How long have you been in business?

Yesterday's Book Shop is a family owned business which has been around since the 1970's, though the actual collecting part started back to the 1930's when my father was just a boy.  Whenever he came across a unique or interesting book it would be carefully packed away.

In the last 1960's he started seriously collecting specific books... first editions, signed, noted illustrators and authors.  This collection had amassed into over 20,000 books, and then tragedy happened:  In 1973 the warehouse where he stored his collection was struck by lightning and my father lost most of his collection.  Though there was no insurance and the warehouse was a total loss, he had kept about 100 of boxes of his best books at his home.  My father looked at the loss on the bright side, many of the books that were in the warehouse were just average, and the hundred boxes he had at his home were the cream of the crop.  He used his knowledge and experience in the book business and pretty much started over. 

I learned at an early age about books.  Every weekend we scoured the New England countryside.  By the time I was 12 I could go through a box of books from a sale and pick out the 5 or 6 books that would be worth keeping.  I knew which authors, from which publishers, their codes and printings; all of the knowledge of a bookman was passed on to the next generation.

In the early 1980's Yesterdays Book Shop opened up again with limited capacity in costal Delaware.  The business continued into 2006 before being fully passed on to his son.

Although my father never fully achieved his dream of his own store that would display his entire collection, he did enjoy years of selling off the lesser parts of his collection in antique malls along the east coast, yet saving the "best of the best" for his repository. The business is now on its second
 generation of booklovers, and we are slowly introducing a coveted collection as well as recent arrivals.  Entering all of the stock into a database will take time.  There are tens of thousands of books, all hand picked and carefully packed away for decades.  This is a unique collection as nearly everything is virgin stock.  To properly grade and enter each book will take a long time, so please be sure to visit often as we'll be updating the online catalog weekly.

Where do you get all of your books?

These books come from countless locations.  Some were purchased new as far back as the 1930's.  Others were obtained through private sales, estate and small-town auctions, flea markets and yard sales.  Some also came from buying the best out of other dealer's collections.  Many of the newer ones also come from national book distributors, and were packed away "for future sale".

Do you buy collections?

Right now we are not too interested in purchasing any more, though we still keep an eye out for any books that have been in private hands for years.   So we still keep an eye out for those out of the way auctions!

What software are you using for this website?

There are multiple programs which are used to create the website and maintain the business at yesterdaysbookshop.com.  The pages themselves are a combination of HTML, JAVA and CSS scripts from various sources.  Our databases are maintained through programs like Excel, and the highly recommended Prager Book Inventory Program (www.pragersoftware.com), and the unique book web pages are created through a program called BookWriter Web.  The search engine used here is Fluid Dynamics CGI scripting.

How do you determine the condition of a book?

We have strict guidelines in determining how we grade any publication.  We tend to over emphasize any defects, as we don't want anyone having any unpleasant surprises from their purchase.  There is a grading page that explains some of our methods.  This page can be viewed here.

Can you provide me with more pictures of a book?

Absolutely.  If you are interested in any book but would like to see specific pictures before you decide to purchase it, simply drop us a note by using the inquire button located near each title.

Will you hold books for someone?

Generally, all of our book sales are considered "first come, first served".  We can make exceptions to the rule though if there are circumstances that do not allow immediate payment.  In some cases a minimum deposit of 10% is required.  Books will only be held for a maximum of 30 days.

Is any book listed here guaranteed to be in stock?

As our stock of books is always changing, items in the catalogs may have already been sold.  Please note that because of this, all books that are offered here are subject to prior sale. We will advise you promptly of availability upon receipt of an email inquiry (every listing offers an "Inquire" button for this purpose) as it can take up to 24 hours to update the website after a sale.  All Credit card sales are not charged until an item has been verified in-stock and prepared for shipping.

Do you sell magazines or comics?

Yes, though not a lot.  If any magazine or comic book was set aside for our business, it was for reasons of collectability and not simply to fill our shelves with common stock.

What are some of the best books you have come across?

While unpacking some of the main collection we always find some real gems.  A true first edition/first printing of H.G.Wells The Time Machine (Henry Holt 1895) where the author's name was incorrectly listed as H.S Wells.  This was the early version that preceded the London edition, and only contained six pages of publisher ads.  This book was sold to a private collector in 2006.

