Frequently Asked Questions

800-236-7323  (US)

+1 (414) 270-3434 (International)

help@porchlightbooks.com

544 S. 1st Street
Milwaukee, WI 53204

We are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Central Time.

Our offices are closed the following days: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

If you received a book you did not order, it is most likely a free gift.

One of Porchlight Book Company's services is book distribution. When someone receives a book from us that they did not order, they are likely part of a mailing list that we received from a client. Many businesses, organizations, or public figures will purchase books to send to fans or past, current, or potential customers.

Please contact customer service at help@porchlightbooks.com with your name and the reference number on the shipping label, and we can let you know who sent you the book.

We are an on-demand book retailer, which means that while we stock a good number of our bestselling books, we mostly order and ship directly from publishers and distributors. This way, we are able to offer you the widest range of titles, while keeping shipping charges low. If you have questions about stock levels of a specific title, call us at 800-236-7323.

Our site uses the latest encryption technology (2048-bit TLS) to make sure your credit card information is safe. Whether you order online or over the phone, your credit card information is always encrypted and sent directly to our secure payment processor, Authorize.Net. Their hosted payment form collects your card information directly. Our website and backend ordering system never see your full card details and instead receive a "payment token" in place of the card details.

We guarantee your satisfaction. If you order returnable copies, our goal is to make returns as easy as possible for you. Porchlight will refund the full cost of your book purchase, minus the shipping charge, within 30 days after you return to us the returnable book. Books ordered non-returnable may not be returned, though we are happy to work with the publisher to exchange a damaged copy for one that is not. For more information on our return policy, read "What is your return policy?" (below)

We take pride in offering customers high-quality, human-centered service, and a reliable and humane workplace for the people who provide that service. That commitment requires us to support our business with a pre-set pricing model. We offer a 20% discount on all trade titles. Most titles have additional volume discounts starting at 25 copies if purchased non-returnable. Every product page on our website will indicate if additional discounts are available.

Books ordered as non-returnable copies may not be returned, unless we made a mistake. (See “Mistakes” below.)

If you order returnable copies, our goal is to make returns as easy as possible for you. Porchlight will refund the full cost of your returnable book purchase minus the shipping within 30 days after you return to us the returnable book. Please note that returnable books must be returned in their original condition, with no writing or other damage.

Be sure not to open any software included as part of a book until you are sure you will keep the book. We cannot take returns on books (even if we made a mistake) if the seal on any included software is broken.

Mistakes

You may return any type of book (returnable or non-returnable) because of a mistake we made—for example, if we mailed you the wrong book or it is damaged when you receive it. If this occurs, please call 800-236-7323, and one of our Customer Service Specialists will correct this immediately and provide you with a return number. When we receive your return at the “Address for Returns” noted below, we will promptly credit your account for the full cost of the book purchase and shipping.

Address for Returns

For any returns described above, please mail your return to:

Porchlight Book Company Returns Department
544 S. 1st Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204

We consider our website price our quote to you. On the occasion that the publisher has changed the list price or a new edition has been issued to the book you wish to order, you will be notified by a Customer Service Specialist of the change prior to billing.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and—upon approval—purchase orders.

We are required by law to charge sales tax on all orders placed within the United States.

You will be notified via the email address attached to the order you placed within 24 hours of submission.

Import duties and customs fees are charged to the receiving customer of an international order once the package reaches the destination country. Customs policies vary widely from country to country, and we generally cannot determine what these fees will be for you. We strongly recommend that each customer contact their local customs office for details as to how these fees are assessed and applied.

Yes, we do! UPS is our carrier of choice for international shipments. For more information about international shipping, see the “Delivery Logistics” section.

In-stock orders generally arrive within three to seven business days, but there are many factors that go into the timing of your order. If your books need to arrive by a specific deadline, please call to talk to a Customer Service Specialist (800-236-7323).

Yes, we do. If a book is past publication date but is not in stock with the publisher, we will email you within 24 hours of receipt of your order (M-F) to discuss alternatives.

Yes, you can, but it will not be shipped until the publication date. One week before the publication date, you will receive an email reminding you of your order and alerting you to the upcoming credit card charge. If you need a book released early in order to arrive at an event prior to or on publication day, call us and we can work with the publisher to try to make that happen.

Yes, you can! We love talking to customers. Call us at 800-236-7323, and we’ll be happy to help you.

Yes, we hope so! The self-publishing landscape is complicated and constantly evolving, and our ability to sell your book depends on many factors, including the publishing platform you are using. Our Sales & Author Services Director, Aaron, has years of experience working with self-published authors and would be glad to talk with you about options. Email him at aaron@porchlightbooks.com.

Yes, we are happy to provide a formal quote for any reason. Please fill out the quote form here or call us at 800-236-7323, and we’ll gladly get you what you need.

They are not torn. They are called “deckled edge” pages (as opposed to “cut edge”), and this is a stylistic choice made by the publisher. Here is a good example of a book with deckled edges.

Our bulk discounting starts at 25 copies; the specific discount is based on title and can be found on each product page.

Yes, you can! Single copies are discounted 20% off list price.

Bulk discounts are only for non-returnable titles. If you are interested in buying returnable books at a discount, please contact our customer service team for title availability and pricing.

Yes! We accurately* report all of our book sales to The New York Times and NPD BookScan on a weekly basis. (*We report the number of books sold, not the number of orders placed.)

No, they are not; our sales are counted the same as any other book retailer. For more information about bestseller reporting, contact Aaron at aaron@porchlightbooks.com.

Each month, we post two bestseller lists of our own: one for business bestsellers and one for general nonfiction. You can find them here.

Once your campaign is live, we can update you with order information, including customer emails, addresses, and order quantity.

