Frequently Asked Questions

1. What areas of Asia and subjects does Paragon Book Gallery cover?

Our inventory covers China, Japan, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Central Asia, and Southeast Asian countries, including Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. We focus on the following subjects: art (fine arts, decorative arts, folk arts and others), archaeology, architecture, history, religion, political science, reference books, other specialized subjects. We are gradually expanding into areas of general interests, such as Fengshui, as well.

2. Where do you find all your books?

We buy books published by publishers from around the world, not just books published in the West. We travel to most countries in Asia and have buyers in several locations.

We also buy single titles, collections, and libraries from collectors, scholars and other institutions. You may refer to general guidelines in Individuals section.

3. How long has Paragon Book Gallery been in business?

Paragon Book Gallery has a long and rich history. We invite you to read our story in About Paragon.

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Search Tips

General Rule: LESS is MORE. The less you type, the more results you will get. Unlike humans, computers cannot distinguish spelling errors, articles (a, an, the), singular vs. plural, etc. in a grammatical sense. Try to use only the most unique word or unique few words in your search.

Author Search

Format: Last, First Name

Entering "Rawson, Jessica" (without quotation marks) finds books by Jessica Rawson, as well as other books whose author names contain either Rawson or Jessica.

Entering "Rawson, Jessica", with Exact Match checked, finds books by Jessica Rawson only.

If you cannot remember the author's last name, please enter your best guess for the first several letters. For example, entering "Prata" will find books by Pal, Pratapaditya.

Title Search

Format: Any word(s)

Entering "Chinese furniture" finds Classic Chinese Furniture, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture and other books whose titles contains the words Chinese Furniture.

Entering "Chinese furniture", with Exact Match checked, finds books whose titles contain only the two words: Chinese Furniture.

If you cannot remember the title, please enter your best guess for the first several letters of any words in the title. For example, entering "Liang" will find books with titles containing Liangzhu, Liang, Niuheliang, Lianggong, etc.

Keyword Search

Format: Any word(s)

This search will give you the most possible choices. Entering "Tibetan Paintings" will find books whose titles and descriptions contain at least one instance of the word Tibetan painting.

Foreign Language Search

All searches work with Chinese, Japanese, and other East and Southeast Asian languages, provided that the data exist. We are adding more data in vernacular languages every day. For questions regarding viewing of these languages, please see Foreign Language Help.

If you are interested in What's New in languages other than English, please visit the Librarians link.

Item Number Search

Item # refers to the Item number listed in our print catalog. Customers who receive our print catalog, starting from Catalog Number XX, Winter 1998 onward, will be able to conveniently locate a book using item number #. To receive our printed catalog, please email your name and address to paragon@paragonbook.com.

We have implemented ISBN (International Standard Book Number) searching. However, because a good percentage of our books are out-of-print books, catalogs, and books from overseas, they usually contain no ISBN number. Even though it serves to facilitate the book trade, they are not as widely used in the Far East as expected.

Magazines and Journals Search

You can easily find back issues of magazines and journals by selecting your magazine/journal choice from the list and type in keyword(s) you would like to find. If we have that particular issue in stock, your search will return favorable results.

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Foreign Language Help

Foreign languages on our site, especially Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer with the appropriate language support. Newer versions (5.0) of Internet Explorer usually have the support already installed.

There are many tools available for download on the internet for Chinese, Japanese, and other East and Southeast Asian language web viewing. We recommend the following:

Internet Explorer 4.0 or later

Microsoft Internet Explorer allows multiple Asian languages to coexist on your system. You can download each language's support from Microsoft web site at http://www.microsoft.com, or by going to Windows Update on the Start Menu of Windows 95 or 98.

Netscape

If you use Netscape, you will have to download or use other software to view Asian languages. Here is some of the most popular software:

Chinese Language

TwinBridge http://www.twinbridge.com

Richwin http://richwin.sina.com.cn

Magicwin http://www.magicwin.com.my

Japanese Language

TwinBridge http://www.twinbridge.com

We found the following sites to be useful for Asian language beginners and advanced users alike:

For help with the Chinese language:

Mandarintools.com

http://www.mandarintools.com

For help with the Japanese language:

Teach Yourself Japanese

http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/index.html

For help with the Korean language:

Korean Study Net

http://www.interedu.go.kr/

We will update help for other languages once we can find suitable links.

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Ordering Help

Web Orders

You can order any items on our Web site by clicking the button next to the book you want. The book will then be automatically added to your "shopping bag", which you can review any time by clicking Order on the left panel. You can always remove a book from your shopping bag later, as well as change the quantities.

You can choose to register with us when you place an order or by going to Create Account.

Forms of Payment

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB and checks or money orders in U.S. dollars drawn on U.S. banks.

Credit card orders can be processed and shipped more quickly because credit card payment reduces paperwork and check-clearance time.

We do not charge your credit card until we ship your order.

Other methods of ordering

By Phone

You can call toll-free 1-800-55-BOOKS (552-6657) from within the U.S.

Our regular phone number is (312) 663-5155.

We are available from 9:30am to 5:30pm Central Time Zone.

