purchased a book it will be held for you at our Pickup Desk for up to 1 year. If you have any difficulty purchasing a book through our website, please get in touch with us at info@russellbooks.com or 250-361-4447 and we will be happy to help.
When will my Pickup From Store purchase be ready?
Processing times can vary depending on which books you selected. When you place an order, you’ll immediately get an email letting you know the order is in progress. Then, when we’ve completed your order you’ll get a second email letting you know it’s ready for pickup.
If you don’t get either of these emails, please get in touch with us at 250-361-4447 or info@russellbooks.com to ensure that your order has been placed successfully.
Russell Books Pro Tip:
When placing an order, you can estimate how long it might take to be ready by looking at the item’s detail page. Click on the item you are interested in; a new page will load showing the different options we can offer. In the following image, there are three options available to purchase the book:
In-Store: This means the item is on our shelves, and will likely take about 24 hours to be ready for pickup. *Please note that even for in-store items we recommend waiting until you have received that second email confirming your order is ready before coming in to get it.
Warehouse: This means the item is in our warehouse, and will take a couple of days to get ready.
Special Order: This means the item will be ordered from one of our distributors, and will take between 2-14 business days to arrive depending on how far it has to travel.
What does "Copies Available" mean?
When you click on an item in our catalogue, you will be linked to bibliographic and inventory information for that specific ISBN. The information on this page will tell you its location, condition, price and availability. When you select the In-Store, Warehouse, or Special Order option, our website will show how many copies are available from that source (see image below).
Please note that “Copies Available” does not always mean that the book is on our shelf. For Special Order items, we still show the quantity available so that customers who may wish to purchase more than one copy of an item will know how many copies we can acquire, but the availability timeframe shown on our website still applies. This means that for the Special Order version of The Red Tent in the example below, there are 24 copies available to order from our distributor but these books will take 2-14 business days to arrive at our store.
For more information about transit times for a specific book, please email us at info@russellbooks.com.
What’s a special order?
Special order refers to books we can order directly in from our distributors. Special orders arrive in-store within 2-14 days, depending on where we source them from. For more information about specific transit times, please give us a call at 250-361-4447 or email us at info@russellbooks.com.
All special order book purchase are final and require pre-payment. When your book arrives, we will contact you and hold it at our Pickup Counter for up to 1 year.
If you need your special order shipped, we can include that in your order! See the “What does shipping cost?” section in the FAQ for more information.
If I don’t see a book listed on your website does that mean you don’t have it in stock?
If you are interested in a title that did not turn up in your online search, send an email to info@russellbooks.com or fill out our request list form below. Our staff will check the availability of your requested book. If we do not have it, we can add you to our request list and contact you when we have a copy arrive in-store.
As we have thousands of unique books come in through our book trade counter, the request list is an excellent way to discover the rare, the unusual, and those hard-to-find gems.
Russell Books Request List
What does shipping cost?
In-Store Purchases
You will be charged for shipping at the time of purchase. See below for shipping rates:
- Local (Victoria, Sooke, Saanich, and Sidney): $10 flat rate for any number of books
- BC: $15 flat rate + $1 for each additional book
- Provinces outside of BC: $20 flat rate + $1 for each additional book
- Territories: $25 flat rate + $1 for each additional book
- U.S.: $15 flat rate + $1 for each additional book
- International: $40 flat rate + $1 for each additional book
Please note that for purchases of extremely heavy books or multi-volume sets, we may need to contact you for additional shipping charges.
Online Orders
The above rates apply for online orders. In addition, if you place an online order for $75 or more through our website, we’ll ship it via Surface Mail to anywhere in Canada and the U.S. (excluding territories) free of charge.
- Shipping costs and any applicable taxes are not included in the $75 total
- This offer remains valid even if we are unable to fill your entire order
- Free shipping applies only to orders placed via our website at russellbooks.com
Live locally? Select PICK UP FROM STORE on your online order and you do not pay shipping fees! We’ll contact you when your order arrives and hold it for you at our pick-up desk.
How do I create an account on your website?
You can create a new account with a few clicks and place your order. Follow the steps below:
- Click [Login] in the top right corner of any site page.
- Enter your email address on the right side and click [Register]. You will be logged in automatically and a password will be sent to your email address.
To change your password to something you will remember:
- Click the [Account Details] tab on the left side of the ‘My Account’ page.
- Enter the password that was emailed to you.
- Enter your new password and confirm it. You’re all set to go!
What if I had an account on your old website, before you updated it in 2019?
We have updated our security features and streamlined the account registration process. This does mean that you will need to create a new account by following the steps above. Please note that if you are a returning customer, your order history will not be available through your new account. However, we have your order history on file. If you have questions or concerns regarding your order history or the status of your online orders, please contact us at info@russellbooks.com.
Do you accept returns/refunds?
All sales at Russell Books are final.
If there is an issue with a book you purchased in-store and you have questions about exchanging a title, please come into the store with your original receipt and the book in question between Monday and Friday to speak with a manager as soon as possible. Any returns or exchanges are solely at the discretion of the management team.
If you are unable to come to the store to discuss your purchase please call us at 250-361-4447 and ask to speak with the manager on shift.
How does in-store credit work?
Russell Books in-store credit can be obtained when you trade in books through our book trade. Credit never expires and can be used on any in-store purchase, including new books, used books, calendars, journals, and cards. The following guidelines apply:
- You must have the physical credit note with you at the time of your purchase in order to spend your credit amount.
- Credit cannot be used on purchases made over the phone or online.
- We do not keep a record of customer credit totals.
When do you buy books?
For hours and other information about our Book Trade Counter visit the Trading & Selling page.
What discounts do you offer?
If you are a member of a book club, we offer a special book club discount on purchases of 5 or more copies of the same title. See our Book Clubs page for more information.
We also offer a 10% discount for students and teachers. To be eligible, you must present a valid student/teacher ID at the time of purchase.
Discounts apply to in-store purchases only.
What are your COVID-19 Safety Measures?
We appreciate all of our customers who have continued to shop safely in our store during the pandemic! To keep our Russell Books family of customers and staff safe, we encourage everyone to follow these safety measures:
- Sanitize hands before entry
- Wear a mask while in the store
- Always maintain 2-meter social distancing from anyone outside your own household
- Like our staff, if you are feeling unwell please stay home and stay safe!