Yes. Payment terms on your Custom Checkout campaign can be configured in a variety of ways, with the goal of giving you total control over the offer you present to your audience. You can prepay for all of the books and defer shipping costs to your users, or else pay for books and shipping upfront and simply let your users order books with no payment required. We’ll work with you to configure the payment arrangement that works best for your specific audience and offer.

Yes. Requiring your users to enter a promo code before accessing your landing page is a simple and easy way to validate your users and lend your campaign an air of exclusivity.

Yes! Please include this information on your order (Checkout>Shipping Method>Additional Order Info) and note the guest arrival date—or simply call customer service directly (800-236-7323), and we can arrange this.

Yes! As soon as we have tracking information for your order, you will receive an email. If you cannot find the email, you can also find tracking information in your Order History of your account (click on the Order ID#). If tracking information is not showing up, please contact customer service (help@porchlightbooks.com or 800-236-7323), and they will be happy to help!

It may add a couple of days to your delivery time, but we can do that! Call customer service (800-236-7323) in order to place a split shipment order.

Sometimes! Pre-ordered books are normally shipped on the release date; if you have a special circumstance that requires books to be delivered on the release date, we will work with the publisher to help accommodate your request.

Call us (800-236-7323) for more information!

If UPS can ship it there, we can get it there!

UPS, USPS, FedEx, and various consolidated shipping options. Please note: we do not currently use DHL for general orders.

Think of it this way: it's like you are buying a seat on an international flight-which is expensive! We do not determine international shipping rates from our carriers; we simply pass them on to you with no upcharges.

It depends on your location, but you can safely estimate two weeks for international shipping. Be aware that customs varies by country and can hold up shipment for an undetermined amount of time. If you have concerns, contact customer service, and we will do our best to help get your package released from customs.

Our expert customer service staff has shipped internationally for years, and they take care of the paperwork for you.

Yes! As soon as we have tracking information available for your order, you will receive an email with that information. Note that some destination countries, due to local delivery logistics, are not able to provide us with tracking information. If you have a question about your order at any stage during the process, please feel free to call a Customer Service Specialist directly: 800-236-7323

Sometimes! It depends on many factors-contact customer service (800-236-7323) and we will do our best to help get your package rerouted.

We try to accommodate that request for bulk orders only (no single copy orders); please call customer service to see if your account can be applied to your order.

Yes, you do. If there are any questions or problems with your order, it is the best way to contact you. And if you are shipping internationally, customs paperwork requires it.

For small (e.g. single-copy) international shipments, we use a consolidated shipping vendor, which offers our customers delivery times comparable to USPS First Class International, at roughly half the published price of USPS' service. This financial savings means your package will take slightly longer to enter the mailstream and be scanned for tracking. This, in turn, means your tracking number might take a few days to update with information about your shipment. If you have a question about your order at any stage during the process, please feel free to call a Customer Service Specialist directly: 800-236-7323

Porchlight is a nonresident importer to Canada. By prepaying customs import fees at the time of order, your bulk books are delivered to your door without having to broker the shipment through Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

You must have 25 or more recipients' addresses for a bulk mailing or a customization project.

Download this spreadsheet template to get started on your mass book mailing list. You must unzip the folder before you can access the template.

Yes, we can! We are a small, flexible company and can work with you to meet your accounting needs.

Yes! In fact, we prefer it. That way, your list recipients will more easily identify you as the sender, and if a package is determined undeliverable, it will be returned to you instead of to Porchlight.

By default, we do not contact the recipients on your mailing list—for any reason. If you would like us to send tracking emails to your list after we ship, we can configure and send this upon request (additional costs may apply).

Most single-copy mail classes do not include an address change option, so once we dispatch your mailing, no changes can be made to address labels or package contents. If the recipient returns the package to us or if the postal service handling final delivery determines the package to be undeliverable, we will happily reship the package for an additional shipping fee.

Yes, we love working with authors to help them get signed books into the hands of their readers. We can arrange for signatures on either bookplates or physical books-your choice!

Yes, we have experience executing creative bundling options-whether that is a copy of a backlist book bundled with a new book, or different variations of a book. Really, any kind of bundle you can think of, we can sell and fulfill for you.

We sure can! Whether your bonus materials are physical or digital, we have you covered. Digital bonus materials can be hosted by Porchlight and easily delivered in the order confirmation email.

You have come to the right place! We have an entire department dedicated to book customization and would love to work with you on your upcoming book. You can find more information about customization here or you can contact Michael, our Project Development Director, at michael@porchlightbooks.com.

The only thing we need in order to consider your book for review coverage is the book itself! We prefer physical books whenever possible. Send galleys or finished copies to:

Porchlight Book Company
c/o Dylan Schleicher, Editorial Director
544 S. 1st Street
Milwaukee, WI 53204

The books we promote on our social media channels are those we are covering, selling, or featuring in our weekly book giveaway.

(To learn more about book giveaways, contact Dylan at dylan@porchlightbooks.com)

We publish one manifesto per week. To be considered, please submit a draft (2000-5000 words) to our Editorial Director, Dylan at dylan@porchlightbooks.com.

You can find all the details on the Awards page.

It is free!

Each publisher or imprint may enter up to 30 books.

Any book with a U.S. publication date of the current year.

Books must be submitted by the publisher, publicist, agent, or author of the book.

The Porchlight Editorial Team serves as the awards jury.

No, as our jury starts reading books before the deadline. Please send bound manuscripts (loose sheets not accepted) or galleys until the time that you can send a finished copy.

Unfortunately, you cannot. Please have all the required information on hand before you start the form.

Unfortunately, they cannot.

Yes! While we love to have as many longlist authors as possible at our event, we realize that schedules are hard to coordinate. The availability of the author or publisher for the party will have no effect on the outcome of the awards.