By Fax

Our fax number is (312) 663-5177. Our fax machine is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our Fax Order function in Step 1 of the ordering process will help you format an easy form with the titles you selected. You can then fill out that page and fax it to us.

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Library Orders

We accept library orders via mailed-in purchase order, email, or online order form. If you order electronically, please include your purchase order or reference numbers with the message. No pre-payment is necessary.

You can conveniently check for new books in vernacular languages in Librarians section. New titles are displayed for 2 weeks. You can also search by language and date range.

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Pricing and Availability

Pricing

We offer the best possible price in relation to our cost. As a small business neither funded by venture capital nor subsidized by Wall Street, we try to contain our cost and offer you the best quality service.

Discounted books are listed in the Special Offers Section. These items are publishers' overstock. Please take advantage of the offers before these titles are out of print.

Availability

Unlike other internet vendors, we stock 100% of the titles we list on our site. Therefore, your order can be shipped within 24 hours of receipt. This makes our Next Day Service possible. Please check the Shipping section for more information.

Occasionally, books are out-of-stock, sold, or has become out-of-print. We will inform you immediately if they are not available. We temporarily remove books that were sold out off our site (those that we know we are unable to replace in a short period of time) and try to keep our database as up to date as possible.

You can send us an email a list of books you would like us to search. We will let you know when it becomes available. There is no charge for this request. The email address is paragon@paragonbook.com.

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Shipping & Delivery Time

*A Note on Shipping Rates: The below are approximations and all rates are subject to change. In some cases, oversized books may carry a higher standard shipping rate and where possible we have calculated for those changes. In some cases, the actual shipping charge will be less than the estimated rate, in which case we will adjust the cost accordingly. The rates take into account that most of our books are art books, which are often heavy and require extra packing.

Standard Service in Continental U.S. via UPS: $7.95 first book, $3.00 each for the next two books, and $1.75 for each book after that.

Standard Service in Canada via UPS: $15.75 first book, $3.00 each for the next two books, and $1.75 for each book after that.

Standard Service for Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Military addresses, and PO boxes via MEDIA MAIL: Rates subject to vary based on weight of books and destination.

** For International Customers: International surface mail is no longer available for orders shipping from the United States. Our only shipping option is by Air/Express mail. International Airmail rates vary considerably depending on the weight of the books and country of destination and service used; therefore, the shipping costs generated by this site are quotes only. When at all possible, the actual shipping charges will not be more than quoted. We reserve the right to ship by either USPS Global Priority Mail or UPS International Express.

Express Service for both USA and International: $31.00 in addition to standard shipping charge. This $31.00 fee will cover ONE entire order of books available at the time of order, regardless of how many copies. Depending on total weight, if the shipping cost is less than quoted, we will adjust the charge accordingly. We require street address and daytime telephone number for Express Service. We cannot ship to PO boxes or Military addresses for this service.

Estimated Delivery Time

(depending upon availability of books ordered)

Standard Service in Continental U.S.:3-7 business days by UPS Ground

Standard Service in Canada: 5-10 business days

Standard Service to Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Military addresses & PO Boxes by USPS Media Mail: 1-3 weeks

Express Service (USA): This is a Next Business Day Service. Your order will arrive the next business day. If you choose this option, we must receive your order before 3 p.m. Central Time. After 3 p.m. Central Time, we will ship your order the following day, which will arrive the next business day. We do not offer 2nd Day or 3rd Day Service because our Next Business Day rate is generally comparable to 2nd Day and 3rd Day. Remember, depending on total weight, we will adjust the charge if actual cost is lower.

Express Service (International): Your order will arrive within 3-10 business days via courier. Your order will be shipped within 24-48 hours after we receive it. If there is a delay due to availability, we will inform you immediately.

Backordered Books: Books not available at the time of order will be backordered and shipped when available from the publisher. We will inform you of the status. Shipping cost for EACH backordered book is $3.00 (USA) and $8.00 (International). You can cancel your backorder at any time by notifying us via email, fax, or phone.

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Return Policy

If you are not satisfied with the books purchased, you may return them within 7 days after receipt for store credit, exchange, or refund. Shipping charge is non-refundable. Returned books must be in saleable condition.

Returns checklist:

• Please pack securely when you return them.
• Please include a copy of your receipt.
• Please indicate if you would like store credit, exchange or refund.

Many out of print books and books from overseas are often times limited in quantity. There might be other interested readers for the titles you are returning. We thank you for your cooperation.

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Privacy Policy

We offer the use of a secure server when you place an order or access your account. Your credit card and personal information are encrypted by the secure server software (SSL) and cannot be read in transit. All data are also protected against unauthorized access.

Paragon Book Gallery does not sell, trade, rent or share your information to others. We keep your information strictly confidential.

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Your Account

Registering with Paragon Book Gallery makes your shopping faster and more convenient. Your information will be automatically filled out every time you place an order, and is updated every time you place an order.

To create a new account, please use Create Account.

If you forget your password, please use Forgot Your Password.

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Paragon Book Gallery
1507 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
1-800-55-BOOKS (1-800-552-6657)
312-663-5155
Fax: 312-663-5177
E-mail: paragon@paragonbook.com