Welcome, November! There are some wonderful new books arriving this month, just in time for hibernating with a comfy blanket and a hot beverage, and of course, the gift giving season. With the onset of holiday shopping we also begin our supply chain lamentations. Our suppliers and distributors are saying that this holiday season the supply chain will be even worse than the previous two years.
We rely on sales from the fourth quarter to pay off bills, run operations during slower seasons, and make sure our inventory stays fresh. We truly appreciate our community and all you've done to get us through these unprecedented times, and we hope to help you find the perfect gift for the season, wrapped by our friendly booksellers and delivered with holiday cheer.
Here are 4 ways you can help us right now!
- Shop early for the holidays! See above - start shopping now to ensure you have gifts on time!
- Buy stuff! Books, puzzles, stickers, fun finger puppets. We have lots of great titles and fun gift items to share with colleagues, friends, and loved ones.
- Buy a gift card! This is essentially a loan that gets us the cash we need now and you the book you need later.
- Preorder books! Pay upfront and preorder that book you've been super excited about. Much like gift cards, this gives us an influx of cash now, and “future you” get's a gift later!
Some other deadlines to be mindful of: If we don't have the book on the shelf when you're shopping you'll want to request it in or order it by 12/9/22 in order to arrive in time for Christmas. As for shipping from Country Bookshelf for expected delivery by Christmas, you'll want to ship Media Mail packages by 12/1. Media Mail is the post office's lowest priority so these packages will get passed over for higher priority parcels. Speaking of priority - for Priority shipping we recommend shipping by 12/15. Many of these deadlines are a little earlier than the USPS website suggests so we have time to process everything and do our best to make sure parcels get where they need to go. Please note that our booksellers only APPEAR magical, so these deadlines are not guaranteed.
We truly appreciate your support!