How to Operate the Club
1. Catalogues
There are two pupil catalogues: Funfare for ages 3 to 8 and Book Zone for ages 9 to 16. You can issue both catalogues to a pupil/parent to provide a wider range to choose from or for older or younger siblings to participate. There are three issues of the catalogues per year with a completely new selection of books – Autumn (Sept-Dec), Spring (Jan-Mar) and Summer (April-June). We ask you to indicate which issues you require in advance of the school year, but if you opt not to receive an issue, we will always send you a single sample copy of the catalogues to give you the opportunity to request the bulk catalogues if you decide to run that issue. We can reach most destinations in the world within a few days via courier if you need them urgently.
2. Online Organiser
Using the Online Organiser is the best way to administer your club and to enter and submit your order. If your school is located outside the Euro Zone you can use the Organiser to generate a pupil order form in local currency – you will be guided through the process but we suggest that you start with the actual exchange rate and then add a percentage to cover postage and any other costs. The pupil order form in your currency can then be printed and circulated with the catalogues.
3. Distributing the Catalogues
Please hand out the catalogues on the basis of one per pupil and we suggest that you give a deadline for orders to be returned and there’s space to show a date on the order forms. You get a better response if everyone involved with the club – teachers, parents and children are enthusiastic about the books so you might like to draw attention to particularly attractive or popular titles. It always helps if class teachers can spend a little time going through the catalogue with their class and discussing the books. We also provide colourful posters on which you can display the details of the club and the deadline for returning orders. You may want to circulate a note to your parents with the catalogues and a sample ‘parent’ letter is available below.
4. Ordering
You will receive back the pupil order forms from parents/pupils normally with payment and we recommend that at an early stage you check that the correct amount has been received and that you separate payments from order forms. When you are ready to process the orders, go to the Online Organiser where you can choose to enter the orders either by Class and Pupil or by Catalogue. As you enter the Paid books you will see how much commission you have available to ‘spend’ on Free books. You do not have to complete your order in a single session entries are automatically saved and you can add to it or amend it later. When you have completed the order you can submit it and an automatic acknowledgement will be sent to the coordinator name and email address that we have on your record. If you have difficulty with getting a continuous signal for online ordering an offline version is available as a download and a printed master order form is also provided.
5. Prices
Many books are discounted and the catalogue price, together with the recommended retail price (RRP), are shown in GB Pounds. The Euro price includes the standard charge for post and packing so in Euro Zone countries, the catalogue can be circulated without additional price lists and an order can be prepared entirely in Euros. The exchange rate including postage used for the Summer 2012 issue is 1.50 Euros to the Pound. The printed Teachers’ Choice catalogue and order form are priced in GB Pounds only so, if you are preparing your order in Euros and not using the Organiser and want to order Paid Teachers’ Choice books, then you will need to convert the Teachers’ Choice prices at the rate shown above. Our Invoices are shown with GBP prices plus postage but the equivalent Euro total is also indicated for payment purposes.
6. Free Books
You earn commission on the value of your order total (or total Paid books) and the standard rate is 20% which can then be ‘spent’ on Free books which may be selected from any of the current catalogues but especially Teachers’ Choice which is intended for this purpose and has a wide range of books suitable for the school library. Please enter your Free books in the area indicated on the online order. When ordering books from the Teachers’ Choice catalogue you can use the printed Teachers’ Choice order form to identify the titles and book number that you require. If you are entitled to additional commission due to a special offer then the commission percentage can be changed on the Organiser. Free books are sent post free provided they are ordered at the same time as your Paid books.
7. Pack by Class
To enable easy distribution of the books on arrival in the school we offer this service for larger orders (normally over GBP 1,000) that are placed using the Organiser. Provided you enter the order by class then we can pack your order accordingly and will mark the outside of each carton with the class details. Please request this service when ordering.
8. Free Carrier Bags
Colourful and biodegradable carrier bags are available free – please indicate the quantity required in the space provided on your order. We indicate which carton contains the bags.
9. Despatch Arrangements
We use either courier, air freight or air parcel post selecting the best method for the size of consignment and its destination but we’re always happy to use the method you request. Consignments despatched via air parcel post are sent as ‘printed matter’ which normally minimizes the involvement of customs or payment of duty – this method is suitable for all sizes of orders.
When setting your exchange rate for pupil purchases you will need to take into account the rate we charge for post and packing and any additional costs you may incur with importation, administration or sending payment. Our standard charges shown below are a percentage of the order total (or total Paid books) and there is no charge for sending Free books provided they are ordered and sent with the Paid order.
Rates for Postage & Packing: UK free, BFPO 10%, Europe 15%, Rest of World 20%
Higher rates may apply in some countries, currently: Turkey 25%, Nigeria 30%
Consignments are normally sent on a ‘door-to-door’ basis but in a few destinations, collection from a local depot may be required. Our rate covers the cost of delivery and customs clearance but does not include any local charges for which the school will be responsible. We can usually provide any special arrangements you require including collection by or delivery to your UK forwarding agent which will be free of charge.