We also came across some early law books from the 1790's that had belonged to a young Daniel D. Tompkins, who later became Governor of New York and eventually Vice President to James Monroe in 1817. The inscribed copies were sold on eBay in early 2006.

There's another book that was signed by the entire team of Admiral Byrd and is Arctic expedition, even including his dog sled team!  Another book holds a bookplate from the private library of Charles Dickens.  There are so many rare, unique, signed and inscribed books it's difficult to say which once could be considered the best.

What are your shipping rates?

We ship worldwide via the US Postal Service, generally within two business days of receipt of your paid order. We strive to minimize postage costs for our customers and can offer alternatives, depending upon the book's size, weight and value.  Shipping is charged for the first five books only.  Any additional items will not be charged extra shipping charges.

Shipping methods and rates are as follows:

• Media Mail: 1st book 3.00, additional books 1.75 ea.

• Priority Mail: 1st book 5.50, additional books 3.00 ea.

• Canada: 1st book 8.95, additional books 3.50 ea.

• International Airmail/Global: 1st book 12.50, additional books 5.00 ea.

Insurance is optional but recommended for all orders over $25.00, as well as all international shipments to allow tracking. For PayPal orders, we will ship only to the verified address on file with PayPal.  The UPS shipping option (available to only the lower 48 states) includes full insurance and a tracking number will be provided.

You may choose any of several shipping options during checkout. 6.5% sales tax will be added to all orders shipped within Minnesota unless the buyer supplies us with a Reseller's tax ID number. Libraries and institutional customers will be invoiced upon request and upon receipt of a firm purchase order.

Can we use an escrow service for large sales?

If the buyer desires additional protection for their purchase, large sales can be transacted through the services of www.escrow.com.  This 3rd party payment service collects the funds from the buyer, and only will release payment to us after you have received the merchandise and is satisfied with your purchase.  There is an addition fee, as Escrow.com charges for their services (typically $25-$50).  The total fees for these services will be split 50/50 between the buyer and Yesterday's Book Shop.

Do you take books on consignment?

Not at this time.

What is your return policy?

You may order books from Yesterdaysbookshop.com safe in the knowledge that any book may be returned if you are not happy with it providing we are notified within 14 days of your receiving the item. All we ask is that you return the item(s) by the same or similar method to that in which they were sent to you. Your payment will be refunded immediately on our receipt of the books in the same condition as you received them.

The condition of all books has been described; all items are guaranteed to be complete unless otherwise stated. All prices are net and do not include shipping.

Please contact us ahead of time if you wish to return a book. Books are returnable within 14 days of receipt for a full refund of the book's price if the item is not as described in the on-line listing. Please note that shipping costs are not reimbursable.

How safe is ordering online from your website?

You can feel confident using our 128-bit encrypted secure shopping cart to place your order.  Our payment method is fully PCI Compliant… meaning it meets all requirements set forth by the credit card industry for consumer security.  Our servers are periodically screened by a security firm and are shown to ensure they cannot be hacked into.  In addition, no customer credit card information is kept on any of our servers. We also accept PayPal payments as well as money orders, cashier's checks and personal checks. Shipment made upon clearance of personal and cashier's checks (estimated 7-10 business days for clearance).

If I email you will I end up getting junk email or spam?

Your information is completely safe with us... no one hates spam more than we do.

Yesterdaysbookshop.com has a ZERO tolerance policy against unsolicited emails (AKA SPAM) and will take legal action against all who violate this matter. We are a proud member of WWW.CAUCE.ORG and their fight against the scourge of spamming which is a disruption and violation of our basic rights as internet users. Any spam we receive will result in immediate complaints to all service providers involved (in both the transmission and email addresses listed) as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Further action may include, but not be limited to, formal complaints filed with the State Attorney General for which you do business and possible direct legal action, depending on the severity. Our spam fighting actions here at Yesterdaysbookshop.com are responsible for hundreds of illegal spam websites being shut down every year.  Yesterday's Book Shop also makes annual contributions to SpamCop (www.spamcop.net).

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© Copyright 2006 Yesterday's Book Shop, All Right Reserved.
Yesterday's Book Shop - 4470 Oak Chase Way  Eagan  MN  55123