Phoenix Books Limited is an Independent Bookseller based in the UK

Customer care

We look after our customers through our personal service. We encourage our customers to make requests or ask questions so that we can better understand the way they operate and appreciate their requirements.

We visit the Czech Republic each year for the Prague Book Fair and we take this opportunity to meet as many customers as possible. We also make occasional trips to other countries so that we can meet face to face with our customers there and visit their libraries.

As we are based in the UK, we are able to collect together books from several publishers and send them to a customer in one dispatch which saves on transport costs.

We hold special promotions regularly, in conjunction with major publishers, when we are able to offer especially good terms.

Reliability

When we receive your order, we will send an acknowledgement and then thoroughly check all the bibliographic details to ensure that you receive the precise book that you want. If we find that there is a newer or cheaper edition available, we would contact you to check which edition you prefer.

We monitor orders regularly and chase up suppliers when they fail to deliver within a reasonable length of time.

If a book you have ordered is not available, we will let you know and we will keep you up-dated concerning the progress of your orders.

We take great care over our packaging to ensure that you receive your books in perfect condition. The boxes are strong, and the books are carefully packed.

Flexibility

We do our utmost to accommodate the needs of our customers and we are flexible at all points in our service through ordering, delivery and invoicing.

We are happy to give quotes and proforma invoices to assist with budgeting.

Our choice of suppliers will be guided by the customer’s personal priorities with regard to speed, price and reliability.

Speed of Supply

We do not hold stock; rather we order all books as required. If you require books urgently, we will make your order a priority (at no extra charge) and, as long as the supplier has them in stock, you should receive them in about 1 week. We do, however, order from suppliers all around the world, and frequently from US and in some circumstances, these take longer to reach us.

The speed of our supply depends to some degree on the size and nature of your order and the urgency of it but usually orders are processed within 24hrs. When you receive them depends upon the availability of the publications and your own priorities but we do all in our power to ensure that you get them quickly. If the titles you require are in stock with the publisher/distributor, you can generally expect to receive them in a couple of weeks.

History

The Phoenix Bookshop began trading in 1985 as an independent bookstore in Leamington Spa. One of the co-founders, Gwyneth Castor, had previously been a lecturer at the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick, and her friends in academic institutions overseas came to her for their English book supplies. Following the revolutions in Central Europe of the 1980s and 1990s, the demand for English books increased rapidly and the Phoenix Bookshop began to specialise in this area. Georgina Pavel, a native Czech speaker, joined the team as export manager and this aspect of the business flourished. The high street shop was closed in 2002 to allow Phoenix to concentrate solely on its export trade.

Now

The company has grown considerably from its early days. Many of our original customers are still with us today and many more have joined us. Gwyneth retired in 2007 and at this time the headquarters moved from Warwickshire to Abergavenny in Wales. Despite these changes, the principles on which Phoenix was founded still remain the same, and we at Phoenix still strive to provide the best service at the best possible price. With the launch of this website, Phoenix is entering a new phase in its development and we are taking this opportunity to update our image and with this we are changing the name to Phoenix Books which better reflects the nature of our business.

Website

If you wish to order from Phoenix Books, you will first need to register and open an account. You will then be able to use the website to place orders, request quotes and view details of your order history.

Even customers who are not eligible to open an account with Phoenix Books Ltd, may still use the website to find and purchase books in association with Amazon UK.

If you would like to request a quote without first opening an account, please use the Contact link at the top of the home page. We will reply as soon as we can. Alternatively just email sales@phoenixbooks.co.uk with your enquiry.

Dispatching

We are flexible in the way we dispatch your orders to accommodate your needs, prioritising the need for speed where a book may be required urgently and consolidating orders where price is more important to you.

Delivery

We generally use the services of TNT to deliver your books.  Standard deliveries will take 2-5 days to arrive, but faster services can be used where the speed of delivery is particularly important to the customer.

Price

We are very competitive and are rarely beaten on price. We have, where possible, negotiated good discounts with publishers and always pass on what savings we can to our customers. In addition, we search a range of potential suppliers to find the best price for our customers.

As we are based in the UK, we are able to collect together books from several publishers and send them to a customer in one despatch which saves on transport costs.

We hold special promotions regularly, in conjunction with major publishers, when we are able to offer especially good terms.

Website Prices

The prices given on the website are generally the published retail prices of the books, which may occasionally be subject to change by the publisher. If the book is published outside the UK, then the price may be affected by currency exchange rates. For these reasons, the prices should only be used as a guide and if an exact price is required, a quote should be requested.  Please note that we offer discounts on many titles, including textbooks.

 

Invoicing

We normally send an invoice with each despatch and expect payment by the end of the following month. We are, however, flexible on this and we can arrange terms to suit each customer.

Payments

Our policy at Phoenix Books is to be as fair and transparent with our charges as possible. For this reason, rather than hide our costs within our charges to you, we give maximum discounts on the costs of the books and pass on the cost of paying for them, which will vary depending on the size of the order, the chosen method of payment and the bank involved in the case of transfers. The customer, therefore, is responsible for all bank charges incurred in payment of the invoice.

At present, we can take payment in Pounds Sterling, Euros, Czech Krona, and Polish Zloty.  The exchange rate used is the Bank of England daily average that is available when an invoice is raised, plus 2% to cover currency exchange costs.

Opening an Account

Before you place your first order with us you will need to open an account. Please click on the Register button on the home page and complete the form. We will contact you as soon as possible to discuss opening the account.

Contacts

Address:
Phoenix Books Ltd
Ty Derlwyn
Pandy
Abergavenny
NP7 8DR
UK

Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1873 890972

Key personnel

Tessa Webb - Director
Martin Webb - Operations Manager
Georgina Pavel - Export Manager
Steve Williams - Web Developer