Estimated delivery time is 3 to 5 working days from despatch for Europe and 5 to 10 days for outside Europe. We will do all that we can to achieve the times stated but delays may occur, particularly with customs procedures, that are outside our control. A Despatch Note listing the books supplied and the value will accompany your books. The Invoice is sent via email to the club coordinator indicating the date and method of despatch, number of cartons sent and consignment number for courier shipments. It’s important to check that you have received all the cartons in a consignment – they will be marked with the number of the carton and the total number sent e.g. a 6 carton consignment will be marked 1/6, 2/6 etc. The cartons in an air parcel post consignment may not all arrive on the same day. We recommend that you check in the books received against the pink Despatch Note before any distribution of books takes place.
10. Payment
Secure credit or debit card payment can be made with your online order or you can pay a
balance on your account at any time via the online Organiser. Alternatively we can supply your order ‘on account’ for payment within 30 days of the invoice date. Online bank payments or transfers can be made payable to Baker Books – please request that all charges, including UK bank charges are to be paid by the sender and most importantly, please provide a payment reference that we can recognise such as Invoice No. or club reference or send these details to us separately via email. We can only accept a GB Pounds cheque or draft if it is drawn on a UK bank. Our bank account details appear on your invoice and statement of account and are shown below.
Account Name: Baker Books International Ltd
Branch Bank: Lloyds TSB, 147 High St, Guildford, GU1 3AG, UK
| Currency | Account No. | Sort Code | IBAN | BIC |
| GB Pounds | 01608502 | 309374 | GB59 LOYD 3093 7401 6085 02 | LOYDGB21022 |
| Euros | 86136811 | 309374 | GB22 LOYD 3093 7486 1368 11 | LOYDGB21022 |
Euro payments can be made direct to the account shown above. We can also accept payment by cheque but please note that charges make it uneconomic for us to receive a cheque for less than €100. The Euro prices in the catalogues are fixed for each issue and the exchange rate used includes the charge for post and packing.
Please do not pay an amount less than is shown on our invoice without first agreeing this with us. Delay in receiving payment can hold up the next order and interest may be charged at 2% per month for overdue accounts. We also reserve the right to require payment in advance of despatching an order.
11. Book Supply
If a title is temporarily unavailable then we may send your main order and the remaining title will normally follow in a few days. If the delay is longer we will usually provide a gift book with the main order and the correct book will follow. In the rare event that a title becomes permanently unavailable we will provide a good substitute book or books (normally with a higher value) but with the option that, if dissatisfied, the pupil/parent can choose a free alternative title to the value of the original book ordered or, to enable you to give a refund, we will issue a credit note to the school account. Full information is provided about our actions both for the club coordinator and the pupil/parent. Please note that we operate a policy of only invoicing books that are actually despatched to you so if there are books to follow, this information will appear on the original Despatch Note and Invoice and a new Despatch Note and Invoice will be raised for subsequent shipments.
If you receive a faulty or damaged book, please let us know and we will replace it free of charge. It’s always helpful to have details of the problem, we don’t normally ask for the book to be sent back but a photo of the fault or damage can be useful for assisting our claim from the publisher or carrier.
When you have checked in your order against the pink Despatch Note, if you find that we have supplied an incorrect book please let us know and we will send a free replacement. If a book that you ordered is not shown on the Despatch Note, please let us know and we will send it. If a book that is listed on the Despatch Note is missing, please first check that you have received all the cartons in the consignment – if you also have a surplus book then we may have picked a wrong title (please mention this when reporting the missing book) and we will send the correct book free of charge. If you report several missing books we may request more information to try and establish what has happened – if books have gone missing in transit we will normally replace them free of charge.
12. Refunds
We can issue refunds in GB Pounds to a school or nominated payee where the account is held in the UK in GBP and payment can be made via cheque, bank transfer or credit card. To avoid charges on small refunds outside the UK, we normally issue a credit note to your account and request you to arrange the refund. The credit note can be used against any amount currently due or deducted from a future amount due.
13. Delivery
Your invoice is sent via email to the club coordinator and this shows the method and date of despatch together with the number of cartons sent. In the case of courier despatch a consignment number is also shown and, if your order has not arrived within the expected time, you can go to international tracking for either TNT or UPS websites (as appropriate) to track your shipment or ask us to do this. If there is a problem you may find that the quickest way to resolve it is to speak to someone in your local depot, alternatively, please let us know so that we can sort it out.
In the case of Air Parcel Post there is no tracking system. If there are multiple cartons in your consignment they may not all arrive on the same day. The estimated delivery times may be exceeded for some destinations so we recommend allowing at least two weeks in Europe and four weeks outside Europe before informing us that a carton or a consignment is missing. Delivery/collection arrangements vary from country to country but if there is a delay, we recommend initially contacting your local postal depot to see if the carton(s) are being held there.
If a carton or consignment has not arrived at its destination within approximately three weeks in Europe and five weeks outside Europe and attempts to locate it are not proving successful we will, if necessary, ask you to provide a list of missing books. Replacement books will normally then be sent free of charge. If the original consignment arrives during this process or after the replacement books have been sent, please advise us immediately.
14. Contact
We’re always available to answer your queries, just email on enquiries@bakerbooks.co.uk and we’ll answer by return if we can and definitely within 24 hours. You can also phone during UK working hours on +44 (0)1483 267888. Your feedback on any aspects of the club is always appreciated, particularly with regard to ways it can be improved.