Help

Paperbacks

Orders are shipped via U.S. Media Mail and should be received within 3-10 business days (7-10 business days if you live on the West Coast). For residents in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands and APO/FPO addresses, please allow an additional 2-5 business days.

Audiobooks

Orders are shipped via U.S. First Class Mail and should be received within 2-5 business days. For residents in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands and APO/FPO addresses, please allow an additional 2-3 business days.

Currently, because of packaging restraints, the Priority Mail feature is only available to book members who receive 1 or 2 books in an order. New packaging may become available soon through the USPS that will allow us to expand the service to members that receive 3 books in an order. If you currently receive 1 or 2 books in an order and do not see the Ship next order Priority Mail button in your queue, then you currently have a pending order to ship your next order Priority Mail.

We ship the first available title(s) to insure members receive the maximum number of books (audiobooks) each month. New orders are generated based on the order of your queue and availability at the time the order is generated. When we receive your returns, our system automatically generates your next order by starting the top of your queue selection the first 1, 2, or 3 available books on your queue, depending on your membership plan. If the first book on your queue is currently not in stock the system will proceed to the second, third, fourth, and so on until it finds enough available books to fulfill you next order.

After signing up, browse the Web site and add titles to your queue by clicking the red Add button. We automatically ship the number of titles your membership plan allows. The remaining titles in your queue will be queued up for future orders. We recommend keeping at least 10-15 titles (this does not include titles that have not been published yet or are older, rare titles) in your queue at all times for the greatest enjoyment of our service. You may keep the book(s) as long as you'd like, there are no due dates or late fees. When we receive books you have returned in the provided prepaid return mailer, we automatically generate and ship your next order.

Please use the Report Problem link located next to each of your current orders on your Orders page. You will be able to report paperback titles as BookLender shipped this title but I never received it after 14 days from the day they shipped, 7 days for audiobooks. You will be able to report paperback titles as I returned this title but BookLender never received it after 28 days from the day they shipped, 14 days for audiobooks. The reason for these ranges of days is due to the inconsistency in the mail delivery times.

If you have not already read or listened to the title, do so, then return it. If you had put the title back in your queue to receive it in a future order, please make sure to remove it.

Rare Books are titles BookLender has very limited inventory of and are no longer available through distribution. Normally there is a very long wait for Rare Books.

You may change the order of books on your queue at any time by simply dragging and dropping them into the order you want.

The Ship next order Priority Mail button in your queue allows you to have your next order shipped Priority Mail (average 1-3 days delivery time) for only $4.50. Your order still comes back Media Mail but will get to you much faster.

For paperbacks, the return mailer is normally folded and tucked neatly in one of the books. Please make sure you double check the books before contacting us. For audiobooks, the return mailer is folded and placed in the mailer sent to you. Please check inside the mailer you receive before contacting us. MP3-CD audiobooks are sent in a 2-Way mailer that is also used to return your order. Members are encouraged to put return mailers in a safe place to avoid losing them. Replacements are costly.

Under the My Current Orders section of your Orders or Queue page, click on the Track link under the Tracking column. If there is on Track link, your order my not have shipped yet or the system my not have updated yet. Simply check back later. For audiobook members who receive MP3-CDs, they are shipped in a 2-Way mailer that ships First Class Letter rate and the USPS does not offer tracking on First Class Letters.

Your Queue is the key to your subscription. When you find a title you want, click the red Add button and the title will automatically be added to the end of your queue. We automatically ship the number of books your membership plan allows. When we receive your return, we automatically ship the next available selection(s), and so on. You can add up to 500 titles to your queue, remove titles from your queue, and change the order of your queue at any time. We recommend keeping at least 10-15 books on your queue at all times so we always have titles to send you.

If you receive a paperback or audiobook that you have never added to your list, email support and let us know which book or books were sent in error.

Book members are required to return the same number they receive in each order (book members will find a return mailer tucked neatly in one of the books). We do allow members to send back different titles from different orders. If book members fail to return the correct number of titles, there will be a delay until the correct number is received. Audiobook orders are shipped individually and simply need to be returned in the same mailer they were received in. All returns are processed the same day BookLender receives them.

Because inventory continuously fluctuates, books are selected from your queue based on priority and availability. If the first title in your queue is not available at the time of your next order, the system will work its way down your queue until it finds enough available titles to generate your next order. You can use the Set Sequence padlock to lock the shipping sequence of titles in a series so they do not ship out of order.

If an order is generated for a title that is currently not in stock and another title on your queue becomes available, the system will swap the unavailable title in your order with the available title on your queue.

Your order may be delayed for one of the following reasons:

1. You do not have any books on your queue. Please add books to your queue.
2. You do not have any books on your queue. Please add books to your queue.
3. All the titles on your queue have not been published yet. Please add some current titles.
4. All the titles on your queue are older, rare books. The inventory of these books is limited and it would be best if you add more current titles to your queue.
5. None of the titles on your queue are currently in stock. We will generate your next order, then order the titles in that order from one of our distributors. The titles will arrive in our warehouse within 1-2 business days and will ship to you the same day.

Keeping as many books as you can on your list at all times (we recommend at least 10-15 current titles) will reduce or eliminate delays.

When you first add titles to your queue, the system will automatically generate orders until you have the maximum number of titles checked-out your membership allows. The additional titles you add to your queue will be queued up for future orders. When BookLender receives your returned books, the system automatically generates your next available titles into an order. Because inventory continuously fluctuates, books are selected from your queue based on priority and availability. If the system does not find enough available titles to generate your next order, it checks the inventory of our distributor and takes the first available title(s) it finds and places an order. Books that are ordered from our distributor arrive within 24-48 hours and are shipped to you the same day.

The cost to have your next order shipped Priority Mail is only $4.50.

If you currently have an odd number of books checked out, there will be a delay in the shipment of your next order. For example, if a 4 at-a-time book member has 3 books checked out, their next order of 2 books will not ship until at least one more book has been returned.

Discrepancies can occur for a variety of reasons, like sending one book back when two should have been sent, or a scanning error when your return was received. In most cases, the Report Problem link on your Orders page can resolve the issue.

Because our inventory constantly fluctuates, it is possible that the availability of a book identified as High may vary before the book is generated into an order.

Click the Buy / Activate Gift link at the top of the site and then select Activate Gift Membership. You will need your Gift ID# in order to activate your membership. There is also a Gift Memberships link at the bottom of any page.

The Set Shipping Sequence feature allows members to set titles to ship in a specific sequence. This is especially useful for books in a series. To set a sequence, do the following:

On your list, locate the light gray unlocked padlock associated with a title you do not want to ship before another title.
Click on the light gray unlocked padlock associated with this title (a small popup window will appear).
Click on a title from the popup window that you do want to ship before this title.
The light gray unlock padlock will switch to a dark gray locked padlock.

You can set the shipping sequence for up to %50 of the titles on your list with a limit of 20. You can remove or change the shipping sequence of a title by simply clicking on the dark gray locked padlock. Your orders are still generated based on availability. By setting a shipping sequence, you only guarantee that they will not ship out of order.